Exclusive Interview: Singer-songwriter Jen Woodhouse

If original had a face, it would be that of Jen Woodhouse. A natural performer since birth, Jen spent her younger years spread across three continents, however now it seems the road is her home. Her music has taken her to places such as Los Angeles, Toronto, Atlanta, and even the to United Kingdom, and yet she is still a down-home girl.

This sundry, southern singer-songwriter (hailing from Alabama) has quite the cult following and with a unique combination of rock meets pop meets folk; it's not hard to know why. Jen recently took some time out of her busy schedule of promoting her forthcoming album to chat with me.

Teresa Conner (TC): First off, let me start by saying a huge thank you for letting me do this interview.

Jen Woodhouse (JW): Thank YOU!!! I'm happy you thought of me!!! :-)

TC: You are very much welcome. In contrast with the likes of Sarah MacLachlan or Sheryl Crow, there's a real raw and rootsy quality to your sound, you channel such richness in your music. From where (or whom) do you get inspiration?

JW: Inspiration is everywhere... people, places, things, eavesdropping on conversations, music, my experiences, other people's experiences... every song is different, whether the inspiration comes from something that happened, or a guitar riff, piano part, a lyric phrase... I take whatever I can get! I believe the songs already exist, you just have to tap into that inspiration because you know it's there, it's present, in an intangible form, so you try your best to translate it into something tangible.

TC: The Shaping & Shifting of Objects & Sound is your second album, did the process of cutting this one differ any from the first [This Honest Age]?