Interview: Fanbase Music Magazine Talks To Annemarie Jo About Her Latest Single And Lyric Video & More

Intro

Annemarie Jo is an exciting musician I have recently become a fan of, hard to hold her down and pigeonhole her music, Annemarie can be seen releasing music with all types of genres and sounds, catering to a wider market.

Annemarie Jo enjoys writing about a variety of things. Her emotion-evoking music is inspired by things that are going on in her life. Whether it be a relationship, anxiety, a happy time, or a hardship she is going through, her music says it all.

We catch up with Annemarie Jo and talk about her latest single Cherry Top as well as the cool lyric video 

 

Enjoy the Read

Interview

Hi Annemarie, welcome to Fanbase Music Magazine. Let’s start by getting to know you. Where are you from, and how did you get into music?
I am from Rochester Michigan. I have always loved music, for as long as I can remember lyrics, melodies, the meaning and emotion of how music impacts people, it all affected me at a very young age. I loved how it made me feel. My parents put me in piano lessons at a very young age, age 5, and I have been in choir my whole childhood. In addition, my family and childhood were centered around music. My dad, brother, and sister all played an instrument, as well as my grandpa.
Do you have an earliest musical memory where you realized this is something you want to do for the rest of your life?

One of my earliest music memories is of my grandpa, who I called Big Papa, recording myself singing “My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean” on his cassette player while he played accordion. Another early musical memory, when I started realizing this is what I wanted to do with my life, was going to an open mic night at a coffee shop by my house when I was in 7th and 8th grade with friends. I loved getting up in front of people and sharing my music, in addition to hearing and experiencing other live musicians (older and better than my 12-year-old self at the time obviously) and just loving every bit of it.

How would you describe your sound and genre?

My sound and genre are a lot of things wrapped in one. To categorize it, I would say pop-soul. However, I like to think my music incorporates pop, rock, alternative, soul, and more into one sound.

Who is some of your musical influences?
I grew up listening to a diverse range of music. I was heavily influenced by the music I grew up on, that being Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, America, Diana Ross, Abba, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley, Hall & Oates, Billy Joel, and The Rolling Stones. An obvious icon that influenced me the most was Stevie Nicks.
Do you feel the music you listen to determines the music and lyrics you write for your songs?
100%. The music I listen to, in all genres, heavily influences my writing and style to this day. The raw emotions behind the lyrics of Billy Joel, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham, all influence my writing style greatly. I constantly am inspired daily by songs I have heard a thousand times. That’s the beauty of music, you get something new, depending on where you are emotionally, every time you listen.
you are a solo musician but do you have a band or musicians you perform with?

I split my music career pretty evenly doing solo performances as well as full band gigs with my band, Sinjon Smith. We are a five-piece cover band and we play all over the state and more.

Okay, let’s talk about your latest single, Cherry On Top, it is quite an interesting song title, what is the song about?

The song title is about the reality of adult friendships. I wrote this song about one of my best friends at a time when I was feeling like I was losing her. Our group of girls used to hang out for days on end, seeing everyone at least 3 times a week. Now, with everyone’s schedule and prioritizing other things in our lives, I rarely see anyone anymore. With this one friend, I would try calling her, and planning hangouts, just for them to be ignored or canceled. Although unintentional, it really hurt, and still does. As the planner in the group, it’s exhausting continuously trying to talk and hang out with my best friends and not receiving that same effort back. That’s what Cherry on Top is all about, it’s like the last straw, the final try/hope to get that craved relationship back.

 

Judging from the song being about adult friendships and losing distance, I sometimes feel as a kid it was much easier to make friends and stay friends but as we grow life gets busy, and friends either move on or drift apart which is sad, is this what you have also experienced or has there been deeper meanings why people drift apart, especially with this song?

That’s mainly what I am talking about. The difficulty of matching schedules, and continuing to stay as close as we once were. Another aspect of it is the emotions as adult relationships have. Friends don’t always do things or stay the person they exactly were. Nobody stays exactly the same. And so wondering if it’s some way things have changed between you two that you may not know of, its scary; especially when you care so deeply about someone.

where was the song recorded and who worked on it?

I recorded Cherry on Top at my home studio, Pearl Sound Studios in Canton Michigan. My producer, the amazing Chuck Alkazian, mixed and mastered the song as well as worked on it instrumentally himself. He programmed the drums, in which he recorded each authentic drum sound, and played bass, and keys on the track. My wonderful friend and bandmate, Marc played electric on the tune, and I played the acoustic.

What was the process like and do you like working in the studio or just taking it as part of the job?

I absolutely love going into the studio. Chuck and I are like friends by this point; it’s definitely more fun than work. I love nothing more than seeing and hearing my vision come to life during the recording process. Chuck also does an excellent job translating my ideas and vision into reality.

 

The track also has a cool lyric music video, who worked on it?

The lyric music video was created by Sarah Heringhausen from Blaize Media Inc. Sarah helped incorporate the vibe and emotion of this fun but emotional song into a lyric video and it’s so much more than I could have imagined.

 

You are already working on new music, what can you tell us what you have coming out next?

I am working on a brand-new single I wrote called Excuse Me (While I Lose My Cool). Without giving away too many surprises, it is something so exciting that I cannot wait to share.

If you could collaborate with any other band or musician who would it be?
This is such a hard question. There are so many people that I dream of collaborating with or sharing a stage for once. Some that are truly dreams, like Stevie Nicks, Lady Gaga, Billy Joel…
Thank you for doing this interview, do you have any last messages for our readers?

Thank you so much for the opportunity! As someone who is inspired by so many great artists and such different sounds trying to make a music career… as well as someone who has felt distant from some of her closest friends lately, and dealing with a lot of changes going on in my personal life… I think a message to my fans would be that it is so okay to not understand where you are headed in your current stage of life. Things change, and tides come and go, what’s important is giving yourself grace and realizing this is your first time living, it’s okay to not quite be sure what’s next on your journey.

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