Jennifer Gove - Dubai Lime's Artist of the month for October |
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That was until early this year and before Dubai Lime. When Dubai Lime announced the first open mic in Dubai, musicians from all walks of life and from all over UAE showed up to participate, and its grown from there. Our artist of the month, Jennifer Gove from Alberta, Canada is one of those original musicians in Dubai, who is waiting for open mic to happen. She almost forget that she plays guitar and writes her own songs. So, when her friends first heard about the open mic, they literally dragged her to her first gig at Central Perk Jumeirah, a few months ago. Here is Jennifer Gove's profile interview with Dubai Lime. Where are you from? I'm from the land of -30 C in winter, Northern Lights, Wayne Gretzky (in the good old days) and wide open skies. Sherwood Park - the largest Hamlet in the world. Just outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. How long have you been playing music? When I was a kid my family went on a lot of road trips during the summer. In the back seat of our camper van my sister and I would sing at the top of our lungs to whatever was playing on the 8-track. I remember doing a lot of air-guitar and pretending to play the piano at an early age, and my parents soon caught on and got us enrolled in piano lessons. Music has always been a big part of my life.
I started playing the piano when I was eight and did many years of lessons, recitals and Royal Conservatory. I loved performing when I knew a song really well, though it took me a lot of practice. I was sixteen when I started playing guitar and the piano was soon forgotten. I dug out an old Fender from our attic and asked my mom to teach me to play. She got me started on my first few chords and after that I was hooked. I had a couple of friends who played as well and we soon formed an all-girl band. Our first "gigs" were playing at a local Teen Fest and at our Grade 12 graduation. After that it was glamorous nights of busking on streets, playing around campfires with friends and plenty of open-mic nights.
I've always loved writing; even when I was a kid I was forever writing short stories. When I started playing the guitar I started putting words to music and it just took off from there. I've always preferred singing my own music to singing cover songs. I'll never profess to be a great musician or singer - I just simply know my range and sing what I want to say. Or more truthfully, I sing what I wish I could say.
I don't know what genre my music is, or at least I don't like to limit it to any one type. I'm a girl with an acoustic guitar singing her own songs. Folk-rock maybe? I'm down to earth with a sense of humour; I'm honest without taking myself too seriously. I am influenced by a multitude of artists - everybody from Stevie Wonder to Lucinda Williams, Stevie Ray Vaughn to The Tragically Hip. Tom Petty is one of my favourite song writers. I'm incredibly moved by lyrics, and I love artists who are raw and not afraid to let it all out. When you write your songs or create your music, what are your inspirations? Many things. Watching people or simply walking down the street can inspire a thought that turns into the first line of a song. I have no particular method of writing music. In fact, if I try to write something it almost never works. Most songs that I've written have been instantaneous. Watching other musicians play their own music is definitely inspiring and I love to jam and collaborate with other people.
Yes. One hot and sultry night in Florence I was with friends in a bar and they convinced the musician to let me play a song on stage. I did, and the crowd of 15 people went wild. That bar was one block away from an outdoor Radiohead concert. That's pretty much as famous as I get -:).
Right now I love playing the open-mic and Loft gigs with Dubai Lime as often as I can. I've played a couple of times on Open Mic with Zahra on Dubai 92 which was great fun. I would love to record an album and I've met a few people who have mentioned they can help me get started. That's my next goal.
I moved to Dubai for a great career opportunity almost three years ago. Honestly, I came here thinking I would stay only two years but time just flew and I'm still enjoying it. It's been incredibly challenging and I've met the most amazing people here. I've been very lucky to have traveled a lot for work and Dubai is in the centre of all the action. The first couple of years I didn't play or write any music; Dubai simply didn't have a venue for it. Now thanks to Dubai Lime I've been able to get back into music which has allowed me to enjoy life outside of work too.
I work full time for a Hotel company. I love my job and it takes up a lot of my time. Other than write and play music - I read, paint, travel and hang out with my husband and friends. Other talents? I make killer chocolate chip cookies. I also play a mean game of cribbage and scrabble.
Words of wisdom: Always check to see if the wine bottle has a twist-off cap before you start using a corkscrew. And if it does have a twist-off cap, better to have beer instead. Words of encouragement: Have fun and give ‘em hell. Don't care too much about what others think. In the words of Nike at it's commercialistic best, just do it. Do you have anything to say about or to Dubai Lime? A fantastic, amazing, talented group of people and I love them. They truly rock. Most of all, I would say thank you. J
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Original musicians in Dubai, used to be able to play their music only inside their bedrooms or with their friends; thats before Dubai Lime's open mic nights started.| < Prev | Next > |
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