But anyways, we put out albums, and I book for a couple of venues, so that brings
in some minimal compensation. Andy paints and wrote a book, so those are non-musical yet still artistic things that we work with. We do things to highlight the community like our podcast. Sponsorships for that help out, so… It’s the little things together that build… You know, you get $20 here, $20 there, and eventually you make your rent… [laughs]

Faith: It’s amazing how that works…

Jess: Yeah. Yes, it works. Most times… [laughs]

Faith: When you’re creative…

Jess: Mm-hm…

Faith: And… motivated.

Jess: Yeah. You have to be pretty motivated. But what motivates me is thinking about those days working at Starbucks. [laughs] That in itself keeps me hungry enough to do what it takes, you know? I’ll run myself ragged working on my own business before I will go and stand around for 8 hours waiting out my time for a paycheck.

Faith: Yeah.

Jess: So… Yeah. I’d rather work really, really hard my whole life on my own thing.

Faith: Nice. I’ll drink to that! [laughs]

Jess: Mmm. Cheers!

Faith: Cheers! [makes clinking sounds, laughs]

Jess: [laughs]

Faith: So, last night I learned that you play accordion? On a song?

Jess: Oh yeah!

Faith: How many instruments do you play?

Jess: I guess just those two, really. Piano and accordion. I could probably play guitar. I played it for a few years in my early 20s, but I think when Andy and I started playing together, he quit trying to play piano and I quit trying to play guitar. [laughs] I picked up the accordion a couple years ago because I felt left out of all the open mics because you can’t just take your piano in. Well, you can, but it’s a lot of work.

Ironically I bought an accordion that does not plug into a PA. You have to mic it, and they’re super hard to mic. The accordion feels very fluid, you kind of feel that you fall into it when you’re playing it. There’s a lot of movement, opening and closing the bellows.

Faith: Playing with air.

Jess: Yes! And so your body sort of naturally moves with it, but when you’re micing it, you have to be still and stay in front of the sweet spot on the microphones. [laughs] So, that’s actually pretty difficult. I have played it on some albums. On our double album, “The Good Old Days Now,” and on Foxfeather’s album, “Foul Moon.”

But as far as live, I’ve only tried it 2 or 3 times and it always feels like a fail because people are trying to turn it up during the whole performance. At Foxfather’s album release, I played accordion with them and there was a chick from the audience that actually came up and tried to move the mic more in front of my instrument. She kept yelling, “Turn up the accordion!” [laughs]

Faith: [laughing] How many times do you hear that? “Man, turn up the accordion!” [laughs]

Jess: [laughs] Right?! That’s a great point, but you know, it’s fun. It’s fun to stretch your brain a little bit. Try something new, but… mostly I play it at the house now. [laughs]

Faith: Nice. I mean, just thinking about the movement I could… I imagine the movement is a really nice feeling. You know, working with that resistance…

Jess: Yep.

Faith: And the… expansion.

Jess: Yeah. It has a specific feeling whenever you really connect to it, and whenever you’re not having to think so much about the patterns of notes. When you know it well enough that you’re more feeling the instrument, you become a part of the instrument. Because it’s so big. I call it the heaviest sports bra you’ll ever put on. [laughs] You put your arms through the straps and hoist it up.

It’s pretty heavy, but whenever you get used to it, you kind of fall with it and it’s like gently opening and closing a book. It’s a transcendental kind of merging of you and the instrument, and you really feel the air, as if you were singing. You know when you’re about to run out. You know when you need to take another breath. It’s a very interesting feeling to play an accordion.

Faith: Yeah…

Jess: Yeah….

Faith: Cool… How would you say your relationship to music has evolved as you’ve gotten older?

Jess: Hmm…. That’s an interesting question. In my youth, say 13, 14, 15, those kind of mid-teen years I felt like a misfit. I was homeschooled until I was 12 and went to public school in the 7th grade. I realized immediately that I hated it. And so, I clepped out of the 8th grade, ‘cause I wanted to get out as quickly as possible. [laughs] I never felt like I was connected to my classmates, I would maybe have 1 or 2 good friends at a time. I was also super shy and didn’t even conceive of starting up conversations.

But… whenever they’d hear me play music, they would actually talk to me. [laughs] I ended up doing some talent shows, and I accompanied the choir on piano. I had a choir teacher in high school that realized piano was a passion and a potential in life. So, he let me accompany the choir.

For me, in my early years, music was a tool of acceptance. I didn’t know how to accept myself but it seemed like people around me accepted me when they realized I was good at something. That was kind of my way in with people, the conversation starter. It felt like I could do something cool that the other kids couldn’t do, so that made me acceptable. I think in those early years, mostly I wanted to use it for acceptance and notability.

As I grew up and accepted myself, I eventually decided, “If I’m not invited to your party, I’m gonna make my own party, and invite all the people you didn’t invite.” That’s kind of The Prairie Scholars way. [laughs] We don’t always get all the festivals we apply for so we make our own festival!

Over the years I’ve matured and accepted myself. There are still people who are impressed by musical skills and they want to be friends with musicians. I try to use this somewhat special treatment as a way to accept others.

Faith: Inviting other people to accept themselves.

Jess: Yeah. Pretty much. Music is so much a part of my life I’ve lost perspective on the fact that I have a certain skill level. But people who don’t have this particular skill are impressed by it. So, I try to relate with people on a personal level and interact as friends. It’s an equalizer in a sense. When I run into a talented painter or someone that has a cool skill I don’t have, it’s always nice when they end up being personable and easy to chat with as well as talented. I hope that made sense.