Jade Sylvan [Artist]

I want to be frank right from the start with this post.  This is indeed a feature on the amazingly talented author/actress/all sorts of cool things Jade Sylvan and her upcoming tour of the Great Northwest.  I will definitely get to that as I really want all of you to know about it, and everyone I know in the area to attend and/or listen to the events she will be attending.  But, there is another story that I really want to tell.  It is the tale of how I have come to “know” Jade, which is really a tale of how wonderful the internet can be, despite it’s sometimes well deserved ill reputation, and how the marketing and networking effects of this modern technology can lead to discovering some brilliant works and developing grand friendships.

I have been trying to mentally sketch exactly just how far back I should go in this tale, and it I believe I have found the majestic culprit.  That being said, I really don’t know how exactly I came in contact with the first person, but it is a good enough place to start I believe.  In fact the original culprit may very well be a little social media enterprise that once ruled the kingdom of the inter webs known as MySpace.  But, in an effort to make this a more human interaction amongst the galaxies of satellites and laser beams that consist of a millennia’s worth of information, I will name some names.  Not to sound to cliché, but “it all started with…..” current Y La Bamba bassist and vocalist Ben Meyercord.  I discovered Ben way back in 2008 when I started to realize that it was quite possible to continue to hear music from my homeland, the Northwest, even though I was stranded out in the prairie of South Dakota.  Listening to his then solo project simply titled Meyercord, I then discovered that Ben had been doing some writing for a little Seattle-based blog entitled Fensepost, ran by indie music know it all Andrew Fenstermaker.  I began to check the twice daily posts Andy or Ben put up and loving each one more than the next.  And that is when I thought, I wonder if I could do this?  And sure enough, there was an advertisement in the About Fensepost section stating that Andy was looking for some help in the writing department.  I have harbored dreams of writing for a living, or at least in a public setting of some sort, since I was a small child.  And I loved independent music.  So why not give a shot at writing about it?  And the rest, as they say, is the history of how I became a blogger.

For 4 years or so I had the joy and honor of writing for Fensepost.  And in this time I would bear witness to some pretty amazing music.  And it was through Fensepost that I was introduced to the delightful Janelle Rogers.  Janelle is the leading lady behind one of my favorite publicity companies, Green Light Go!  I had written on a few occasions about one of her clients, Shawn Fogel a.k.a. Golden Bloom (now a full band!) who I absolutely adored.  And when I learned that Shawn had started a ukelele based tribute band to Neutral Milk Hotel, cleverly titled Neutral Uke Hotel, I was obviously intrigued!  Whilst covering their uke version of “King of Carrot Flowers”, I then became intrigued by the man in the background with the delightful mustache.  A bit of research lead me to discover that this man was also a client of Janelle Rogers.  This man was none other than Michael J. Epstein.  I then began listening intently to a little band from Massachusetts known as The Michael J. Epstein Library and was hooked.  MJE Library would then lead me to one of his other (he has many) projects with the great Sophia Cacciola, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, and I instantly became a huge fanboy for everything Mike and Sophia were involved with, which stands to this very day!

from the film TEN.

For loyal TWS readers, most of these names should be new.  I have continuously covered the for mentioned artists on several occasions, and they have even been kind enough to contribute so some of our year-end lists, and as Guest Wreckers.  And one of the projects we have covered quite extensively is the film TEN, an amazing little horror film directed by Epstein and Cacciola, and features so many amazing talents such another TWS regular Catherine Capozzi, and, finally………….Jade Sylvan!

Phew!  So there you have it.  A 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon explanation that could have been summed up better, I know.  But, here we are!  Jade Sylvan not only starred in TEN, but was responsible for the wonderful novelization of the film.  This was when I came to find that Jade Sylvan was not only a talented actress and former model, she is a brilliant writer as well.  She recently released her autobiographical novel Kissing Oscar Wilde as well, which is really why I wanted to tell you fine folks a bit about her.  I have yet to check out KOW, but it has been on my reading list since I learned of its inception.  But, I have completed the novelization of the film TEN, and it is unlike any novelization I have ever read.  Sylvan’s smooth prose and narrative is as beautiful and natural as a kitten with an uncoiled ball of yarn, even when she is described dramatic scenes of death and turmoil as she does in TEN.  Being ever so lucky enough to get a glimpse at TEN before its official release this weekend at both the Brooklyn Girl Film Festival and Boston Underground Film Festival, I was pleased to find that I was still fascinated with TEN as though it were an all new story.  Sylvan has a style that is either truly unique, or on par with some of the finest writers in recent history, that should be left to the reader to decide I imagine.

So when I completed TEN, I set out to do a book review, but then came to realize that something else wonderful was going to happen.  Jade Sylvan has plans to do a reading tour in support of Kissing Oscar Wilde.  And even better than that, it’s in the Great Northwest!!!  This will probably be the only time I will say this, but:  “I wish was in Spokane, Washington instead of southern Spain right now!”.  That being said, the cherry on top of it all is that Jade has actually made plans to perform not only in Spokane (nobody does that anymore, it seems!) but the awesome Broken Mic show at my favorite spot in my former city, Baby Bar (or Neato Burrito, if you want to be technical for the Spokanites).  So when she threw out that she could use some help paying for this tour, I practically lunged myself into the internet to support her Indiegogo campaign, essentially just pre-order the copy of Kissing Oscar Wilde I already had every intention of being, but now I get a personalized filthy drawing as well!  I also felt it would be great if my old pal Bob Rice might have her on his amazing weekly show on 88.1 KYRS Thin Air Community Radio known as Crossroads.  And she shall!  Check HERE for details, make plans to listen on line, and come right back here.  Beyond Spokane, Jade can also be spotted in cities like San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Bellingham, and more.  For a full list of appearances, check out her website, but again come right back for I am not done with you yet.

Kissing Oscar Wilde by Jade Sylvan

If I haven’t made myself clear, which I am often prone to do so, my discovery of Jade Sylvan is owed to a long line of coincidences and chance (digital) encounters.  I have never met Janelle Rogers, Michael J. Epstein, Sophia Cacciola, or Jade Sylvan in person.  And I have had only brief, although enjoyable, encounters with Andrew Fenstermaker and Ben Meyercord.  Yet, these are the people who have shown me so much love, support, and more importantly, their talents to not just me, but to the world.  And this my friends, is how the internet can be so much more than a den of identity theft and malicious code.  Or even more than hateful comment threads and cat videos.  If the fine people spinning around on the world wide web would simply stop and realize exactly what is at their disposal and just how great it can be to discover wonderful independent artists like Jade Sylvan, just imagine how much better the world could be?  Imagine using the most powerful tool in human history to build a solid foundation of love and support for one another, all the while discovering such beautiful art?  I know it sounds ridiculous, because sadly human nature doesn’t work that way.  Sometimes we all just seem to be nothing more than a series metaphors and practical jokes.  Day in and day out, we are little girls in hiding in attics with the belief that “people are actually good inside”, only be captured, beaten, and burned.

Wow, that seems like kind of a bummer way to finish, but so be it.  Just make sure you find your way to see Jade Sylvan spit some wonderful poetry and prose in my favorite regions of the world!  Let’s show this east coast lady that we have so much more to offer than Starbucks and rain and weird Gus Van Sant movies (and by weird I mean great!).  Please show some love and support for Jade as she ventures her way to my homeland, because I want to make sure she will ever want to come back when I might be around!

Note:  As of this being published, there are approximately 20 hours left for Jade’s Indiegogo campaign.  So, if you want to pick up some really cool swag while helping Jade pay for this venture, you still have time!  If you are reading this after March 28th, well, go to her website and buy some stuff, including her book Kissing Oscar Wilde.  Cheers!