Excerpt from Jam Rag,
September 2003

by Mark Clark

Singer/songwriter/musician Cynthia Joan was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At the tender age of six she happened upon a piano at a babysitter's home, and plunked out U of M's fight song "Hail To The Victors" by ear. It was clear that a stellar musical career could not be far behind.

Somewhat of a gypsy, Cynthia has spent a couple of years gigging around California, worked with the Ypsilanti based band the Dysfunctionals, and is currently working in Japan. I happened to come across her CD in a local record store, became a fan and contacted her about doing an interview for Jam Rag via e-mail. For more info, go to www.cynthiajoan.com.

How did you get started, and who inspired you to write music?
When I was ten years old I listened to Pat Benatar, and at that time I wanted to be her. But I didn't start writing until many years later, when I was 24 and living in California.

At first I wrote only lyrics. Then I answered a classified ad from Rick Medina who was looking for a female vocalist. We collaborated for about a year and a half. But I wanted to perform and he was more interested in recorded production. He had a great studio though, and I was able to get my first demo that way.

What kind of music did you create with Medina? His name sounds familiar. Does he work for a record label?
Well, two of the songs I wrote with Rick are on the CD. I don't know if he has worked with any labels. I haven't spoken to him in awhile. Back in the mid-'90s he was working independently. Rick was strongly influenced by the Beatles. He helped me get more harmonies into my music. But unlike Paul McCartney, he didn't have a lot of patience for "silly love songs." It was one of our musical differences because I write a lot of those. He encouraged me to dig deeper and try to get more meaning in my lyrics.

I think that your desire to write like Paul McCartney is great. I love Paul's music and personally I think it's great he's been back in the limelight again. But why do you write "silly love songs?" Is it because you feel there's already too much negative in the world? Do you use your songs as an escape to maybe, forget all the bad? Personally I think we could use more "silly love songs," especially after events like 9/11.
Why do I write "silly love songs"? Because I hear a lot of them on the radio, so I figure they must sell! But it's true that there's more than enough negative out there. In the mid-'90s I was hearing lyrics like "I wanna push you around, well I will" by Matchbox 20 and "Where were you while we were getting high" by Oasis. It made me feel that everyone out there is either angry or addicted or both. I know that's not true, so I wanted my music to express some lighter themes.

On the other hand, several of my songs are about broken-heartedness, so I guess I could use a lesson in positivity myself. After 9/11 it's hard to know what to write, but I never want to write anything that doesn't allow for hope in the future.
Just for the record, I'm not knocking Matchbox 20. They've done some great stuff.

Since you mentioned 9/11, where were you when it happened and how has it affected your songwriting? (Or, in the words of Mr. Alan Jackson, "Where were you when the world stopped turning?") Have you written any songs about it? Also, what do you think is your best "silly love song?"
I haven't written about it -- not successfully anyway. When I tried, I couldn't come up with anything musical that didn't oversimplify or understate what I meant to say. As for that day, I was at home and sat in front of my TV horrified like so many others. No big story there. But I do recall wishing the newscasters would quit speculating and stick to the facts.

As for my best silly love song, even though there's a tinge of sadness to it, I like the song "A Heart Can Heal" on the CD. I was just rehearsing it yesterday for a minor recital and I decided I liked both the music and the message.
The recital is part of a school assembly....I'm ostensibly over here to teach English, but it hasn't stopped me from performing every chance I get. Next big gig is a flea market in Mishima.

Actually "A Heart Can Heal" was one of my favorite songs from the CD. I loved the Spanish guitar. After working with Medina, what was next? Is that when you came back to Michigan?
Let's see....first I hooked up with a bluesy rock band called The Hung Trio in the San Fernando Valley. But once I joined we were a foursome, so we dug about for a new name. We never found one that everyone was happy with, but performed under the name Flying Squirrel for one gig before the band fell apart.

Then I hooked up with guitarist Frank Lomeli and drummer Steven Kelly Denman. We did some coffee house gigs as a threesome, mostly acoustic light pop. And we wrote quite a bit. But we never found a bass player, and eventually Frank went into sound engineering and Steven joined a jazz band because there was more money in it. I myself remained pretty much broke.
I then had some health troubles and couldn't afford California rent anymore, so I came back to Michigan -- but not before I'd taken out a big loan from my dad to produce the CD.

Hung Trio, huh. Were they all guys before you joined? How did you like playing bluesy rock? Did you play originals or covers? Did you sing?
Ah yes, of course they were all guys -- another reason the name no longer fit. I did do the lead vocals. Blues are a little bit challenging for me, and because of that my vocals may have taken the band to more of a moderate rock sound. Looking back, it's hard to recall. We did nearly all originals with a couple of obscure covers thrown in. We did an alternative rock piece called "Explode" by an artist I can't recall, and a country tune called "That's Enough" which I think was done by Mila Mason.

So, your dad financed the CD. Did you record it in California before you came back to Michigan? Were you happy with the results and what kind of response have you had since its release?
Yes, I recorded it in California. I'm generally pretty happy with it, although a couple of people have pointed out that the vocals are a bit low in the final mix. Response has been good, especially here in Japan. The 12 to 15-year-olds are loving it and I've interested several adults as well. If I could break through the language barrier to the Tokyo record labels... well, it's always hardest to open the big doors in this business no matter what country you're in.

How soon did you come back to Ann Arbor after recording the CD? Is that when you hooked up with the Dysfunctionals? What kind of music did they play and did you record anything with them?
I came back to Ann Arbor right after recording the CD and before it was printed. That was in the spring of 2000, and by the summer I was singing with the Dysfunctionals. We did a few of my songs from the CD and we wrote some stuff and mixed in a few covers at our shows (some '80s and '90s rock). We worked together into 2001, but we went our separate ways before we could record.

It's always difficult holding a band together... people often have different goals, both musically and in life. I tried to find other musicians in the Ann Arbor area, but a lot of local musicians were into heavier and stranger sounds than I was. I wanted to do something more mainstream. But a lot of radio stations were either playing hip hop or "boy bands," and the labels that allowed me to send demos didn't seem interested in my sound.

What made you decide to go all the way to Japan?
I had been studying Japanese and watching Japanese music shows on cable, and it seemed to me they still had a market for pop/rock music. They even put quite a bit of English in their songs. So when I got the opportunity to teach in Japan, I brought along a bunch of my CDs and some digitally recorded background tracks. It turned out to be a good instinct. Already I've had to send home for more of my CDs to sell and opportunities for public performance keep coming up, even without a band.

So what's next? I understand that you are supposed to come back home this coming July (2003).
Yes, I just needed a change of scene for awhile, but I do plan to perform and promote my music in southeastern Michigan again. When I get back I plan to redouble my efforts to find dedicated, good players to gig with. I've been in touch with one guitarist already. Also I've been doing some writing. And of course my CD is still available on the Internet.

Do you think that your stay in Japan has helped you in any way? Did it give you any fresh, new ideas?
Let's see… I've been listening to some strange music since I arrived in Japan, including a Japanese style called "Enka." It's an old folk music, which they now record over what sounds like ballroom dance music. One recent Enka hit sounded to me like a blend of yodeling and the cha-cha.
What it taught me is this: just when you think everything's been done in music, you realize there are still new ideas out there.
I won't be taking up enka or ballroom, but it has inspired me to try to innovate. I've always believed that the best musicians learn from all types of music and there is always room for growth.

Email: cynchild@msn.com