With a story stretching back to the San Francisco punk scene, Jean Caffeine made the scene and made a zine in the 70’s. She made gig flyers and shared stages with The Zeros, The Avengers, The Dils, X and The Bags. In the 80’s, Jean moved to NYC and hit the underground art and music scene. She was invited by Ann Magnuson to drum for Pulsallama, a 7-13 piece percussion ensemble who opened shows for The Clash. In 2016, the group was sampled by rapper Danny Brown on his song, “Dance in the Water.”
A move to Austin put her center stage in Jean Caffeine‘s All-Nite Truckstop. She shifted from drummer to songwriter to front person, playing roadhouses and coffee houses and sharing stages with Lucinda Williams, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Mojo Nixon and Southern Culture on the Skids. In the early aughts, Jean spent a few years in Hamilton and Toronto – a fertile time where she played shows with her new compadre, composer Mike Trebicock.
(Sub)-genre fluid, Jean Caffeine‘s music blends indie, retro-pop, punk, folk, rock and roots, served up with big smiles and the occasional growl. Part PSA, part humorous novelty song, the new track, “Mammogram,” is a darker shift from much of Jean‘s music. “It’s moody and scary (and funny) because mammograms are a nightmare,” she explains.
What can you share with readers about your new project?
I’d had the “Mammogram” title knocking around in my mind for about a year. I thought it’d be a funny subject for a song. The lyrics and riff came together super fast while I was on a trip to Mexico. I wrote 90 percent of it in an hour on a patio in Merida.
It was recorded in Austin TX at Sounds Outrageous studio. The players are: Jon Notarthomas on guitar, Zack Humphrey on drums, Josh Robins on bass, me on electrified acoustic and vocals. I call that band Male Order Brides
How does this release compare with your other projects you had in the past?
I haven’t recorded anything dark tinged or bluesy since I was in Jean Caffeine’s All Nite Truckstop decades ago. In that band we played punk tinged country and roots music. I had a couple swamp bluesy tunes back then that were more in line with this track. It’s also more jokey, more of a novelty record compared to my other compositions which tend to be simple and hookey and often biographical.
What about this single makes you most proud?
I really love Jon’s guitar parts and tone. I think Lars (engineer and co-producer did a great job of capturing that tone.
I’m also pleased with how the video mashes up the heavy but incredibly atmospheric silent movie footage Haxan by Benjamin Christensen with lighter modern day iphone footage and a little clip by the inventor, Thomas Edison.
Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?
No. I made a silly song about something serious and we gave it a spooky vibe and the release aligned with both Halloween…because mammograms are scary, and also Breast Cancer Awareness month.
I didn’t write the song intentionally as a PSA. I was going for something more irreverent and unexpected. I liked the idea of a mismatch between sound and subject. But I am pleased to bring a little attention to mammograms ; to how uncomfortable they are and how important they are.
With toxins in our food, air and water and microplastics in our bloo stream Breast cancer is no longer just a middle-aged woman’s issue. So if you have breasts, go get one!
What inspires you to create music?
Creativity is my drug of choice, as is making music with others. Nothing gives me the serotonin/endorphin rush that writing or recording a song does… Second to that I make a lot of art. Mostly mixed media collages. That practice is more about piecing a puzzle together. It’s less of a rush.
What motivates you to keep going?
Lunacy. Not being a realist. Any encouragement or attention.
But truly, it’s hard.
It’s hard because I’m older and everything takes more energy. Also the game is changed so much. and you have to be so detail oriented and active keeping up with the Socials. The market is flooded with music. It’s an attention economy and we’re all attention deficit, so it’s really hard to get anyone’s attention in the attention economy.
Also most of us artists dont/cant make any money from this. And some of us used to. (So buy music or merch on Bandcamp just to support your artists) So I do get discouraged.
But I love playing with other musicians and single harmonies. I love crafting recordings with my frequent collaborator Lars Göransson
I love performing and playing my songs for the audience especially when I have great musicians to flesh out the songs. That’s very gratifying. So that’s what inspires me to keep going.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.
This is such a great question. Especially if stating it would somehow manifest it. I’d love to co-write or share a stage with Liz Phair or Pete Townsend or Redd Kross. It’d be way cool to have Brian Eno as a producer. Iggy Pop? Patti Smith are heros of mine so anything that would put me in a room with them.
I’d also like to collaborate with younger punk influenced artists so we could cross-pollinate more.
What was the last song you listened to?
Maybe “See How We Are by X” I just saw live and they were great. Especially that song. The tracks I heard off their new X recorded were also very good.
The songs that have been on repeat for the past couple of years are the Viagara Boys song “punk Rock Loser” from a couple years back.
Stay Away from Downtown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCNY92RzKus
and I like “Quarry” by Wednesday. It came out last year.
Favorite all-time bands/artists?
-Liz Phair in the Exile from Guyville period. I know every lyric.
-The Who. (their 60’s incarnation especially)
-The Ex-Bats from Bisbee, Arizona My favorite track by them was released in 2018 but they have more current stuff.
-Back in the day I loved California punk bands: The Dils, The Zeros, the Avengers and of course the Sex Pistols, Clash and the Damned, Patti Smith, Iggy and the Stooges.
-I also love well crafted retro-pop songs from writers like Carol King, Elli Greewich, Laura Nyro and Burt Bacharach and Leiber-Stoller.
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
Ms.jeancaffeine on instagram probably.
Im on tik tok as jeancatfiend but I’m less active there.
I really appreciate your time. Is there anything you’d like to share before we sign off?On a subconscious level maybe Mammogram was an answer to this Colonoscopy by Austin Art-Punks, Pocket FishRmen
