Jennifer Trijo: Diary

Dear friends,

It has been a challenging year to date but there has been a lot of lessons learned. Firstly, I'm very happy to announce that I have finally finished my studies at the University of New South Wales! I began in 2004 and deferred at the end of 2006 to do the Miss Saigon tour. After the tour, I was at a crossroads - performing professionally had become addictive and I wasn't sure if I would finish my final year of my degrees. Thankfully, I did, and now I am beginning a new chapter.

Armed with my qualifications, and a whole lot of new musical equipment I am still getting my head around, I have moved interstate to pursue my passions in the Arts and education.

I am still composing and I plan to record the full-length album in 2010, that is my primary new year resolution.

That's a short note to keep you in the loop about what's happening since I have been living in textbooks for a while.

There will be many new tracks to come in the near future as there are melodies and arrangements swimming in my mind everyday: even as I type this entry.

Thank you for all the lovely folks who came to support my gigs throughout 2009 in Sydney and wherever else. It has been great sharing music with you all.

Speak soon,

Sincerely,
Jen

Hi Friends,

Have you ever felt so enlightened that you had to do something and do it now? I've been having that feeling a lot lately. I've been enjoying breathing in life, discovering other people's art through books; music; movies; dance and the simplest things move me. Our ability to create as humans is mind-blowing!

I hope the New Year is treating you all very well: do you believe we are already 20 days into 2009?

I wish you all a very rewarding day. Soak in the sun or pause for a moment in your busy schedule and think of one thing you are grateful for in this life and put all your positive energy into that thought. Reflection is part of the recipe for success.

There are so many good vibes around us ~ those roses are beckoning you to smell them!

Peace and Good Lovin'
X Jen

Hi Friends,

Hope you had a safe and awesome time during the festive season!

Last Saturday 3rd January, JTB was back in practise mode for the upcoming recording session. Yes, there will soon be new tracks to listen to on this site! We workshopped 2 original songs "Kindred Spirits", and "Endless Happiness" stripping them down into their rawest form and trial-and-erroring different possible arrangements for the recording. It felt so good to be jamming after the holiday break.

I took away a lot from this practise. Firstly, how blessed I am to have the musicians that I do have on board JTB. Their suggestions and contribution of their musicianship brings these songs closer to maturity. It humbles me to see other musicians join me in serving the music that chose us to serve it. These particular songs picked us by name to leave them behind in this lifetime and it's an honour to watch the songs grow. These songs are my babies and after bringing them into the world, I wanna see to it that they are taken good care of and given to people who will love them, allow them the changes they need to evolve so that they can find their place in Life and reach out to those listeners who need to hear their message the most.

I thank God for the gifts I've been given and I'm looking forward to more discovery, writing, travelling, friendships, adventure, music, and love in 2009.

Looking forward to seeing you at JTB's live shows. Thanks for supporting the music!

X Sincerely,

Jen

Dear friends,

The past month and a half has been hectic with rehearsing JTB for several Spring/Summer gigs.

We had an awesome gig last Saturday (6th Dec 08)so thank you to the 100 odd people who showed up at the intimate Pinoy Sentral to dine and dance with us during "A Night of Love, Latin, and Pop"... sounds a bit like a breakfast cereal I know.

Anyway, I'm proud to say that JTB (Jennifer Trijo Band) has concreted quite a repertoire over the past month of gigging. The line up is almost finalised. A BIG welcome to JTB"s newest addition: Lauren Petersen on backing vocals. She's beautiful and gives a fresh new vibe to the band. A HUGE thank you to Lil' Carla Perovich who was with us since July on backing vocals, we wish you well with your individual songwriting pursuits and starting your own band "Little Spring Street" keep an eye out for them everyone.

The Latin set last Saturday was particularly memorable and THANKS to Colleen Petersen for her percussive antics which enhanced the Vibe and got everyone on their feet! Yay... "Oba Oba Oba... Mas que nada, que nada, mas que nada!"

I must say I love being back in Sydney and performing week after week with mine and other bands around town. I love being able to interact with my audiences and share the joy of Live music with those present.

I hope greater Australia continues to support the Live Music scene and Indie Aussie artists because there is no other livelihood we would prefer to labour over and devote ourselves to. Thank you to those who already have and continue to support New Australian Music and young Australian bands. My heart goes out to you and my heart boomerangs right back into the music I love to create and perform for everyone who is open enough to welcome it.

Peace and Blessings

X Jen of JTB

Dear Friends,

I just want to thank the lovely folks who came out to support my Cabaret show yesterday afternoon at Cabbravale Diggers.

It was so wonderful to see so many familiar faces. Thank you especially to the people who made a special trip out to see me, it was a thoroughly enjoyable gig for me and I'm grateful for the many friends I have made whilst performing at this venue over the years. Many of you have watched me grow up as a performer and it means so much to me that your love and support has remained strong despite my 2 year absence while away on tour.

I thank also the John Pickworth Orchestra for their fabulous playing, as always and Miss Rosemary Schofield for a wonderful job as MC. It was an honour to share the stage also with Australia's Tom Jones, Mr Jacques Renay, I learned a lot from watching this fine performer.

I hope to be back in the near future to perform for you all again.

Thank you for purchasing my music too, your friendship is invaluable!

Sincerely,

Jennifer x

Hi Friends,

For the past 2 months I had been busy with the project "A Musical Tribute". The Producers approached me after my Cabaret Dinner on June 14th and proposed the concept of doing a Broadway tribute-type concert. I booked the performers and we got into rehearsals.

In hindsight, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the project grow from the ground up and I'd like to thank the Cats that played that night: Michal Siczynski (Drums); Aaron Khaled (MD/Keys/Violin); Abel Cross (Bass); Keith Allen (Guitar); Simon Ferenci (Trumpet); Peter Nadin (Trombone); Andrei Cano (Tenor Sax); and my fabulous support performers: Carla Perovich; Carlo Gebilagin; 3D dancers; and Isla Pacifica Dancers. Check out the pictures of the performers in the Photos section of this site.

We were thrilled to have a turn out of 400 people to this event held on September 20th 2008. Thank you to the Producers for giving myself and these young performers the opportunity to pay homage to the masters of Musical Theatre.

I look forward to performing for you all again soon. See you at my next show. Keep visiting my site and viewing the Calendar tab to see where I'll be performing next!

Sincerely,

Jen

Dear friends,

Sorry that the events of the past month have kept me away from my entries. I, and the whole band at my launch had a Blast performing for all the lovely people who attended that night of Wednesday the 16th at the Supper Club in Darlinghurst.

My sincere thank you to Todd Cremer and all the staff at the Supper Club for being so hospitable to me and all of my guests. Thanks to Matt Clarke on Sound and Lighting too, it was a great room to play and the vibe was memorable. It's been great to be back in my home town performing again and my mind and soul are filled with ideas. I'm just aching to continue with my experimentation artistically and keep bringing you the best live shows I possibly can.

You can look forward to more music from me very soon, I've met lots of new and indescribably talented friends whilst exploring the current Sydney live scene and I"m just blown away by all the artistic genius in this one city.

Also please check out the Video clip to "Calibre" - IT'S FINALLY HERE! Thank you to my baby cousin Alia for putting her heart into it. It's in the links section of this website or you can find it on myspace.com/jennifertrijo and the source itself www.youtube.com
A lot of exciting things are happening in my world and I'm going to do my best to keep you updated as often as I can between my busy schedule of rehearsal, gigging, and getting beaten up by my personal trainer... I'm still sore from yesterday's boxing session =(

Life is good right now. I'm reading a book about John Coltrane and becoming more musically stimulated. I'm hungry, constantly looking for that better sound, for more knowledge, a way to improve on my craft. I'm Searching for Utopia my friends and I'm going to keep you all filled in about my quest. Keep an eye out for photos and footage from the Sydney EP launch.

Meanwhile, enjoy the music...

X Jennifer

Hi Friends,

Since being back in Sydney, I have been tremendously busy working with many very talented musicians and being involved in a variety of music projects. It's kept me on my toes!

After 2 months of not singing any repertoire from Miss Saigon, I thoroughly enjoyed being reunited with the talented, David Harris and singing the duet "Last night of the world" on one of my dream stages to sing on as a child - Sydney's Capitol Theatre. It was such an honour to be contributing to this charitable cause to help send our Paralympians off to Beijing to participate in the games.

The event "A Musical Send-Off" was hosted by the very charismatic, David Campbell and I was very lucky to be mingling backstage with some of Australia's top performers including Rhonda Burchmore, John Paul Young, Tamsin Carrol, Toni Lamond, Peter Cousens, Genevieve Lemon, the cast of the Alterboyz, Rocky Horror Show, Ana Marina, My Fair Lady... to name a few. They were all so amazing and the night was a big success.

Thank you to all the people who supported this event to help this worthwhile cause and congratulations to Darren Peters, Ross Cunningham, Jon Nicholls, Drew Anthony and the whole team involved in making this night feasible. A special thank you to the lovely Alicia Brown for recommending me to Jon Nicholls for this opporunity to perform for such a memorable occassion.

Love,

X Jennifer

Hello friends,

Thank you to all of the 200 lovely people who supported my Cabaret Dinner show last night (14th June 2008) at Corregidor Entertainment Centre and Restaurant.

A special thank you to those of you who purchased a pre-launch copy of my debut EP! I hope that you enjoy my original music.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all between sets and I trust that you enjoyed yourselves as much as I enjoyed performing for you! On behalf of Anton Aktila, 3D dancers, Marizor and Zorayda, I would like to extend our warmest gratitude to you and ask you to please continue supporting local artists on the Live Sydney scene.

Peace and blessings

X Jen

Dear Friends,

It's been just over a week since I bid farewell to Miss Saigon. The memories will remain within me always. In response to Alex Jane's guestbook entry on 13th April: "P.S
What does it feel like to get up infront of such a big crowd and perform?", well Alex, it's the safest place in the world for me: daunting for some. The stage feels like home. The Miss Saigon company felt like family and the road and the tour were our playground.

I learned many things being away from Sydney. The first is how beautiful a country Australia is and how priviledged I have been all of my life to reside here and call it home. I learned stamina and pushing my body to reach greater goals. I learned that true acting, is "being in the moment, in the now, acting is reacting". I learned to be a team player and this experience affirmed for me that the story we serve and the music we serve is greater than all of us. As performers, we are vehicles and this lesson humbles me. Our interpretations of characters may be subject to scrutiny but our responsibility is to tell the story the best way we can. Many great performers may have preceded us but it is our duty to give our best: I believe I gave all that I could.

I'm so grateful to have been given the honour of playing a powerhouse of a character in Musical Theatre. Now as Kim lays dormant awaiting the next performers to bring her to life, I wish to thank the people who believed in me enough to give me the chance to play this role: Cameron Macintosh, Louise Withers, Linda Bewick, Annalisa Oxenburgh, John Robertson, Laurence Connor, Lynne Ruthven, Darren Yap, and to all of my Miss Saigon family, I love you dearly... see you all on Facebook and around the way. I look forward to sharing the stage with you all again one day. Until then, 'hold your heads up high'.

Love,

Jennifer

Hi Friends,

I had my first adrenaline call-in from stage management for this season. It was the half hour call and Laurie informed Matt that she wasn't feeling too well. I hopped on my bike and rode to the theatre (I'm only staying 10 minutes away). When I got there, the Burswood Entertainment carpark was Chocka Block! It was because the Burswood Dome was starring Maroon 5 tonight! It was an honour to know that I was performing tonight's show 500 metres away from one of my favourite bands in the same Entertainment Complex.

The show tonight was great and the audience was warm and receptive. Sadly, when I went to leave work and hop on my bike, the front tyre was FLAT! No joke, this is the 4th time it's happened to me here in Perth. I found the source of the problem was 2 really sharp acorn looking things which clearly had punctured my tyre. It wasn't enough to put me in a bad mood though. Sarah Landy let me put my bike in her car and we drove home together (we're roomies). So that was my day. I thought I'd write about it since I hadn't written an entry for a while. You see I'm too busy enjoying the beautiful beaches in Perth: it keeps me away from my computer.

X Sincerely,

Jen

Hi Friends,

I just landed in Perth yesterday and now that I've settled I have time to properly reflect on my entire Adelaide experience. The 39 degree weather upon arrival here brought me back to my first day in SA over New Years. It's hot!

All weather aside, Adelaide was so special for me and I made so many new friends. The Miss Saigon season in Adelaide was a hit and the company couldn't be happier with the response. Thank you Adelaide and all of the South Australians who supported our show!

A particular thank you to the following individuals who made my time in Adelaide all the more memorable: Shane Davidson, Angela Condous, Amy Noonan, Jane Rosetto, Ester Wenzel, Sophia Albino, Pip Lynas and the Lynas family, Todd Oliver, Sam Jaymz, Josh Brittain and Sandy Brittain, Harry Freeman and the Freeman family, Ron Davidson, Monty Ruggiero and Theresa Scarcella and Ali Rodda.

Thank you to all the SA folks who attended my EP launch. Thanks to Henley and Glenelg beaches for being great times in the sun for reflection and live latino music. Thank you to Barossa Valley Wineries for letting me let my hair down on my last day in SA -Pip you're a legend!

Finally who could forget the energy at my final Saturday matinee on February 9th. That was a very sad show for me because I knew my SA tour was ending. There was an equal passion from the performers and the audience and it was powerful to witness. Thank you for the audience who watched Miss Saigon on Feb 9 and for every person who supported Miss Saigon all throughout our Adelaide Season!

I will always cherish my Adelaide experience!

X Jen

Hello friends,

I am overwhelmed by the feedback from last night's EP launch! We had a turn out of over 100 people at the Cavern Club and the show ran smoothly. The EP is now well and truly out there amongst the local Adelaide community and hopefully the lovely folks of SA will spread the music.

Everything from Christian Gillett's opening announcement, to Daniel Aguilar's support act number "Without my baby", through to the end of the set was a success.

The Sound and lighting by Josh Brittain and Monty Ruggiero added to the awesome vibe and the crowd was so beautifully supportive and enthusiastic. I enjoyed every second of last night performing for all of you who attended.

If you missed out on the night, simply click on the "links" tab, to the left of this webpage, and you will see a list of links that will take you to the live footage from the EP Launch.

Thank you once again for supporting Original Australian Music! I hope to see you at future shows!

X Jen

Hi friends,

The track "Go-getter" from the debut EP received it's second airplay on the wireless on Tuesday Night 29th January, this time thanks to Mandi Faerie of The Sound Cage!

"Hey Jennifer - no worries - I played the Go Getter song last night to plug gig as was nice up beat tempo to fit in with more of what I was playing to promote Big Day Out. Hope cd launch all goes well for you!
cheers
Mandi"

Thanks again Mandi for supporting the Original Music!

X Jen

Hello friends,

Yesterday, at 12.30pm, I did an interview and photoshoot with Amy Noonan of The Advertiser and an article about the Launch should be out in Friday's issue of The Advertiser in the Adelaide Confidential pages. Have a read if you can get a copy on Friday 1st February.

Thanks

X Jen

Hello friends,

Shane Davidson and Ali Rodda had been kind enough to plug my EP launch today on 5AA radio. It comes right before an interview with Stephen Schwartz! This was a pre-record so tune in on Saturday night to hear the interview. It is officially the second time "Calibre" will have been played on radio.

X Jen

Hello Friends,

Tonight, at 5.30pm, I am going to share my experiences as a performer with students from a Drama school at the Odeon Theatre in Norwood SA. I had already met 3 students at 11am today during a photoshoot for The Messenger newspaper. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the class tonight.

Thank you Shane Davidson for organising this and allowing me to mentor to your students!

X Jen

Hello friends,

Last night January 29th was the show that marked 1 year since the Australian cast of Miss Saigon first met at ABC studios in Sydney and began rehearsals for what has been a remarkable journey. Our cast is a very close family and it is going to be sad to say goodbye to some more at the end of Perth. Stay tuned for Miss Saigon updates on http://www.miss-saigonaustralia.com.au/
Bye for now! X Jen

Hi Friends,

I will be on the Adelaide wireless during the first hour of a Local Filipino Radio program for Coast FM. Ester Wenzel, the host, has kindly offered to promote the upcoming launch and play my music on air tomorrow from 8pm Adelaide time. So please tune in!

Being a Filipino program, the interview will be partly in Tagalog (the Filipino native language) but the songs played will be in English.

88.7FM MONDAY January 28th 8pm.

Thanks X

Hello friends,

I've officially locked in the local South Australian Musicians that will be playing for my upcoming EP launch on the 4th February. The locals are as follows: Harry Freeman on Drums; Ron Davidson on Bass; and Sam Brittain on Guitar. Come along for a fun night of Live music and drinks and hang out with us!

I hope to see you there.

X Jen