BUCK C. COOKE | 3.26.2008
a hometown sweetheart doing
her thing, and Ms. Erika Jayne is
doing it big.
Her second single, “Stars,” is
sparkling at the No. 1 spot on
the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay
Chart, and the single “Roller
Coaster” shot to the top of the
same Billboard chart last year. Her debut
album is coming up this spring.
Much more importantly to Atlanta, Jayne
is also a featured performer on the 2008
Global Groove Tour, which makes a March 29
stop with handsome DJ Escape at WETbar.
Escape and Atlanta's own DJ David
Knapp teamed up to mix “Global Groove:
Live 3,” which features “Stars” as well as
dance tracks from Kristine W., Inaya Day,
Suzanne Palmer, Offer Nissim, Celeda, and
Barbara Tucker.
Jayne took a break from putting the
finishing touches on her album to talk with
David about growing up in Atlanta, Madonna,
and making her dreams come true.
Erika Jayne: It was an amazing place to grow
up, and there was so much talent and so much
music there. A lot of people think about other
places, like New York, but Atlanta has turned
out some of the best in music.
I need a Frosted Orange from the Varsity and
a Chick-fil-A sandwich! [Laughs.] I love driving
through my old neighborhoods and downtown.
My mom actually drives me around when I come
to visit because things have changed so much
that I don’t know where in the hell I am going
now. This will be my first performance in Atlanta
in a long time.
It’s called “Pretty Mess,” and I am excited
about it. I think we have some good stuff here. I
am excited to let people listen. It was an
amazing experience making the album, and I
just finished the video for “Stars.” It has been
an exciting journey to release the album.
Spirited — it is saying things that you’ve
thought about and maybe wouldn’t say, doing
things that you’ve thought about and you
wouldn’t do. It’s playful, fun and devilish. And
glamorous, sexy, erotic and feminine. [Laughs]
You learn a lot about yourself when you have
time to sit and reflect and when you work with
others. I realized I am a little impatient, like
most artists are, and a little bit of a control
freak. [Laughs.]
I am just so thankful to express myself and
have other people listen to it and identify with it,
and maybe they will enjoy themselves.
Being compared to Madonna — I mean,
what do you say to that? I mean, she’s a
legend. She has inspired me and to be
mentioned even in the same sentence as her
is flattering. I have nothing but respect for her.
In fact, the first concert I ever went to
was the Virgin Tour at the Omni, and at the
end, she dropped white balloons that said
“dreams come true.” It is safe to say she’s
had a big impact on my creative life.
Yeah, I think “Wow!” You know, it really is like a dream come true. I mean, my first single went to No. 1, and then my second single went to No. 1! And that is just confirmation to keep on going.
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