Name: Jenn Howard
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Nationality: American
Current release: Jenn Howard's Valiant Women is out March 3rd 2023.

If you enjoyed this interview with Jenn Howard and would like to keep up to date with her music, visit her official website, She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.



As a songwriter my impulses to create vary quite a bit. In my family we say that "when the hatch is open" you must grab that bar napkin and pen, type those lyrics, get out of bed or the shower and write it down and record it on your phone even when your hair is covered in shampoo, or you might miss it.

I had one of these experiences when we wrote our new single, "MICROPHONE" from our upcoming record entitled, VALIANT WOMEN.



It was the height of the pandemic during lockdown and my writing partner, Felix Wohlleben and I were trying to write music from New Orleans to San Diego. Felix sent me a guitar riff and I woke up at 1am, listened to it once, wrote the song in maybe 5 minutes and went back to bed.

You see, I don't always begin with a concrete idea. Writing usually springs on me with a feeling. It can be as simple as just a guitar riff like the one Felix sent to me that night. Or it can be inspiration that is born of another melody at a show. I have written songs in the bathroom at a bar after hearing a story from a friend. I've had words that sat forever and then suddenly folded into a new song as if they were written a few minutes beforehand.

“POCKET FOX” was born that way after the words to the song about that spark in all of us that makes us feel unique had been sitting in a notebook from years prior.



Sometimes a melody is triggered by sounds on the street. The way someone's words in passing sound rhythmically or the way their voice shifts.

“I CAN'T CALL”, about loving someone but having to let them go, is a song I wrote after hearing a man shout out at a bar, "I can't call, cause I Don't. Trust. You.'' He said it just like that and that's exactly how I sing the first line.



Sometimes the words are born first, and other times, the words stay hidden until we decide what the mood of a song is. When 'the hatch is open", I'm not so convinced I have all that much control. In fact, it's best to get out of my own way, and let the song grow as it pleases. It can take moments or possibly years.

I will say that I have my methods to help me nudge the hatch open. I always have a pen to underline words I like in books. I like to write in the bathtub because it's quiet and the acoustics are good and as a Scorpio, I like to be in or near the water. I like to play with one line of melody and let it roll around and solidify in my mind. I can sing the same two lines for weeks before I ever bring it to Felix.

I know our second single, 'BETTER THAN YOU THINK' , a song about self empowerment and forgiveness, started this way and it took many twists and turns before it decided on who it wanted to be as a song.



I think I'm better with melody than with words. Lyrics can come naturally or really trip you up. Sometimes you get into a pattern and you have to write with someone else to break you out of that rut or idea or way of thinking or annunciating. I have words that I tend to gravitate towards that I now try to stay away from!

I think having people that you can expose yourself to and be open and honest with in your writing practice makes all the difference. I've been writing with some of my bandmates for close to 20 years. It's only been in the last 5 or so of those years that Felix has started to contribute lyrically. It's been so refreshing.

He helps me keep it more simplified and less wordy and puts words together differently which helps the overall balance of the work. Knowing each other's tendencies and weaknesses also helps us build each other up and play towards our strengths better and enjoy not just the product, but the process.

The words to 'HOLD ON '' were some of the first that Felix wrote and it's absolutely my favorite song on our new record, and most of that is because of what he brought to the song both in lyrics and melody.



I also get stuck in a melody and it sometimes doesn't work with the chord changes or the amount of beats and needs to be modified. I can be stubborn in those moments. But, I will say again that it's best for me to step aside and let the song direct itself.

'LAY DOWN THE LAW' is exactly this type of song. We messed with it and rewrote it all the way up to the day of recording and I love the way it turned out, but it sure gave me a few headaches along the way (as our children will do from time to time.)



I think my ideas about the final product of a song are changing for me. I can 'cover' my own song later, record it differently, and have different versions depending on instrumentation. I'm becoming more open to letting the songs evolve long after they are recorded and birthed into the world. They all have their own personalities and grow like kids that you know more and more with age, and they are all dear to me.

Sometimes they don't seem like they have a home in a body of work and then (poof) "VALIANT WOMEN', a song written 23 years ago becomes the title track off your new album!



Another part of the writing process that I know nothing about is the arranging and mixing and mastering. The arrangements on VALIANT WOMEN, written by our scary talented producer Andre Bohren made the songs a thousand times fuller, brighter, more emotional and made notes bloom that I weren't sure were even in season.

The mixing, which for us was done by the incredible Chris Finney at Studio in The Country, is its own instrument. The way in which it all comes together is nothing short of astonishing and inspiring in itself.

When the product arrives in hand, after so much time invested, it can give you the baby blues.

Was it good enough? Couldn't I have written or sung that note better? Why couldn't that line just sound like the demo? Will I ever write anything else? Will I have the money? Will anyone listen to it? Will I have anything else to say? Will I have time?

The answer to myself is to get back in the bathtub. Sing the songs to my children, invite the hatch open again. Entertain the possibility that the work was never yours, and tapping into the 'source' at all is a privilege.

I tend to write about myself and for myself and it tends to be spiritual for me. I have found over the years that not pressuring myself over time and just flirting with the next rhythm or melody is what keeps me interested. And everytime I write a new song, I'm working on being my best self, telling a story or capturing a feeling worth sharing. I think our new record is very much a group of songs meant for someone trying to stay positive and move towards the next big thing for themselves. I hope it inspires others the way it did me.

And whether you are inspired to design a dress, paint with watercolors or plant an herb garden, I hope you keep the hatch open and stay valiant in your efforts to share your creative self with us all.