Nearly a decade ago, Jenn Grinels gave up her apartment, put her things in storage, and hit the road.
She spent years touring from city to city, honing her skills as a singer-songwriter and performer, eventually headlining hundreds of concerts across the country and abroad, as well as supporting artists like 10,000 Maniacs, Marc Broussard, Edwin McCain, Christopher Cross, Marc Cohn and many more. Grinels’ live shows are explosive and unapologetically human; you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you will get sucked in. Her innate ability to connect with listeners activates their deepest emotions pertaining to love, resilience, and hope.
After cutting her teeth in Nashville’s music scene, Grinels relocated to Portland, Oregon, where she recently took time off from her otherwise relentless tour schedule to record three records that will be released over the next year and a half.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the video for “Go Mine,” the title track from her upcoming album. The song finds Grinels defiantly brushing off of everyone she’s encountered over the years who attempted to put her into a nice, polished box – the industry folks who told her she needed to be sexier, edgier, less edge, more pop, more commercial, use more treble, stay in one genre, not speak on stage, wear more makeup, etc. Her fierce independent streak and DIY approach has allowed her to find her own distinctive voice and achieve success on her own terms. Rooted in folk and pop, the song eschews glossy sounds and mindlessly hooky choruses that might resonate with the mainstream crowd. It’s clear Grinels would certainly be capable of that kind of music if she chose that direction, but this song shines precisely because she approaches it with a freethinking swagger. Reminiscent of soulful, piano-based alternative pop artists like Fiona Apple, the song balances Grinels’ powerful vocals with screaming saxophone and a tight, slinky rhythm section. The video also brings to mind the zero-fucks-given, thoughtful music of many a 90s rock and pop act. Grinels has an edge to the way she sings, which makes her music feel especially potent. Yet, it’s still easy to picture her bold sound filling large venues with dancing fans…if that is ever allowed again.
Grinels describes the inspiration and process behind the song:
“‘Go Mine’ is my form of confrontation – it’s my ‘you can kiss my ass’ anthem, and my ‘you can stop mansplaining to me now’ song. It’s a song for anyone who does things their own way and doesn’t give a damn what people might think. I loved making the music video with TK because we kept that attitude throughout – I didn’t care about the hair, makeup, wardrobe – it was just me, in my apartment, being a mess and doing what I do (except that maybe I don’t normally spontaneously jump on my bed and start rocking out). We performed this song live in the studio and did a take where we improvised on the bridge and just jammed for a while – we had never played it like that before and it was magic.”
WATCH:
Jenn Grinels will livestream a single release concert on Friday, May 8th. Visit the event page for details.
