Jennifer Grassman

Spring, TX – October 10, 2008 – Jennifer Grassman, recording artist, was recently commended by multi-platinum recording artist Tori Amos for her work organizing the city’s first benefit concert for The Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

“I commend Jennifer on the great work she is doing to help victims of sexual assault,” says Tori Amos, recording artist and founder of RAINN, speaking of Grassman’s passion to assist those affected by this violent crime, especially young adults.

The fundraising concert, called RAINN Over Houston, will take place in Houston in June of 2009, almost exactly 15 years after Amos co-founded RAINN in June of 1994.

Grassman, a resident of Spring and child abuse survivor, is hosting RAINN Over Houston in order to raise donations to help abuse victims and to educate the public on how to reduce their risk of assault. “Tori Amos has long been an inspiration for me,” stated Grassman, “not only because of her musical talent, but because of her passion, individuality, and spiritual strength. I was aware of her music before I became aware of her personal life and work. Her relation to RAINN resolved my respect and admiration.”

Every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted and 60% of those cases go unreported to the police, according to RAINN, the country’s largest anti-sexual assault organization. The Houston Area Women’s Center stated that there were 20,070 instances of domestic violence, six of which resulted in death, in Houston in the year 2006. There were also 854 reported rapes in 2006, according to The Houston Police Department in January of 2007.

The financial goal of RAINN Over Houston is to raise at least $100,000 with 100% of net proceeds to be donated to RAINN. Grassman is also dedicating her third album to the organization and contributing a portion of the sale proceeds to their cause.

Tickets will go on sale early next year. Several sponsorship packages are available for local benefactors to consider. For more information on the concert or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jennifer Grassman Music at 936-520-8614. - RAINN

Jennifer Grassman’s CD At the Back of the North Wind is a song cycle based on such diverse literary sources as the Victorian age novelist George MacDonald, Shakespeare, Harper Lee and even The Bible. Grassman reaches in to the works of these writers and extracts inspiration for songs of death, suffering, doubt, desire and love. The main idea of the CD keeps harkening back to the fantasy novel by MacDonald of the same title. In the novel a young boy is taken on a journey by a beautiful woman named North Wind who then teaches the boy about life and death and love and forgiveness. Grassman is our North Wind, and we are going with her on this musical journey.

The music is rich and lush with wide orchestrations that wrap around the listener like an inviting arm. The songs are lead by Grassman’s beautifully played piano and filled out by drums bass and guitar used in well-measured proportions. Many of the songs have a Middle Eastern tonality to them, but that is not to say they are of that region. In fact, it would be hard to point to a source of Grassman’s influence. While listening to the album I felt at times I was hearing a cast recording of a Broadway show by Andrew Lloyd Webber and at other times a movie score by Phillip Glass, and then the more I listened the more I felt I was hearing a new Tori Amos CD. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was a familiarity to over all sound of this album. Needless to say, the rhythms and melodies are well crafted and intricate and keep the listener involved in the story at hand. This is definitely a collection of songs to be enjoyed with a warm fire and a glass of Pinot Noir. - Indie-Music.com

"Jennifer Grassman has accomplished quite a bit which has allowed her artistic abilities to shine. Her musical journey is no secret, and is unveiled in a beautiful array of songs, created by real life stories and places which she has been. She is professionally trained in music and has no limitations. Jennifer will be releasing her [second] album titled "Keep Silent" which will be focused on the carols and hymns of Christmas. The album will be released in November of 2007. She will be busy promoting the upcoming release which is much anticipated by Jennifer's fans.

I encourage those who seek an uplifting outlook on life to listen to Jennifer's music. Her soothing vocal performance along with her skilled piano playing leaves a wonderful impression."

- Independent and Major Label Artist Music Promotion

Jennifer Grassman calls her original compositions "spiritual" and "feminine." It's a moody mix she likens to the work of Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos and Loreena McKennitt.
The Houston performer's 2006 disc, At the Back of the North Wind, showcased pounding melodies and piano arrangements (and a voice that echoes the ethereal swirl of Sarah Brightman).

Grassman, a University of Houston vocal major, brings that same sense of purpose to Keep Silent, a new, double-disc collection of ancient Christmas carols and hymns. She's been touring churches throughout Texas and chatted recently about her holiday mission:

When did the seasonal spirit first strike?

My first big gig was playing at the Warwick Hotel during the holiday season. I did little renditions of my favorite carols that I'd grown up with in a very conservative church. They were sentimental to me. I was able to kind of make them my own. It's been inspiration, I'd say, for about three years.

Was it Christmas year-round at home during recording?

I've basically been listening to Christmas music for the last year-and-a-half. My tree was up until August — until my husband finally made me take it down. The cats really loved it.

How did you set the Christmas mood?

I would turn all the lights off. I had a little cinnamon-apple scented candle that I would light. And to me, that smelled like Christmas because my mom would always bake apple pie. That would help me get in the mood.

What was special about the title track, Keep Silent?

That's from the fifth century. It was originally translated from Latin, from the liturgy of St. James. It's different from any other Christmas carol I've ever heard. This was just very devout, very somber. It's almost like a Gregorian chant. I just found it really fascinating.

Was it tough incorporating your two originals into the mix?

They are pseudo-ancient carols. I didn't want them to be a huge contrast to the old carols. I wanted to keep a consistent mood throughout the CD. I've always been influenced by classical music, so it wasn't too hard of a thing to do.

What's your favorite Christmas song?

Handel's Messiah, even when I was really little. It's just a tradition for me on Christmas. I wanted to keep that going ... that very traditional, very pure (sound).

Doesn't a Christmas CD present unique marketing challenges?

Obviously, I won't be able to sell many in July. But the good thing about it is every Christmas, every holiday season, I'm going to have a CD to sell. People just buy it hardly without even hearing it. In that sense, it's a really easy sell.

In keeping with the theme, what's been the most memorable Christmas gift you've received?

I was dating my husband, ... and we were exchanging gifts. Jason got me a bottle of perfume that — get this — I asked him for three months earlier. He remembered the name of it. I was shocked. It was Clinique Happy. - The Houston Chronicle

Brian Ray, the award winning songwriter for Smokey Robinson, guitarist and musical director for Etta James, and guitarist and bass player touring and recording with Beatles legend Paul McCartney since 2002, recently got a sneak peak at several tracks from Jennifer Grassman's upcoming album, Serpent Tales & Nightingales.

"It all sounds great!" Brain Ray said, "Jennifer Grassman has a voice all her own in a world of conformity." - Runaas Resources