Going from lead female vocalist in a critically acclaimed art-punk band to being the last to hear about its break-up would throw a lot of 20-somethings off their game. But Jemina Pearl beats to a different drum, and to an entirely different band now.
Instead of staying under the radar, Pearl packed up two suitcases and a guitar and left Nashville for New York City.
The ex- Be Your Own Pet lead singer paired up with BYOP drummer John Eatherly and began co-writing new songs.
With the help of producer John Agnello, introduced through Pearl’s record label’s head Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth), she released a new album.
Enviable collaborations, such as Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio and punk legend Iggy Pop, make “Break It Up” a fitting rebuttal to the all-too-soon demise of Be Your Own Pet.
I Hate People, Pearl’s duet with Iggy Pop, was a “dream come true,” Pearl said. The end result makes for a unique blend of opposite voices to create pop-punk perfection.
Heartbeats exhibits Pearl’s growth as a writer while still keeping her gutsy attitude intact.
In this album, Pearl showcases her powerful and edgy voice with some catchy pop melodies. Her voice is strong yet reminiscent of 1960s super girl groups such as The Crystals and The Shangri-Las.
Pearl takes the pop sound of these groups and mixes it with catchy hooks drawing inspiration from punk greats like Iggy.
Eatherly demonstrates his multi-instrumental capabilities by playing nearly every instrument featured on the album including bass, guitar, drums and keyboards.
Three days after the release of “Break It Up,” Jemina Pearl will take the stage with new members Maxwell Peebles on rhythm guitar, Ben Pearson on bass, Erik Ratensperger on drums and John Eatherly on lead guitar, at The Summit in Columbus.
This show is to be one of Jemina Pearl’s earliest shows as a full band, but Pearl seems confident and optimistic in recent blog posts.
Pearl brings raucous energy and sass to the stage in a live show and newly-released “Break It Up” features sweet pop melodies with bite to keep the punk attitude Pearl is known for.
The tour kicked off Wednesday Oct. 7, 2009 in Pittsburgh at The Brillobox.
“[The show] was a really fun first show and we really couldn’t have asked for a better tour kick off,” Pearl said.
After this tour to promote the new album, Jemina Pearl will be joining Islands, an indie-rock band from Montreal, on a two-month tour bringing them to Newport Music Hall Oct. 24.
Tonight, Jemina Pearl is in Columbus at The Summit, ready to debut new songs from “Break It Up.” The Summit is located at 2210 Summit St. Tickets are $10 at the door.
