hmv.com talks to Joan as Police Woman

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So first of all, thank you for joining us… I have to ask what is the first song or moment that made you fall in love with music? Why?

I mean, My parents were not like Beatles parents and a lot of people I know grew up on the Beatles. Me? I grew up on Judy Garland, that’s what my parents played. Also the Grease soundtrack… as the movie came out when I was seven. I also started dancing when I was really young. So music has always been really important to me. 
It's hard to pick one thing I guess. I started taking violin classes when I was eight. In school, they offered it to everyone and it’s a great instrument to start with. When you're young nothing feels hard because you have nothing to compare it to. So I continued learning the violin then when I was fourteen I got picked to be in the all-state orchestra.

There was a conductor there, his name was Benjamin Zander, and he had us do the First movement of Gustav Mahler’s Second Symphony (the resurrection symphony) which was so brilliant in retrospect because the music is very emotional and very dark… it’s almost like the Led Zeppelin of orchestral music! It’s gritty and it’s great. I had a real transcendent moment. Mainly because the conductor told us we had the power to make this music. It felt special, it was our music too, and when you’re in a big ensemble with a hundred other people everyone has to be working together. And, I felt the feeling of what I think many people describe as God. I had a religious experience.  And I remember thinking  ‘This is it, obviously, I need to be making music for my life’.

You then went on to study the violin in Boston…  From such a classically trained background was it difficult to break away from the rigid classical structures? How does this inform your music?

Luckily, I wasn't the best violinist. I mean, I did great, I got into college for it and everything, but I started when I was eight, which sounds young, but most of the people I was in school with started when they were three! My parents never made me do it, they just supported me because I wanted to and I'm very thankful for that because then I lived a life instead of just being forced to do this thing. 

So I really enjoyed it and when I got to school, I didn’t really care about playing the standard repertoire. I was like ‘I’m never gonna do better than the best performances of that’ so instead I was more curious about playing the new music that the composers were writing at the school. I was taking in every experience and learning things from the people around me. Normally you play the violin and read the music - but I started playing without the music in front of me. It was really scary, but I tend to enjoy scary.

You've collaborated with some amazing artists over the years. What have you learned through these collaborations? Has it influenced your songwriting?

I really enjoy experiencing how people make music themselves because we all sort of approach it from a slightly different place. I was part of the ensemble and not the front person for a large part of my life and I wasn't looking to be the front person and I think that's how I approached my own playing with my own bands. We are all equals on stage, I need everybody there, and I don’t feel more important than any other members of the band. I think it’s a very comfortable feeling for me to play with people. I love observing how people approach music and whenever I'm sitting down to write a song it feels like the first song, all over again. I don’t plan them, they just happen. There are so many ways to write songs, that’s what I’ve learned.

And of course, your new album Lemons, Limes and Orchids has just been released, congratulations on that! Lemons, Limes, and Orchids is a bold and expressive album, filled with emotion and depth. As your twelfth studio release, how do you feel it has evolved from your previous work?

Twelfth? It seems insane. I mean I'm always trying to get closer to tapping into the pure emotion. That’s always the goal for me. I just try to get closer and not filter it at all. That feels really scary sometimes and that’s great. I know if I feel scared I'm getting closer. 

And does this inform your writing process? Do you really have to sit down and dedicate time to open up or does it come more naturally to you?

Sometimes it’s easy, but I definitely don’t push it. If I’m not in the mood then I’m not doing it because that will always make me feel bad. I’ll just get in my head too much and think I won’t be able to do it again, and there’s no reason to think like that. But do normally get a feeling. I might not even quite know what it is yet but it's like a powerful feeling. When that happens, I do know that I have to go to the piano or the guitar or whatever and start messing around. Seeing what I can get from that because those are the moments that are important. They don't stick around and they don’t necessarily conform to my plans, they happen without my permission but I really have to honour and respect the fact they showed up at all.

Absolutely. I know you've mentioned in other interviews that it's like a healing process for you, sometimes to write, and sort through things.

I mean. Yeah, for sure. I often don't know exactly how I'm feeling and so when I start writing and start singing it becomes clearer to me. What I am feeling and… how I feel and how I even feel about the feeling.

Do you think that this emotional connection and sense of catharsis helps you connect with your audience during performances?

For sure, if I was singing somebody else's song I would really have to feel emotionally connected in order to really get it across live. Often when I start performing new songs they're hard to get through. Because it's so emotionally charged that it can be difficult. I can't be too emotional when I'm performing it or else I just won't make it through the song. 

Are there any pre-show rituals you have before you go out to prepare?

Not really, I'm not really a superstitious person. I'm probably supposed to say I warm up and stretch and all but I really don’t, I mean I warm up in soundcheck. But I take care of myself in general. So it's not like I have to take extra care of myself before the show. It's sort of just like a life process. 

This album has been widely praised and has amazing reviews. Is there any feedback specifically that has resonated or stuck with you?

I have been really moved by people's reactions to the title track. It's six and a half minutes long, and I wondered if people would even listen to a song that has such a long story… and so many people have mentioned how special it is for them. The song is completely different from those on my past albums. 

I love the whole tradition of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen's sort of epic song where there are a million verses and a very simple chorus. And I've never tried to do that before. I guess I felt like ‘I'll leave that to the masters’ ' and then on this album, when I had written some stuff, I was like, I could try to pull that off. So I made that song and I actually finished it pretty quickly. And I was like, Do I like this? Does this feel like me? And then, I sort of sat with it a little bit and it started to feel more comfortable. That was really nice. And then there's just been such great feedback about it.

After creating Lemons, Limes, and Orchids, where do you see your music heading next? Are there new themes or sounds you’re excited to explore in future projects?

I wish I had a concrete answer for you, but I try to actually, not decide what I'm going to do. Because I like to keep it open. I don't know who I'm gonna meet tonight and really connect with and be like ‘Hey, let's try making music together’ because that's how I've learned life works. It’s better to keep it open because you don’t know what is going to happen. Just stay present and aware and things will just find their way. 

I really love dance, pop and disco types of music so I mean I've been thinking about that. I've recently been doing this, really amazing brutally broken down stuff, which feels so nourishing. But then I also really love music that makes you want to dance. So we'll see… maybe I'll do that. I don't know. What do you want to hear from me?

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