MUEN: WELL THERE SURE SEEMS TO BE ALOT OF TALENT IN THE MONTREAL AND TORONTO AREA, MOST OF OUR BANDS THIS ISSUE ARE FROM CANADA, AND NOW WE EVEN HAVE ACOUSTIC FOLK TO TOP IT OFF.. SO WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED HERE?

No.. well.. yes I was raised here, but I was born in Fort Kent, Maine USA. My Dad and 5 other sisters are all American also. My Mum is the only Canadian in the Family.

MUEN: HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST LEARNED TO PLAY GUITAR, AND WHEN DID YOU START SINGING? DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST REAL SONG YOU EVER WROTE?

I started to learn the guitar when I was 16. The singing started when I was little.. we all sang in the family. It was a natural thing to do when you�re a bunch of girls doing the dishes lol. The first song i ever wrote.. Sure do remember.. I think remembering the first song ever would be like remembering your fist kiss :) Definitely intense and it made me happy :) lol. The name of the song is "Black Coffee." It was a song about losing someone in your life (boyfriend) and then waking up one day and realizing that he is really gone.. but that somehow you find the strength to move on.

MUEN: WHEN DID YOU START DOING MUSIC PROFESSIONALLY, OR WHEN DID YOU RECORD YOUR FIRST ALBUM?

1996 was the year I released my first album.. entitled �Chocolate Milk.� I guess that�s when I started to do music professionally.

MUEN: HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED IN A FULL BAND, OR HAVE YOU ALWAYS WENT ABOUT IT AS A SOLO PROJECT?

Ohh..yeah.. I started out acoustic.. promoted my album �Chocolate Milk�.. Then some friends of my manager were looking for a new singer.. He introduced me and that was the beginning of the band. We recorded one album together called �Preview.� My music was way more aggressive back then. I wanted loud and wanted to play loud. I also played covers with that band and LOVED every minute of it :) We stayed together from �97 to �99 then I went solo again.. for about 8 years and then the band got back together for about a year. I had to call it quits because I needed to focus only on my work. The covers were fun, but I�d rather be booked to promote originals. Here you can view the video of my very last show with my band... it was more than sad :( not the show! But the situation.

Jarah�s band

MUEN: WHAT ARTISTS CAN YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD, THAT YOU FEEL MADE AN IMPACT ON YOU? AND WHAT ABOUT NOW.. WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE "KNOWN" ARTISTS PRESENTLY AND WHY?

Ahhh Phil Collins / Genesis.. 9 years old. A beautiful discovery for me. Day in day out that band.. that man was all I breathed and felt. Sure I liked the pop that was happening.. Michael Jackson Madonna and such. But Genesis was deeper and I felt like I was the only one that totally understood their music. I remember hearing the instruments separately instead of hearing the song in whole.. it was like dissecting the song. Two other artists that meant a lot to me (and STILL do) are Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel. They were equally as important as Geneses and Phil Collins. The artists that I like today are still Peter, Kate and Phil, but I have added on Holly McNarland for her honest anger.. her sadness.. and wonder. Damien Rice�s in the face honesty. there are so many different artists that I absolutely love.. I guess it depends on the mood. I am a total Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine and Chris Cornell fan also!

MUEN: TELL US ABOUT THE ALBUM YOU HAVE OUT NOW.. WHERE WAS IT RECORDED, WHO HELPED YOU ON IT, AND ALSO WHERE IS IT AVAILABLE?

My album �Personal� was recorded in 2006 / 07. I decided to record this album after being with a record company for a few years. (The record company closed it�s doors.) I decided that I wouldn�t wait for managers and record companies to decide the outcome of MY career and so I got MAD lol. I recorded this album at a friends studio here in Montreal... Styve Bolduc �Trax Musique�
I did the whole album on my own. �Personal� is available at jarahjane.com and also available across Canada (only by ordering, and not displayed on the shelves) at HMV Chapters and Archambault.

MUEN: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE UPCOMING ALBUM, "UNDERWATER BALLOONS," WHEN WILL IT BE RELEASED, AND HOW WILL IT DIFFER FROM THE PAST ALBUMS?

�Underwater Balloons� will be placed on shelves in stores across Canada for sure.. that�s one goal to start with. There is no definite release date. Sometime this spring.. late spring... I think that every album i record.. or any other artist�s record is different from the others because of experiences we go through between albums. We grow as people and artists and understand things juuuust a little bit better as time goes by.. everyone goes through this process.. I think that maybe the outside world won�t really see anything different in my work, but I will know that those songs on that album mean a whole lot of hard spiritual work.. I can see that i am a different person from one album to the other. ok.. so that was the long answer.. here is the short one... There will be more instruments added to this album.. Cello and light drums.. percussions and such :)
This album I am NOT doing alone. My daughter will be playing a few Piano tracks and my husband (Stef) will be doing the Drums/percussions..

WHO ACCOMPANIES YOU ON SOME OF YOUR SONGS, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, THE STRINGS ON "THE WAITING ROOM," AND WHO DID THE KEYS ON "BARS OF THIS CHAIR?" THAT IS A VERY MOVING SONG ! WHEN DID YOU WRITE THAT, AND HOW DID IT COME TO YOU?

The strings on "Waiting Room" are done by Claude Lamothe.. a well known artist here in Quebec. I have wanted Claude to collaborate on an album of mine for over 10 years! The Piano was recorded by my Producer Jacques Roy another VERY well known and respected musician/ producer here in Quebec. I wrote "Bars Of This Chair" in 1999. Only half of that song was written when I went to the Lilith Fair Acoustic Talent Search in Detroit. When I got to Detroit, about 15 minutes before getting up on stage.. I decided to do that song.. it wasn�t finished.. but I finished writing it right then and there. I got up on stage and that was the winning song that got me to open the Lilith Fair. That summer... Wow.. how did the song come to me?.. good question.. It�s just something that happened I guess. I had a daughter of my own and I guess I was sensitive to that.

MUEN: WHAT ALL DO YOU HAVE OUT ON VIDEO, AND HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT MAKING THEM... AND ARE YOU PLANNING ANY MORE, ANYTIME SOON?

The only videos I have are my You Tube videos and yes.. I do plan to have some more videos in the near future :)

MUEN: WHERE DO YOU USUALLY PERFORM LIVE, AND DO YOU TOUR OUT OF YOUR AREA MUCH AT ALL?

I usually perform in the local area of Montreal.. The Aquarium Cafe on Masson street in Montreal has been a place that I have been playing regularly... I haven�t played out of Quebec much, but that�s starting to change now. I�m pushing it further.

MUEN: WE ARE USUALLY PRETTY OPEN MINDED WITH DIFFERENT GENRES, BUT WE RARELY DO FOLK, YET WE�VE SEEN YOU AROUND ON COMMENTS AT OUR MYSPACE, AND BEING YOUR SONGS WERE SO GOOD, ADDED WITH THE FACT THAT YOU�VE STAYED VISIBLE, WE WANTED TO DO THIS INTERVIEW... HOW DO YOU DEFINE THE FOLK GENRE? AND ALSO (JUST CURIOUS) WHEN YOU THINK OF MUEN, WHAT GENRE COMES TO MIND FIRST?

Defining Folk.. acoustic.. story telling.. one on one. artist to listener.. very personal. That�s how I see it I guess. And about MUEN?.. I think ROCK! But I also think. Hard working.. and serious..

MUEN: YOU SEEM TO HAVE A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM YOUR FANS.. WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO SAY TO THEM?

Thank you!!!! That�s what I have to say to my fans :) Keep the music shining :) Thank you so much for this interview. To tell you the truth.. I know you support the �rock� genre and for you to come to me and want to do an interview with me is an honor :) I guess you saw the rocker in me :)

Interview by G. Cataline