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When Jenn Ghetto’s band Carissa’s Wierd disbanded, she was relieved. All the touring and playing shows in different towns took its toll on her. Ghetto retreated to her bedroom, staying up late at night, singing lullabies into her 4-track. Under the moniker S, she had already released a solo CD, “Sad Style,” a stark, stripped down affair that remains a true indie classic. But rather than tapping the same veins again, Ghetto pushed her musical boundaries and summoned up her latest CD, “Puking and Crying,” a devastating collection of music that marries electronic beats and plaintive guitar playing with Ghetto’s signature ghostly singing. Hearing “Puking and Crying” is like listening to the quiet rumination of a tremendously gifted singer/songwriter pouring her whiskey-soaked heart out. You can’t help but feel like a voyeur in Ghetto’s head. “I did it the same way (as the last CD “Sad Style”), in my bedroom, but I would give it to Josh and he’d mix it and put music to it and send it back to me, saying, “Okay, play music over it.”
Despite being the mastermind behind S, Ghetto views the venture as a collaborative affair. Ghetto roped in the help of Josh Wackerly and Creighton Barrett to infuse her music with beats, blips and live drums. “Wackerly wrote some of the songs and I would go, ‘Woooahh, that’s not the way I wanted [the song] to go’,” Ghetto says of the musical partnership. Compared to “Sad Style,” the latest collection of songs has more muscle and blood. Ghetto’s beautiful guitar playing and heart-worn lyrics are still evident, but the added beats and noise give songs such as “Falling” and “You Decide” much more impact. Being in complete control has taught Ghetto to remain true to her vision. “When I was in Carissa’s Wierd, I didn’t have to deal with a lot of the decision making-process,” she says. “I really liked being in the band. I miss writing with the band but it had so many other things going on like running a business.”
With S, Ghetto deals in the moment. Songs end abruptly while others take their own time to develop. “I do that live too,” she says. “If I screw up, I tend to stop playing and go, ‘Okay, that’s the end’ and I do that in recording.” Lyrically, Ghetto draws inspiration from the moments in her life that cause her to wince. “It’s not like total heartbreak situations [that I write about] but the frustrating ones,” she remarks. “It’s like when you’re making out with someone and you turn around and [your true crush] is watching you and you go, ‘Ohhh...’ but at least I have something to write about.” Despite her songs about alienation and heartache, Ghetto wants to one day match the pop prowess of another solo artist. “I would love to have written "Toxic" by Britney Spears. It’s so good. Maybe she and I can go on tour together.”
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