When we first heard through the Inverness Courier that Jennifer Batten would be coming to Strathpeffer, we couldn't believe our eyes! Even more surprised when we arrived at the venue itself on the night: Strathpeffer Spa Pavillion in the Scottish Highlands!
Not being completely familiar with her music, we didn't know what to expect. There is lots going on musically which shows her skill as both a guitarist and a musician in her own right. A guitar geek would be better at reviewing the show as it's really a one for guitar fans/players. That said, a Michael Jackson fan can enjoy it - just don't go expecting to see the Jennifer Batten of the BAD, Dangerous or HIStory tours! There are no massive wigs, fibre optic lights in her hair or anything resembling the get-up Michael had her wearing.
What you see and hear is the REAL Jennifer Batten!
My favourite songs from the show were 'Ass Whooping', 'River Nile' and 'Flight of the Bumblebee'. The hip-hop tinged 'Ass Whooping' from her latest album, 'Whatever', features another Michael Jackson BAD tour guitarist - Jon Clark. 'Inner Journey', like much of Jennifer's material, is experimental featuring bodily sounds such as farting! 'Cupid's Arrow' is a love song and easy to get into - I enjoyed this one a lot. The videos accompanying each song are sometimes abstract, comedic, interesting, but feel unique to Jennifer Batten's show with clips ranging from aliens in UFOs, people dancing in the '40s, Betty Boop, racing cars and so much more. These help to make sense of the music by adding a visual background to the sounds from her guitar.
A taster of Jennifer Batten's one-womanshow!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB1nkqEDMAA&feature=player_embedded
With Michael, you played in some of the biggest concerts in the world to thousands of people. It’s a world away from the show here at Strathpeffer! Which do you prefer playing - big or small concerts?
Well, it’s much more satisfying for people coming to see MY music, you know? I’d rather have a crowd of 50 to a hundred people coming to see what I do rather than being part of, you know…I’ve had a lot of years of playing with other people. I dig what I’m doing right now! But it was surreal playing alongside Michael in front of all those people. It was cool, I loved it.
Is it normal for you to play a show at a small venue like this one?
I play at all kinds of venues - little clubs, theatres and any place they can gather people!
I know that Jeff Beck is a guitar hero of yours. Who else influenced you?
Um...[thinks for a moment] Van Halen, George Lynch, Preston Reed, who lives in Scotland and is an acoustic player. There are so many great players out there and I’ve listened to a lot of them. I’ve been listening to a lot of different stuff - electronica, world beat music, Afro Celt Sound System.
You’ve made 3 solo albums of your own. Did MJ hear any of your music?
I think I gave him both records, cos the second one was released just before the History tour. So his reaction was, I have to sing! He said, "If you wanna be famous you’ve gotta sing!"
Have you seen Michael Jackson’s This Is It?
Yeah, I’ve seen it twice. I loved it! I hadn’t played with him for 12 years. It just brought back the memory of his talent, in every way.
What you saw in the This Is It rehearsals, is that how you remember Michael?
Yeah! It was wonderful the way he moved his body. His voice was in wonderful shape and a lot of people felt really sad watching that. But I just soaked it in, with good memories.
When I first heard the band members had been selected for This Is It, I was surprised to see your name wasn't there. Were you asked to be a part of it?
No, he wanted to get new faces in, young players and dancers. And a new face on guitar, which is fine.
Do you know Orianthi?
Yeah, yeah, we’re e-mail buddies. She’s got a skyrocketing career just now, she’s doing great and she plays all over the world. It was a good move on his part [getting Orianthi on guitar].
Which was your favourite Michael Jackson tour?
Bad, definitely. It was energetic and new for everybody. I still stay in touch with some of the band members, they’re great people. Ricky Lawson the drummer, and Greg Phillinganes I see every couple of years. Michael’s hairdresser, I stay in touch with her all the time. The Bad tour had the best energy, things shifted a little with the Dangerous tour when he started cancelling dates. My focus was a little different, I was taking the opportunity to promote my record in every city on Dangerous and History. So I was really busy.
Was MJ specifically looking for a lead female musician for his tours?
I don’t know, I never heard. I didn’t see who else auditioned. I had no idea how many men and women came to audition for him.
Which MJ song was your favourite to play on tour?
Human Nature. Yeah, and that was my favourite on the This Is It movie too. It was beautiful, the way he sang it. I remember the lighting of it, live, was just spectacular.
You’re writing a book about touring with Michael Jackson. How is that coming along?
I’ve got 3 or 4 chapters done. My sister is a book editor! But I’ve been so busy, I haven’t touched it in months. I’m taking my time with that, when I go home I’m gonna go back and look at all the films. I’ve got 20 hours of film from the tour, so I need to stir up the memories again. But it’s in the works. I got turned down by all the major publishers because there’s gonna be no gossip in the book!
Were you ever asked to work on any of Michael’s studio albums?
He had guys like Slash and Steve Stevens, high profile. Those guys were the top of the game. I’ve got no complaints, I did get to play onstage with him for 10 years!
Somebody we know wanted us to ask you if you have ever met Prince.
Yeah, I didn’t actually officially meet him. He came backstage at one of the Jackson shows on the Bad tour, he had Shelia E and Cat with him. I had some friends who were sitting behind him at the show, they said he went nuts when I did my solo on Beat It! [chuckles] But I never met him personally.
Over the last few years, we’ve all heard about the sad passing of musical legends like James Brown, Les Paul and Michael Jackson. Do you feel the music industry’s golden years has gone and today’s artists need to reinvent themselves?
Yes, well, music always comes in cycles. It seems like things are really boring for a little while then something will pop through and inspire creativity again. There’s never gonna be a talent like Michael Jackson ever again. He got all the talent in that family. [chuckles] It just went so far beyond the singing and song writing. It was everything that was creative about him. It’s just not going to happen again.
What do you think of the new generation of big stars today, like Lady Gaga and Beyonce?
I’ve seen Lady Gaga on awards shows a few times and it just didn’t do anything for me. I haven’t heard her whole album or anything so I don’t know what’s in that! But Beyonce, that’s a talent. Honestly, I don’t listen to pop music that much. I’ve seen the last two awards shows in America, the Grammies and whatever. I thought most of it was just sh*t! [laughs] I saw Pink do a ballad and I thought that was really classy, creative, different. Jeff Beck did a Les Paul tribute too. If I’d just watched those two things and not the whole show, I could’ve just saved two hours of my life. [laughs again]
Absolutely - I can’t imagine it. When was the last time you spoke to Michael Jackson?
The last date of the HIStory Tour. About 12 years ago!
So you pretty much had a strictly professional relationship with Michael Jackson?
Yeah. We worked with each other for 10 years and it was during the tours. During rehearsals we could have access to him, but once we were on the road…we would have a group prayer before every show and he was gone before we even left the venue. There were 100 people in the entourage and we took up 3 hotels. A couple of times we’d stay in his hotel, but not often. But being on the road with him was fun.
*we give her a picture from the History tour to sign, and she chuckles at the large wig covering her face in the picture*
I had a couple of those wigs. I thought it was such a dreadful look. I don’t think about that too much! The original picture it came from was pretty cool, but once it all came to life…it wasn’t so cool any more! But Michael always wanted to shock people.
What’s the next step for you after this tour, when it‘s over will you sit back and chill or make a new album?
I’m gonna chill for one week, and then I’m gonna start prepping for when I go to Japan in April. I’ve got a lot of touring coming up. But the most fun for me when I’m home is to make new films. Plus I’m writing a lot of acoustic stuff.
Not being completely familiar with her music, we didn't know what to expect. There is lots going on musically which shows her skill as both a guitarist and a musician in her own right. A guitar geek would be better at reviewing the show as it's really a one for guitar fans/players. That said, a Michael Jackson fan can enjoy it - just don't go expecting to see the Jennifer Batten of the BAD, Dangerous or HIStory tours! There are no massive wigs, fibre optic lights in her hair or anything resembling the get-up Michael had her wearing.
What you see and hear is the REAL Jennifer Batten!
My favourite songs from the show were 'Ass Whooping', 'River Nile' and 'Flight of the Bumblebee'. The hip-hop tinged 'Ass Whooping' from her latest album, 'Whatever', features another Michael Jackson BAD tour guitarist - Jon Clark. 'Inner Journey', like much of Jennifer's material, is experimental featuring bodily sounds such as farting! 'Cupid's Arrow' is a love song and easy to get into - I enjoyed this one a lot. The videos accompanying each song are sometimes abstract, comedic, interesting, but feel unique to Jennifer Batten's show with clips ranging from aliens in UFOs, people dancing in the '40s, Betty Boop, racing cars and so much more. These help to make sense of the music by adding a visual background to the sounds from her guitar.
A taster of Jennifer Batten's one-womanshow!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB1nkqEDMAA&feature=player_embedded
With Michael, you played in some of the biggest concerts in the world to thousands of people. It’s a world away from the show here at Strathpeffer! Which do you prefer playing - big or small concerts?
Well, it’s much more satisfying for people coming to see MY music, you know? I’d rather have a crowd of 50 to a hundred people coming to see what I do rather than being part of, you know…I’ve had a lot of years of playing with other people. I dig what I’m doing right now! But it was surreal playing alongside Michael in front of all those people. It was cool, I loved it.
Is it normal for you to play a show at a small venue like this one?
I play at all kinds of venues - little clubs, theatres and any place they can gather people!
I know that Jeff Beck is a guitar hero of yours. Who else influenced you?
Um...[thinks for a moment] Van Halen, George Lynch, Preston Reed, who lives in Scotland and is an acoustic player. There are so many great players out there and I’ve listened to a lot of them. I’ve been listening to a lot of different stuff - electronica, world beat music, Afro Celt Sound System.
You’ve made 3 solo albums of your own. Did MJ hear any of your music?
I think I gave him both records, cos the second one was released just before the History tour. So his reaction was, I have to sing! He said, "If you wanna be famous you’ve gotta sing!"
Have you seen Michael Jackson’s This Is It?
Yeah, I’ve seen it twice. I loved it! I hadn’t played with him for 12 years. It just brought back the memory of his talent, in every way.
What you saw in the This Is It rehearsals, is that how you remember Michael?
Yeah! It was wonderful the way he moved his body. His voice was in wonderful shape and a lot of people felt really sad watching that. But I just soaked it in, with good memories.
When I first heard the band members had been selected for This Is It, I was surprised to see your name wasn't there. Were you asked to be a part of it?
No, he wanted to get new faces in, young players and dancers. And a new face on guitar, which is fine.
Do you know Orianthi?
Yeah, yeah, we’re e-mail buddies. She’s got a skyrocketing career just now, she’s doing great and she plays all over the world. It was a good move on his part [getting Orianthi on guitar].
Which was your favourite Michael Jackson tour?
Bad, definitely. It was energetic and new for everybody. I still stay in touch with some of the band members, they’re great people. Ricky Lawson the drummer, and Greg Phillinganes I see every couple of years. Michael’s hairdresser, I stay in touch with her all the time. The Bad tour had the best energy, things shifted a little with the Dangerous tour when he started cancelling dates. My focus was a little different, I was taking the opportunity to promote my record in every city on Dangerous and History. So I was really busy.
Was MJ specifically looking for a lead female musician for his tours?
I don’t know, I never heard. I didn’t see who else auditioned. I had no idea how many men and women came to audition for him.
Which MJ song was your favourite to play on tour?
Human Nature. Yeah, and that was my favourite on the This Is It movie too. It was beautiful, the way he sang it. I remember the lighting of it, live, was just spectacular.
You’re writing a book about touring with Michael Jackson. How is that coming along?
I’ve got 3 or 4 chapters done. My sister is a book editor! But I’ve been so busy, I haven’t touched it in months. I’m taking my time with that, when I go home I’m gonna go back and look at all the films. I’ve got 20 hours of film from the tour, so I need to stir up the memories again. But it’s in the works. I got turned down by all the major publishers because there’s gonna be no gossip in the book!
Were you ever asked to work on any of Michael’s studio albums?
He had guys like Slash and Steve Stevens, high profile. Those guys were the top of the game. I’ve got no complaints, I did get to play onstage with him for 10 years!
Somebody we know wanted us to ask you if you have ever met Prince.
Yeah, I didn’t actually officially meet him. He came backstage at one of the Jackson shows on the Bad tour, he had Shelia E and Cat with him. I had some friends who were sitting behind him at the show, they said he went nuts when I did my solo on Beat It! [chuckles] But I never met him personally.
Over the last few years, we’ve all heard about the sad passing of musical legends like James Brown, Les Paul and Michael Jackson. Do you feel the music industry’s golden years has gone and today’s artists need to reinvent themselves?
Yes, well, music always comes in cycles. It seems like things are really boring for a little while then something will pop through and inspire creativity again. There’s never gonna be a talent like Michael Jackson ever again. He got all the talent in that family. [chuckles] It just went so far beyond the singing and song writing. It was everything that was creative about him. It’s just not going to happen again.
What do you think of the new generation of big stars today, like Lady Gaga and Beyonce?
I’ve seen Lady Gaga on awards shows a few times and it just didn’t do anything for me. I haven’t heard her whole album or anything so I don’t know what’s in that! But Beyonce, that’s a talent. Honestly, I don’t listen to pop music that much. I’ve seen the last two awards shows in America, the Grammies and whatever. I thought most of it was just sh*t! [laughs] I saw Pink do a ballad and I thought that was really classy, creative, different. Jeff Beck did a Les Paul tribute too. If I’d just watched those two things and not the whole show, I could’ve just saved two hours of my life. [laughs again]
Absolutely - I can’t imagine it. When was the last time you spoke to Michael Jackson?
The last date of the HIStory Tour. About 12 years ago!
So you pretty much had a strictly professional relationship with Michael Jackson?
Yeah. We worked with each other for 10 years and it was during the tours. During rehearsals we could have access to him, but once we were on the road…we would have a group prayer before every show and he was gone before we even left the venue. There were 100 people in the entourage and we took up 3 hotels. A couple of times we’d stay in his hotel, but not often. But being on the road with him was fun.
*we give her a picture from the History tour to sign, and she chuckles at the large wig covering her face in the picture*
I had a couple of those wigs. I thought it was such a dreadful look. I don’t think about that too much! The original picture it came from was pretty cool, but once it all came to life…it wasn’t so cool any more! But Michael always wanted to shock people.
What’s the next step for you after this tour, when it‘s over will you sit back and chill or make a new album?
I’m gonna chill for one week, and then I’m gonna start prepping for when I go to Japan in April. I’ve got a lot of touring coming up. But the most fun for me when I’m home is to make new films. Plus I’m writing a lot of acoustic stuff.
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