Singer-songwriter Janay Woodruff rocks Portland music scene
Photo / Jim Neuger
Janay Woodruff is a singer-songwriter who is new to Portland. She’s the daughter of entrepreneurs and finds those skills help in facing the challenges of being an independent artist.
Janay Woodruff, 29, is a singer-songwriter who’s new to Portland, where she performs monthly at Blue and recently collaborated with Big Room Studios on a virtual reality-accented live performance of her single “Diamonds” in a show produced by Creative Portland at Merrill Auditorium.
Woodruff, who performs as JanaeSound, sat down with Mainebiz to talk about music and the entrepreneurial challenge of being an independent artist.
Mainebiz: What brought you to Maine?
Janay Woodruff: I moved to Maine in August of 2016. My husband, whom I met and started dating when we were 13, brought me out here, and we got married a week after I stepped off the plane from St. Louis. We were staying with his folks in Woolwich, and then moved to Portland in March of last year.
MB: When did you first get serious about music?
JW: I was really fortunate when I was nine years old to be cast in “La Bohème” through the Opera Theatre at St. Louis. Then in my teenage years, my singing was more of backing up other artists and collaborating with rap artists in St. Louis. I knew that I wanted to do my own thing and was trying to figure out my own sound, and landed on rock with pop and soul influences. My first performance as JanaeSound was in 2017, opening for Flo Rida in St. Louis.
MB: What’s your assessment of the Portland music scene?
JW: We have a lot of talent here, so many good musicians, and people have been so welcoming. It’s so hard to start over in a new place, which is why I wear my name everywhere so people can learn it.
MB: Why the name JanaeSound?
JW: I’m a person, and JanaeSound is a brand. I wanted to disassociate Janay Woodruff from JanaeSound, so that I could be treated as a person and not be hurt when JanaeSound is inevitably treated like a thing.
MB: As an independent artist, you’re also an entrepreneur. What’s the hardest part?
JW: My folks are entrepreneurs, they have a construction company they started when I was an adult and I helped them build. I was raised to work really hard — and if you have that drive, why not work for yourself? There are days where it’s hard, but I like wearing all the hats and it’s fun because you get to make all the decisions.
MB: How much time do you spend on the business versus the artistic side?
JW: I didn’t realize until I got going that music is only 10% of the work. I spend every single day writing a song, and then the rest of it is crazy — dance rehearsal, a photo shoot, band rehearsal, travelling. I wish and hope that one day my job will mostly be just writing and performing.
MB: How many songs have you released so far?
JW: Two singles for purchase — “Diamonds” and “Break Me Down.” I have one EP ready to go, so many more written, and tons and tons of demos because songwriting is my passion.
MB: What was the inspiration for “Diamonds?”
JW: “Diamonds” is one of the most honest songs I’ve written. I actually wrote it in a really dark place when I thought I should quit music.
MB: Did the song change your mind?
JW: The song is about realizing that even if all you have is faith, do it, and so I want anyone that listens to it to know that you should keep going in whatever you’re pursuing and don’t give up on yourself.
MB: Do services like Spotify make it easier for new artists to get out there?
JW: It makes it easier for me to put my music out so that someone could find it, but there are so many artists. I’m not sure if that means that just because I’m on Spotify that someone will listen. That’s where the work comes in.
MB: What’s next for JanaeSound?
JW: 2019 will be all about releasing more visual content, and this won’t be the last time you see me working with Big Room Studios.
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