Despite a Full Belly, Louisville Musician Sean Jennings is Still Hungry

Coffee and camera in hand, I took a seat on one of the comfy couches at Louisville’s Derby City Espresso one evening last month. I’d come to hear a college friend of mine play, but as it turned out, she wasn’t the only musician playing that night. I had no idea who the other musicians were or what kind of music they played, but I was immediately and completely sucked in by the first guy out of the gate, Sean Jennings.

I will preface this by saying I’m not typically a fan of song remakes where a musician does something drastically different with a song compared to its original artist (Clapton’s bluesy remake of his own “Layla” notwithstanding). I guess I’m a purist like that. Or was.

Click through to see what changed Karen’s mind…

Jennings played a set comprised mostly of covers, but they were re-imagined into funky, bluesy, wandering musical journeys. And he mashed them up into other funky, bluesy, wandering re-imaginings. A master of the loop pedal, Jennings wove together snippets of rhythm from his congo drums, riffs from his gorgeous Seagull acoustic, and harmonies supplied by his own voice on top of his live playing. I often wasn’t sure what song he was playing until he sang, and I never knew what song he was taking us to next until he took us there. He made the familiar fresh and unexpected; I was hooked. Dustin Kensrue’s “Blood Wine” into Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues"? Yes, please. The Doors’ “L.A. Woman” into The Dead’s “Fire on the Mountain"? Mmm hmm. Keller Williams’s “Brothers and Sisters” into Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight"? Well played.

So of course I had to ask him for an interview. Turns out the infant Sean Jennings was fed a steady diet of music since that seemed to be the only thing that calmed him when he cried. The teenage years brought his first guitar: his dad’s Ibanez Concord acoustic that happened to be collecting dust at an uncle’s house. Now in his early 20s, Jennings noted that he’s been in over five bands and played countless shows.

Though he loves music of all genres, Jennings is most inspired by folk and reggae. “I like folk because it can be abstract. The focus is on good songwriting and meaningful lyrics, not just a fat beat and a catchy hook,” he told me. Describing himself as a spiritual person who tries to make himself and his music as positive as possible, Jennings feels drawn to the spiritual undertones in reggae. He cited many artists as sources of musical inspiration, including Bob Marley, Michael Franti, Matisyahu, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band, and The Grateful Dead. But Jennings pointed to Keller Williams as the most influential for him, noting “He was the first artist I ever saw using a loop station. He has a really unique eccentric flat picking style that has rubbed off on me.”

While Jennings does cover other artists, he’s also a songwriter in his own right. His Myspace and Reverbnation pages have several of his tunes, and they’re all worth a listen. I found myself just as transported by his original work as by his re-imagined covers. Regarding his own songwriting, Jennings hopes to fill a tall order: “I want to make music that inspires a positive mind set, something that will help people forget all the little things that cause suffering in their lives. Something that will instill faith and make them have the mindset that everything will be alright. Something that people can relate to and connect to. I want people to dance.”

So what’s next for Sean Jennings? Until recently, he was mostly a “go with the flow” kind of guy just looking to have fun. Now, however, he’s focusing much more energy on his songwriting, playing, and singing to “take it to the next level.” Organizing a full band is another possibility for him. “As far as long-term goals, I am pretty modest,” Jennings noted. “I am just looking to be respected within the Louisville music scene. I don’t need fame, fortune, or national recognition.” Given the performance I saw, I’d say Jennings is well worthy of respect from the Louisville music scene, and yes, maybe even more than that. Regarding his years on the music scene, Jennings riffed off Bob Marley. “I still can’t get enough. My belly’s full but I’m hungry. “

Click the links above to check out Sean Jennings online and see him back at Derby City Espresso on May 1, 2010 at 10pm. There are more of Karen’s photos of Sean in our BareFoot FotoBlog.