AVANT - What inspired you to create a Youtube account?
Jessie - Well, I made a video which I put onto myspace called "How to backcomb your hair" and I wanted more people to see it so I made a Youtube account. And now it stands as my 2nd most popular video!
AVANT - What program do you use to edit your videos? How long does it take on average to edit one video? Were you self-taught in editing or did you learn in school? If you were self-taught, what book(s) did you use?
Jessie - Embarrassingly, I use Windows Movie Maker - but I don't use all the cheesy effects. I am self taught, I didn't study how to use it, it's all pretty simple when you're used to working with technology.
AVANT - What do your family & friends think of your Youtube persona?
Jessie - I've not shown them all my videos, but the ones they have seen they find quite funny. My parents are pretty laid back.
AVANT - What are your other hobbies, if any, besides Youtube & music?
Jessie - I have my own blog which I update on the reg. I enjoy watching films and writing comedy sketches that never get finished (because I'm lame like that.)
AVANT - Do you still buy CDs? Do you own any vinyl? Or are you a devout digital loyalist, preferring to purchase music online because CDs & vinyl get scratched?
Jessie - Yep, I still buy CDs - it never fails to make me feel guilty when I illegally download stuff. I own several vinyl - the Maccabees' single "Can You Give It", a few Dutch Uncles ones which have been sent to me and Radiohead's "No Surprises". I've only ever bought one digital CD, because I honestly don't see the point in them. It gives me a weird sense of satisfaction when I'm able to hold it in my hand.
AVANT - Your feelings on CDs versus Vinyl, if any?
Jessie - Vinyl is fussy, but the sound is always so crisp. And CDs are a lot less fussy, you can use them in a million different ways.
AVANT - Are you at all involved in the London music scene? If so, how do you contribute?
Jessie - I blog for Artrocker.com which are a London based magazine and website. They feed off my site and post the shit they like. Other than that, at 16, there's nothing you can really get involved with yet. Give it another two years.
AVANT - Describe your work with NME & favorite memories.
Jessie - I never worked with NME, I used to just send in a load of letters and pictures, and 5 got printed.
AVANT - Your favorite places in London to eat-shop-hang out?
Jessie - Brick Lane, Portabello Market, Hoxton, Oxford Street.
AVANT - How did you get into rock 'n roll music?
Jessie - I was brought up on the "classics"; Nirvana, Radiohead, Muse, Blur. Every friday night my parents would bring round their mates, and we would hang out in the "'avin it kitchen" listening to music. I was introduced to so much music during those evenings. And I went to my first festival in which I saw Babyshambles, Kasabian, and many others. It was bliss and I wanted more.
AVANT - Favorite venue in London, France or wherever else you've been to?
Jessie - I quite like the Scala in London, it's tiny. And it's got this tube-like mean of travel which leads you to the smoking area. It's not quite outside, because it's sheltered. The Garage is also a nice venue, about 70% of the time you meet the band afterwards.
Jessie - Radiohead - they have such a surreal affect on me when I listen to them. Like I'm on heroin or something. This euphoric sort of feeling... I can't explain it. They are fucking brilliant. I wouldn't class any other band a favourite compared to them.
AVANT - Favorite lyrics of all time?
Jessie - What came first - the chicken or the dickhead?" Pretty Visitors by Arctic Monkeys. "I would lie on pebbles lavishly, but London's pebbles are dirt. And I will paint with knives and guns to insure sure my art is incorrect" - Downing Street Kindling by Larrikin Love.
AVANT - Your future dreams & plans in life regarding music, photography, art?
Jessie - I would love to be in the music industry, whether it's just working for a music mag (NME, Q, Artrocker), managing a band or being a tour manager.
AVANT - What is your favorite instrument to hear/see being played in a band. What is the most underplayed,
underrated instrument that you wish you could see/hear more of? If you could become the expert of one instrument alone, what would it be?
Jessie - Drums. Drums. Drums. Everyone is turning to those crappy electronic drum machines now. Fuck that! Drums are fucking awesome. I would love to be able to play them, but I'm afraid I don't have the patience. When I go to a show I tap my feet to the beat of the drums. I pat my hands to the beat of the drums whenever I listen to music. Listen to "the Drowned and the Saved" by Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man or "No Kind Words" by the Maccabees. Epic drumming.
AVANT - What do you wear to a show. What do you wear casually on a normal-day basis. Your favorite stores to shop. Any fashion icons i.e. Daisy Lowe?
Jessie - Either a LBD with minimal accessories and boots, or a band shirt with jeans and boots.
I wear dresses a lot - but not formally. I would wear a dress with military boots or converse to give it an edge rather than wear a plain girly outfit.
I love Topshop, ASOS, Rokit, Beyond Retro.
Yes, Daisy Lowe, Pixie Geldof, Taylor Momsen, and Orlando Weeks.
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My personal favorite video highlights of Jessie's include:
1) FUCK SNOW - Jessie performs a skit where... haha you just have to see it for yourself. It's really funny cos it's so true how annoying it is. Also, my favorite part is when she exclaims begrudgingly, "Fuck's Sake!"
2) The Manchester Face - Jessie explains in a fully-detailed walkthrough tutorial how to make what apparently is a commonplace facial expression from Manchester, England.
3) My Top 3 Addictive Songs of 2009 - Jessie explains her guilty pleasures of pop songs & proves her appreciation by dancing spastically in her bedroom.
4) I told you, it's in the wardrobe! - Yet another of Jessie's strings of skits, where she pokes fun at parents offering vague directions regarding sought-after household items.
5) Resistance - Jessie talks of Muse's most recent album.
6) Operation Dutch Uncles - Jessie promotes local Manchester rock band, The Dutch Uncles.
7) Sexy English Accent - Jessie comedically parodies the allure that is the English accent with exaggerated gestures & overtly-dramatic voice-acting.
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