Draft:Jen Olive

Jen Olive (born Jennifer Anne Lawrence 10 April 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, best known as a founding member of the musical project The 3 Clubmen with XTC's Andy Partridge and Stu Rowe. An accomplished musician and songwriter, Olive’s unique guitar-picking style, intricate vocal harmonies, and complex time signatures are hallmarks of her songwriting.

Early Life
Olive is a native of Southern California. Her parents — trombonist Frederick Lawrence and vocalist Chrys Page — were professional musicians, and her childhood was spent in Southern California, New York City, and Scottsdale, Arizona.

Olive taught herself piano at age six, and clarinet at age eight. At 19, she started playing guitar and singing in bands in Los Angeles.

1990s
Olive played live and self-released recordings throughout the 1990s. She also recorded with A&M Records during this period, but the album was never released.

2008-2013
In 2008, Olive signed with Andy Partridge’s Ape House Records. Her self-produced Warm Robot album (mixed by Partridge, who also contributed guitar and additional instrumentation) debuted in 2010, followed by a UK tour. In 2011, Ape House released Olive’s five-song EP, I Say Love.

In 2013, Olive moved to Swindon and recorded The Breaks with producer Stu Rowe. Featured on The Breaks are drummer Rob Brian (Siouxsie Sioux) and keyboardist Mikey Rowe (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Sheryl Crow’s Friends of Sheryl Crow).

The 3 Clubmen (2010-Present)
The 3 Clubmen consists of Olive, Stu Rowe, and Andy Partridge. Formed in 2010, The 3 Clubmen completed recording on their eponymously titled four-song EP in 2023. It met with rave reviews from The New York Times, The Wire, Louder than War , Joyzine , and many other publications. Partridge has this to say about the project: "“As an 'action painter' throws colour at a canvas, we tend to throw musical and sound things, knowing that we'll cut through this seemingly insane mess later…Jen throws paint, Stu throws paint, and we walk away. If, when we return, something in there calls to us, we'll move heaven and earth to get it out and let it breathe.'"On working with Olive in The 3 Clubmen, Partridge says: "“It was a thrill if Stu would call or email, to say she’d sent a suggestion over or ‘come and hear what she’s sent this week.’ Some things were genuinely thrilling, like her big band swing harmonies for ‘Look at Those Stars.’ That blew my head off. 100% unexpected and 100% just SO right.”"The 3 Clubmen have stated that work has begun on a follow-up album, tentatively planned for release in 2024.

Style
Olive’s approach to the guitar and songwriting radically changed in the 1990s when she started playing solo, and she gained notoriety for her odd time signatures and jazz-inspired chord structures. As for lyrics, Olive says:"“They're usually the last thing to happen. Once I have a chunk of music - enough for a verse or a chorus, I start by just riffing vocal sounds over the music looking for a melody…eventually something starts to sound like a line or two and then I build from there.”"Olive records most music in her home studio, which she describes as: "“An insane mess all the time. Crumbs in the keyboard. Cords everywhere…coffee cups. There’s no specific way anything needs to be. I just go into the studio and start. I don’t have a set time of day that’s better than any other. I’m just in and out. I demo things sometimes. It really just depends on how much of an investigation it is.”"

Albums by Jen Olive

 * Jen Olive (2006)
 * Warm Robot (2010)
 * I Say Love (2011)
 * The Breaks (2013)

The 3 Clubmen

 * The 3 Clubmen (2023)