j and the 9s was born from a crash course of two minds. j9 was classically trained in several instruments started from a very young age. j9 started piano (classical) at age 4, flute (classical) at age 7, tenor sax (jazz) at age 9, and bassoon (classical) at age 12. in her teens, she learned how to play rock guitar, bass and drums. also during these years, she became very involved in my high school’s musical theatre program. she received my bachelor’s degree in theatre performance. j9 decided to continue her studies in london, but in music (vocals/music production specifically) at a contemporary music school for a year. afterwards, she moved back to nyc and started working on electronic music with a named producer. he talked about doing something “undeniable”. one day he came in with a rock track he was playing around with. j9 told him that was “it”. they started working on the track, in a completely different way than she ever had before. it was completely spontaneous, and off-the-cuff. they finished the song, but because it was a spec project, other artists had priority. Nothing happened with it, so j9 decided to take charge of her own music. she started writing new music and auditioned players. then she auditioned frankie figz. for frankie figz, the rock n roll brain washing started even before he was born. his dad, a local rock drummer in nj, played Led Zeppelin to him while he was in the womb. born into a family of musicians, music was the only possible outcome for frankie figz. he started playing the drums at the age of 3. a year later, his dad bought him his first guitar. with no formal lessons, he started teaching himself, mostly by ear. he also picked up the bass at age 9. at age 13, started teaching himself classical piano, rebelling against his rock ‘n roll roots. all throughout high school, he never picked up the guitar or the bass. he only focused on the piano and creating electronic music. then one day, he put on that same Zeppelin film he saw repeated as a young kid, “The Song Remains the Same” and decided to teach himself all of the guitar solos. just like that. it opened the flood gates for him to absorb and learn as much lead guitar as possible. he then started looking for bands. he played in a few, and then he found j9. when they started out in the band, they found out that they both were inspired by real rock ‘n roll. j9 took direct inspiration from older bands: Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence, and Joan Jett. And, newer as well: Lenny Kravitz, The White Stripes, Jet, The Strokes,The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.. a mix of classic rock, and new rock/pop/punk. frankie figz liked a lot of the same bands but also had a not-so-secret love for 90’s rock such as: Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine, and Smashing Pumpkins. When the two minds collaborate, you get a clash of these sounds and ideas.