I call Jesse and we plan on meeting downstairs on the restaurant. I bring along my digital voice recorder, a notepad, pen & my car keys. (Okay, why have car keys when I have no car in Vegas? Sheer force of habit folks…keep reading).

This is my second venture downstairs. It’s still packed out like the first trip. I’m pretty short, so I kinda hover in the crowd of people looking around to see if I missed him coming to get a seat. I start to check my voicemail messages on my cell phone when I turn to the left and see this crowd of people slowly moving towards me. Man, does this dude have an entourage during the day or something? There are people stopping him right and left as he walks up to the restaurant entrance. See, I told ya’ll Jesse wasn’t real to a lot of people, it wasn’t just me.

We finally make it into the restaurant. Fellow Time members, family & associates are dining this after noon as well. Two matriarch members of The Time, that I was blessed to spend time with over the weekend, reprimand me for not having a proper bag for my items and needing pockets in my pants. Momma is always right and yes you both were right, I needed a bag for my items & yes I needed to sew pockets in my pants.

After hugs and hellos to everyone in the restaurant its time for lunch. We have company for our meeting. A few members from the online fan base chill with us and watch us. Honestly I was surprised they knew “Jill Monroe.” Furthermore, I think Jesse was kinda surprised these folks were making a big deal of me. Myself being the self proclaimed “misfit” and Jesse the “rebel.” Now either this can go really good – or really bad.


At this point, everything you are about to read is strictly from memory. I mean, what I’ve written is so far from memory. But, the following words are from my memory.


You know media people don’t EXACTLY get the most respect and people tend to wanna run from us when they see a mic in our hands. This environment was a bit less formal and more “reality” for the two of us. Jesse had his Apple laptop and I had my notepad, pen, recorder & keys (yes the car keys to no car).

The friendly staff begins to take our orders when Jesse puts on his ear buds and starts to pull up a song list. Jesse is dressed in a white freshly pressed dress shirt & hat. As he goes to turn up the volume for on his Apple I notice his mother of pearl cufflinks. I think to myself I’d like to have something like those in a pair of earrings. I swear, men don’t dress as chill anymore. He’s in his own element.

He lets a few people around the table hear some of the music. Then it’s my turn. You remember that nervous feeling you got on Christmas morning? You know when you were a little kid and you didn’t know if your parents got you that Nintendo you wanted? Am I gonna get a Malibu Barbie with matching house, or some dress pants? He puts the ear buds in my ears and I hear…..change. The song is Verbal Penetration.

Let me back things up a bit in this sequence. Jesse wants me to listen to the music and not write anything. Seriously, I can’t write anything. So as I start listening to his…”work” my natural inclination is to start writing what comes to mind. He says I can’t write & listen at the same time. I tell him it’s my job to write what I hear. So I go along and I’m extremely excited to hear this….change. Once again, force of habit I pick up that pen. I see this hand reach across my notepad to take the pen OUT of my hand and as he puts it down and tells me “Just listen.”



I just had a famous musician take a pen out of my hand. Me, a journalist. I, Jill Monroe just had my pen literally taken out of my hands by this enigma of a guitar legend that his fans have been searching for since his 1996 release “Bare My Naked Soul.” I’ve been blessed to sit and listen to this new chapter in music and he takes the pen out of MY hand?

You know what – I’m glad he did.

Writing what came to mind would have not allowed me to have an honest opinion of his new music. You know how some musicians put out records that sound kinda so-so but you don’t wanna hurt their ego? Nah, these songs are good. Really good. I kinda turn to the computer screen to see what song I’m hearing and he blocks the names with his hand. “Their not ready yet,” he says like a protective parent. I express saying, “Jesse these songs will be all over the radio within the next 6 months, this stuff is really good.” So here I am off in my own world. I’m trying really hard not to be rude to our table guests but I’m blown away by what I’m hearing. He can tell I’m kinda zoned out and turns down the volume so I can pull my brain back to reality.

At that point I felt comfortable enough to switch over to my “keeping it real side” and had a real dialogue with him about the new album. In passing thought I say, “You know this is the album D’Angelo should put out when he comes back out. It’s just that good.” Jesse then dissects his influences for this current album. He also discussed his dialogues with Q-Tip, D’Angelo & various soul/hip-hop artists within the past few years. Jesse definitely IS everywhere, who would have known? His appreciation for Curtis Mayfield is evident in his new work. We then talk about film soundtrack albums from the 70’s, in particular “Let’s Do It Again.” Jesse also has cultural & political overtones in his songs. One new song, in my honest opinion, will be an urban radio air-play darling because of its discussions of “The N” word. Michael Baisden is gonna eat this one up. The guy has a brain and he’s not afraid to use it. It’s rather refreshing considering the “one track mind” natural of music & songwriting today.



Just like the other 6 members of The Time, Jesse is really intelligent. In Jesse’s own words, “I’m not 19 anymore, I’ve matured as a person.” Maybe he’s too smart for his own good. He dished his “plan” for the new album & his admiration for the online retail environment. In business tones he said “What I made selling a million records with a label, I can make now selling 100,000 records independently.” He dropped some pieces of info on me that I promised to keep under wraps until everything happens later.

Checking out my cell phone I see it’s around 2pm. I have to make a dash to the airport for my 4pm flight back to the Midwest. There are thousands of questions dancing around in my head, but I’ll have to wait until another place in time.

*****Detailed Audio Interview Dropping Soon*****

www.myspace.com/timewitnessnews

Lunch with Jesse - Part 1
http://prince.org/msg/5/278967
[Edited 8/16/08 13:02pm]

NouveauDance said:

Fantastic. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.