What Happened To That Band Amelia?

This is the last post that Teisha was working on in mid September 2011.

What happened to that band Amelia? That band named as if it is the name of the lead singer. Like Sade, the woman who is the face of the band, her actual name being Helen. Maybe you knew that already.

What happened? What didn’t happen? Records were made; band mates fell in and out of love. The three long term members of the band, otherwise known as Scott Weddle, Jesse Emerson and Teisha June worked feverishly to turn folks on to what this group had going on and they were well liked. Everyone in the band, over the years, learned to play instruments new to them.

Then, as many of you already know, cancer came. This unwelcome visitor arrived just weeks after the release of their first record and this first offering was released days before TJ was diagnosed with a sort of Leukemia common in older white men. It was post 9/11 by more than a year. Times had changed, as they are prone to.  While watching and waiting for a stem cell transplant donor to arrive, and while she was feeling pretty damn good, the band released two more records and recorded the live album Por Avion at the pre-renovated old time Mississippi Studios.  They had with great anticipation nicknamed it the “cash cow” as it took a lot less money to press “record” during a gig than it did to track every single solitary instrument in the studio.

Amelia worked as a self employed band. Still does. Although, due in large part to the persistently invasive circumstances of TJ’s truly compromised health, not a lot has gone on the last several years.

Scott Weddle spent time on the relatively big stage with Portland star Storm Large and traveled with her to Scotland and Australia, Los Angeles and places like that and used much of his time and talent on producing music for other lucky lovers and friends.

Jesse started his own band “From Words to Blows” and made an album and when he is not playing in part of his own creations he’s playing with any number of touring professional bands.

Mostly TJ sings to herself and listens to music with a renewed appreciation for the power of sound.

Music was made the hard way. Hearts were one and lost. Time traveled. Fights were won and lost. Tales were thread. And in the midst of lessons being learned blood was drawn. Literally.

With the exception of the very first album “Somewhere left to Fall” who the friendly, curt and dour A&R guy says over an intense plate of Los Angeles Sushi “Ya can’t A/B it.”  It would be years before I truly understood what that meant. Not because it was so hard to understand but because I kept prolonging asking the question “what does that mean ‘can’t A/B’ it?”

Amelia recordings are online at:  www.ameliaband.com/recordings.html

You can purchase recordings through www.cdbaby.com/artist/amelia

Or call Deb 503.704.3427