bios Jennifer Charles Writer and Singer for Elysian Fields. Her birthday is November 15th. Born in Washington DC, where she grew up in a unique household. She was raised by her mother in something like a group house. Two single mothers with their kids(Jennifer, her brother Joshua, and their godbrother Chris). Often they would take in boarders; a couple writers, a French chef, filmmaker Henry Jaglom. They kept nine animals. The mothers would throw wild parties with all their interesting friends. There was always something going on. And there was always music. Music was the one constant in Jennifer's life. Her mother had been a torch singer in Washington clubs. Between her and Jennifer's dad, who had had a radio show spinning jazz discs in the fifties, Jennifer grew up with the kind of knowledge of jazz that most people her age study later in life to acquire. Mrs Charles also worked as the program director for a Classical music station and frequently took Jennifer to the symphony and opera. Jennifer also studied theater passionately, but never strayed far from music. She hung around the scene of DC Space and the 9:30 Club, listening to the Bad Brains, Minor Threat, as well as DC Go-Go legends Trouble Funk and Chuck Brown. On a given Saturday afternoon she might go see Rites of Spring or Gray Matter in a matinee show, then meet her father at a jazz club to hear Ahmad Jamal, Dizzy, Anita O'Day, or Mel Torme. She also became passionate about the music of India starting at age twelve, when her mother came back from a journey of India and Nepal with a bag full of cassettes for Jennifer. In her teens, Jennifer would often travel to New York and London, either with friends or on her own. She was turned on by the different sounds of each city- The Lounge Lizards, John Giorno, Diamanda Galas, Lydia Lunch, Blondie, The Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground from New York; and from the UK, The Specials, Gang of Four, The Slits, Japan, The Clash, Siouxie, The Buzzcocks, The English Beat, The Birthday Party, The Bad Seeds, Cocteau Twins, The Fall. Other big influences were Tom Waits, The B52s, Kraftwerk, Lennon, and David Bowie. While in high school at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Jennifer moved out of her mother's house, concurrently appearing in plays and experimental theatre at places like The Studio theatre and The Source. Besides her acting work, she supported herself with various odd jobs- waitressing, working as an artists model, and singing jazz and torch songs in a sleazy piano bar that was straight out of a Mickey Spillane novel. Moving north for New York University, Jennifer completed her BFA in drama in three years. During this period she acted in off-off Broadway theatre, played in a band in college called Prayer Box, started doing readings of her poetry at places like St Marks Church, Dixon Place, and X Funeral Home. She also occasionally did strange jazz gigs, curated a performance series at The Knitting Factory, performed with Negativland, worked with the homeless back in DC in a project called Voices From the Street, narrated by Martin Sheen, worked as an artists model, and improvised as a bartender. Working at the old Knitting Factory, Jennifer heard a lot of cool music; John Zorn, Sonny Sharrock, Sun Ra, The Rootless Cosmopolitans, Fred Frith, Don Byron, etc. This is where she met many people from the scene, including Oren Bloedow who played in about fifty different bands. Besides co-leading Elysian Fields, Jennifer also works on other projects. Most recently she was co-composing music with Jonny Klimek and Reinhold Heil (Run Lola Run) for a film on Myriad. She has been writing poetry and short stories since the age of nine. She has studied Classical Indian singing with her beloved teacher Gulamji. Jennifer also speaks Spanish. She loves to travel, reading, listening to music, chess, animals, movies, collage, cooking, painting, botany, going to museums, and she practices and teaches kundalini yoga. Click here for the complete Jennifer Charles discography. Oren Bloedow Writer, Guitarist, and Vocalist for Elysian Fields. His birthday is July 3rd. Born in New York City, where he grew up on the streets "throwing things at cars". His father was a playwright, poet and film editor, whose erratic income Oren's mother supplemented by working as a bookkeeper to support Oren and his sister. He concentrated on music during his school years, and for about five years after graduating he played bass in local bands. Many rock, pop and schlock bands, and as it went on, many good bands using elements of jazz, noise, Beefheart and so on. Oren especially benefited from playing with Phillip Johnston, Bobby Previte and Wayne Horvitz in this period, all of whom worked with him in Bobby Radcliff's blues band. With Radcliff, Oren backed up Dr. John, Otis Rush and Johnny Copeland, also Paul Butterfield for a minute shortly before he died. Oren hung out a lot with Ron Anderson, later of San Francisco's the Molecules, who taught him all about the rock underground of that time. A friend of Ron's hooked him up with 101 Crustaceans, whose leader, Ed Pastorini, is Oren's oldest continuing musical associate, and was later a member of E.F. He attended New England Conservatory for a year, and when he got back, the Knitting Factory had started on Houston St. This was the room that really crystallized the sound of the city at that time. Bobby, Wayne and Phillip were all playing there, and so eventually was the whole downtown scene: Kelvyn Bell, Lounge Lizards, Defunkt, Jeanne Lee, Bill Frisell, Ribot's Rootless Cosmopolitans and so on. It was here in 1990 that Oren met Jennifer, and they began working together soon afterwards. During the nineties, Oren made a couple of solo records for the Knitting Factory label, one featuring Medeski, Martin and Wood, toured and recorded as a member of the Lounge Lizards, and continued to participate in numerous projects, including 101 Crustaceans/ Oxen Discomfort, Chocolate Genius, Black Beetle,Jenifer Jackson, Amy Correia, Gary Lucas' Gods and Monsters, Syd Straw, Jewel, Dog's Eye View and others too numerous to name. Oren is an avid reader, reluctant home recordist and makes unpretentious vegetarian dinners. He studies yoga at The Shala, and in good weather, he prefers bicycling. He is passionate about recycling, ecology, and the reform of the US penal system, drug laws, and electoral process. Click here for a partial discography of Oren Bloedow recordings, and who can remember anyway?