By Lya Carrera
EDGE Entertainment Contributor
Published Web site: [1] EDGE
Online Version Date: May 15, 2006
Online Version Printed Date: June 10, 2006

There is an old expression that says - don’t judge a book by its cover. And this would certainly apply to Joanna Y. Abbott.

Standing a little over 5 feet 5 inches tall, Abbott is slender with a thin build. Her straight, brown hair falls a bit below her shoulders, and her eyes are a striking blue.

At first glance, she can be mistaken for a dancer, but she isn’t. At first glance, she can be mistaken for being straight, but she isn’t.

This 29-year-old femme lesbian is a singer-songwriter that goes by the stage name of Joya.

Her musical style is a combination of R & B, Soul, pop, rock, and hip-hop, and her melodic voice is sweet and easy on the ears when she sings ballads, but she can also mix it up a bit on her funkier tunes.

Influenced by such artists like Aretha Franklin, Faith Evans, Brandy, Destiny’s Child, and Mary J. Blige - just to name a few - Abbott’s music has also been coined a particularly genre that originated in the late 1990s.

“I had people call me Neo-Soul,” she said. “It’s Soul plus hip-hop plus R & B. Neo-Soul is like Me’shell Ndegeocello or Eryka Badu.”

Abbott is an up and coming artist breaking out in the Boston area; she was featured last year in the fall as “Pick of the Week” on the Web site of KISS 108 FM’s Matty in the Morning and has performed at various venues, such as The Rack, Felt, the Coolidge Corner Theater, Kresge Little Theater (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Tribe Nightclub.

Although she began her music career at the tender age of four, it was only early last year that she decided to take a chance with her particular style of music.

“I decided that I really needed to try this, so I did a concert at MIT and I just put it out there,” she said. “I’ve been performing forever, but [technically] it was my Boston debut although I didn’t really advertise it as [such]; it was the first time that I performed my original music in public. It was a turning point because I had some clarity that this was what I wanted to do, so it was a great opportunity for me.”

The Beginning

A native of Massachusetts, she was born and raised in Springfield, though currently she lives in Sornerville.

She’s a mix of various ethnic groups, some being French-Canadian, German, and Native American, and she’s the youngest of three children. Her sister-who is the oldest-is a doctor, and her brother-who is the middle child-is a programmer/composer.

Abbott says that she grew up with music at home and in school even though her parents were not musicians-her mother is the director of Math of the Springfield schools and her dad is a retired Math and Physics professor.

“There was always music playing in the house; my parents used to be in choirs and they loved music,” she said.

“They must have wanted us to have music in our lives because they made each of us play two instruments. We all played piano, but then: my brother played the clarinet then later the saxophone, my sister played the cello, and 1 played the viotm-which began at age four. Playing the violin was a struggle because I really wanted to be a dancer, but the college I attended didn’t have a dance program, so that was the end of [my dance career].”

She says that she always sang, even from age five, and when she got older, she got involved in various vocal groups in high school-which allowed her to perform in concerts and sing solos.

Her interest to be a jazz singer began as a result of her brother studying it when he was In high school and her listening to gospel, jazz, and RSB music while growing up.

She attended Clark University in Worcester, Mass., to be a jazz singer, but this did not end up being the case.

Instead, while she was in college, she was encouraged to become a classical singer. When she gradated with a double major in music and psychology, she went to graduate school to pursue it. She attended Tfie University of Massachusetts Amherst and received a master’s in music with a focus on voice performance.

She specifically attended UMass for a teacher who was recommended to her by a pianist while in undergraduate school. Her name: Paulina Stark.

“I chose her as a teacher because technique wise she had exactly what I wanted to learn, but she wasn’t happy with my presentation,” she said. “I had a shaved head then. When I first met her she said to me, ‘Okay, I think with a little mascara and lipstick we can really make this work.’

“I was earthy, crunchy, and wore pants and glasses. I wanted to learn about singing, so I rejected all of that stuff because I was still figuring things out at that time,” she said. “We really struggled with each other, but I also studied hard with her. By the end, I understood that presentation did matter, and I became just like her.”

Abbott says that after graduating from UMass she was unsure of which direction to take her musical career. She eventually became focused and decided to sing songs that she liked and listened to on a day-to-day basis.

“Over time, I learned that I was able to pull off many different styles of singing, but what felt the most at home and natural was R & B and Soul music,” she said.

She says that her stage name, Joya, was originally created by a fetlow classmate in junior high school.

“I was in 8th grade and a student at school was passing me note in public. She wrote out “Jo”-people sometimes called me that-then she wrote out “Y” for my middle initial, and [then “A” for my last name],” she said. “I really loved it and she was the only person who ever called me it, so when I had to give myself a stage name, it was the chance to use the name that I loved. It started out as a stage name, but then friends started to call me it, so now it’s also my nickname.”

Now while Abbott struggled with her presentation and the direction of her career, she was also working out some other issues.

“It was in college when I realized that I was queer,” she said. “I unconsciously was checking out a girl, and when I realized it, that was when the light bulb went off. It took me longer to figure it out because I didn’t know any queer women. Plus, we’re not told stories about how you can meet whomever you want and they can be either male or female; you’re only told one story in the media and in storybooks. I came out to my parents when I was in graduate school because I wanted to wait until I had a serious girlfriend.”

She says that it wasn’t easy telling her parents in the beginning, but they eventually worked it out; they were supportive along with her brother and sister.

“I think it’s hard even with people who have great relationships with their parents,” she said. “You never know how someone is going to react. It’s an on-going process with the people in your life and you have to practice patience.”

Abbott says that the other issue that she was coming to terms with was her femininity.

“I rejected femininity in high school and college because I didn’t like being feminine for a man,” she said. “Once I realized that I was queer, I was able to reclaim my femininity because it was a choice and not something that I had to do.”

Even though Abbott resolved these issues for herself, it had not been easy for her in either the straight community or the gay one.

“I have to out myself more than other people who read more as a lesbian, like, in the workplace,” she said. “I work at MIT as an administrative assistant in the Campus Activities Complex in the Division of Student Life. When I started working there I said something that I was marching in Pride. I made sure that people weren’t going to put me by default in the straight category.”

“Within the queer community, I had an experience where as soon as my [now fiancee] and current manager, Libby Graves, appeared - and it was clear that she was a queer woman - the whole dynamic changed, it improved immensely,” she said. “It bothers me that Libby makes me credible. We should be open-minded to each other and it should be a safe space for all people who are different. I’m disappointed with the lack of openness of some queer spaces.”

Abbott says that she and Graves have been together for two years and that they were “set up” by a mutual friend; they were a couple first before Graves became her manager.

And it looks like very soon Graves will be around permanently; they scheduled their wedding for this coming September.

“It’s very important to us to have a wedding where our family and friends attend because we want them to celebrate with us,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere, but in Massachusetts because it’s the only state in this country where we have equal rights. There’s a difference between a civil union and marriage, and I think marriage ensures us that our relationship will be taken seriously. We’re a real couple and not just roommates or friends.”

She says that gay visibility is important in order to gain rights, which is why she’s “committed to being out” and is “involved with the LGBT community at MIT.” She dislikes and does get angry at any form of discrimination whether it is homophobia, racism, or sexism.

Despite the fact that Abbott will be busy planning her wedding, she says she will also continue to perform.

Currently, she does not have a regular band-though she would like to have one in the future-she does have a list of musicians that she plays with though they are not consistent.

“I really enjoy collaborating with different artists, and it’s been wonderful having the opportunity to meet and network with a variety of bass and keyboard players,” she said. “At some point, it will gel into one group.”

She says she does have two regular collaborators-singer, back-up vocalist, and rhymer named CJ. Azubuine and beat boxer and vocal percussionist, Simmy B.

When Abbott does perform in concerts or shows, she sings a combination of some of her original tunes as well songs from other artists. She can also sing in German, French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish.

Abbott says that she does get nervous performing but that singing to her is spiritual.

“For me, it’s a kind of prayer like a mantra or chanting,” she said. “It’s like a special place, a zen place where you are not thinking of anything except the present and the words you are singing; there’s a physical connection and a mind connection. Soulful singing has to do with your breath because your breath is your soul.”

And that is probably why her fans enjoy hearing her sing as she brings this kind of depth to her songs. Fans have e-mailed her praising her performances; one wrote, “You are rock star!” while another wrote, “Your voice is amazing and your songs are ’soulful.’”

Abbott’s performance is very unique not only in her memorable voice but also for the journal that is passed around in the audience while she is singing. People can write comments or their e-mail address if they want to be added to her e-mail list.

“I love scrapbooks and journals, and I like having a record of people’s thoughts,” she said. “It’s personal, and I like connecting with the audience since I’m not sitting with them; it’s fun reading it afterwards.”

The Future

Although at the moment Abbott does not belong to any label-she was briefly with the independent label, Yellow Rose, for a while as a compilation artist-she is concentrating on other things.

“I don’t feel any rush to approach a label,” she said. “I’m really focusing on developing my voice because I want to have some solid recordings. I don’t have an album out yet, so that is high on my list of goals.”

She has already recorded four original songs that can be heard on her Web sites, and she often gives out free CDs at her shows.
In addition to her performances, she will also be the artistic director for Fierce Forever-a student drag show which will be held at MIT in the fall; this is its sixth edition.

“This year, Sylvain [Bruni], is producing it as well as performing in it, and a big name will be opening for it,” she said. “1 will be putting together the flow of the show and making sure everything is working. I will be giving advice on the bigger picture, and choosing both the theme and the order of the performers. Currently, we’re looking for drag kings and queens to perform in it.”

Despite the many detours that Abbott has made on her journey, she thinks that she might be heading in the right direction with the genre that she is singing.

“This is the first time in my musical career that 1 think things are flowing,” she said. “I’ve tried lots of things, but since I’ve started everything has fallen into place.”

Abbott says she hopes that someday she can be a full-time artist and be able to make a living by recording and performing her music.

Joya will be playing on Saturday, May 20, 2006, at the Blue Wave Lounge & Restaurant located at 343 Congress St., from 9 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. You can also see Abbott singing every Sunday in the church choir at The Cathedral Church of St. Paul located in downtown Boston. For more information, please connect to www.joya-music.com or www.myspace.com/joyamusic.

Lya Carrera is currently interning at EDGE. She attended Wellesley College for undergraduate school and studied journalism at Emerson College. She can be reached at lcarrera30@aol.com.