About the music

The music contains no instruments- everything you hear was made using only my voice and basic effects/editing techniques. I use pitch-shift to drop my voice down for bass lines, but otherwise there is no pitch correction involved. Each song contains anywhere between 30-50 layers of vocals and take as many hours to complete over several months. I worked on many songs at once as inspiration struck and time allowed.

The goal was to complete the entire catalog of original Smiths songs by the end of 2010. It was one of the most challenging experiences of my life and I am thrilled to say that I completed my goal- ahead of schedule! This would have been a daunting project just for the music alone, but I was also fitting the music time in around parenting, working, commuting, etc. It was a true labor of love to give up every ounce of free time for a year but it was the best thing I've ever done. Thank you for visiting my personal tribute to The Smiths and for cheering me on.
-Janice (about me / email)

Radio Interview with WPFW 89.3fm and World Premier of Buried

Last week marks the first time one of my original songs has been broadcast on the radio! As in, ever in my life! And now you can hear it at the end of this interview. If you'd like to hear another free song off my new album, please head on over to the Patchwork Life Pre-order at janice.bandcamp.com

Janice's solo CD Kickstarter fundraiser has launched!

A Birthday Gift for Thom Yorke

When deciding which band I wanted to cover for a project, it was really between The Smiths and Radiohead. I love both bands dearly, but in the end, it came down to the number of songs in their catalogs. If I had another year or two of my life to spend completely dedicated to one single project, there might very well be a Radiohead Project however, chances are slim that I would ever have the financial means I had in 2010 which gave me 1300 hours to sing AND still pay bills and childcare! However, I never say never...

In the mean time, it has always been a major life goal to work with Thom Yorke. And because so many amazing and unexpected things have happened in the past two years, I consider it within the realm of possibility. Dreams don't come true unless you pursue them and desires can't be fulfilled unless you make them known. So Thom, if you are reading this, happy birthday! Please let our voices connect soon...

Here is my very first all-vocal track, recorded in 2004, that became the recording inspiration for what was to become The Smiths Project 6 years later.

P.S. If you crank up the volume after the last note, you'll hear sirens going down my street outside. It fit well with the song so I left it in...

Smiths Project featured in new episode of Culture Pops

Thank you to Cole and Vanessa for supporting The Smiths Project! Click picture to take you to the video page:

Box Sets, New Music, and Awards, oh my!

BOX SETS START SHIPPING THIS SATURDAY
The long awaited Smiths Project Box Sets will begin shipping Saturday! After months of manufacturing issues and fighting with them to fix it, I'm happy to say the wait is nearly over. (Musicians- never use NATIONWIDEDISC.COM!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I've autographed the posters, they are going in the hundreds of boxes that my boyfriend has prepared, addresses are in the shipping software, and as soon as the box sets arrive, we add 'em to the box and send them out. I can't tell you happy I am to finally send these out. Some of you have been waiting close to 8 months for this!

The Smiths Project Box Set Pre Order is currently on sale! CDs will ship on or before August 8th. 15% DISCOUNT CODE FOR BOX SET: from now til August 1st: enter "tsp15" at checkout.

NEW MUSIC
I'm also happy to have the project done so that I can get on with my current project. My first CD, 11 tracks of all-original music, is about 80% done now and I'm very excited to share that with you soon. Today I am revealing the title of the CD will be called "Patchwork Life."

AWARDS
It is really such an honor to be awarded " Best of the Bay 2011: How Soon is Wow" award from the San Francisco Bay Guardian. This along side the "Best of San Francisco 2011 award for Best Cover Songs Using No Hands award from the SF Weekly has me feeling so much Bay Area love! It really means a lot to me to be recognized by my own community and I can thank you enough!

SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with all the exciting things going on!
Mailing list: ReverbNation.com/JaniceWhaley (under my picture)
Twitter: @JaniceWhaley
Facebook pages: Janice Whaley and The Smiths Project

The Smiths Project in the Media

San Francisco has been really showing the love lately! I'm very honored to be the recipient of SF Weekly's Best of San Francisco 2011 Award in the category "Best Cover Songs with No Hands" (all you other hand-less cover songs, step up!). Here are some recent radio spots on The Smiths Project for your listening pleasure: