{"title":"Joanna Sternberg","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoanna Sternberg is a 28-year-old singer, songwriter, musician and visual artist born and based in New York City. They showed their musical talent at a young age, humming the entire melody to “Oh What A Merry Christmas Day” from Mickey’s Christmas Carol at just 2 years old. Joanna began piano lessons at the age of 5 and self-taught themselves how to play the guitar and electric bass by the time they were 11.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAttending LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, Joanna started studying double bass during their freshman year. They later received a full scholarship to Mannes College of Music where they studied classical double bass for a year and a half before deciding to take a break from school.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt 23 years old, Joanna began writing songs and learning how to sing. By the age of 24, they started performing in public while accompanying themselves on various instruments. Today, Joanna continues to write songs, sing, play instruments, and create visual art. They prefer not to categorize their music or art into specific genres or use traditional labels for them.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"ive-got-me","title":"I've Got Me","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blog.roughtrade.com\/gb\/on-the-rise-joanna-sternberg\/\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eOn The Rise: Joanna Sternberg\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSophomore album from Joanna Sternberg, produced by Matt Sweeney, and recorded at Strange Weather Studios in Brooklyn, NY.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoanna Sternberg is one of the great songwriters of the day, their unique ability to make the listener feel emotional and often joyous, while conveying universal human difficulties of anxiety and insecurity. A virtuosic musician, Joanna was given a full scholarship from the New School Conservatory (NYC) and graduated with a concentration on Double Bass, Piano, and Vocal.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fat Possum","offers":[{"title":"Black LP | Signed Copy | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50384055992651,"sku":"2164808","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Gold LP | Signed Copy | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50384055828811,"sku":"2164807","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Gold LP | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50384055140683,"sku":"2015884","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50384055632203,"sku":"2016186","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50384055501131,"sku":"2015885","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/20000000197669_1d15500b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726284864"},{"product_id":"then-i-try-some-more","title":"Then I Try Some More","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough I wrote each song on this album about specific things\/a specific thing, I also feel that songs are not officially \"\u003cem\u003eabout\u003c\/em\u003e\" anything because it is ultimately up to the listener to decide what the song represents and means to them. Thank You to whoever has given my songs a chance, and whoever continues to listen to them! I will say what I wrote each song about, because I think it is interesting when songwriters explain what inspired them! (but once again, I understand if the song represents something else entirely to you! and either way, thank you so much for listening!)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMusically speaking, my main influence for this album was the music of \u003cstrong\u003eScott Joplin\u003c\/strong\u003e. I wrote a lot of the songs as piano rags, and then I slightly changed some of the melodies and chords, added lyrics and slowed the tempos down so they could be sung as songs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e1. \"\u003cem\u003eThis Is Not Who I Want To Be\u003c\/em\u003e\" is about my ongoing struggles with addiction and one of the first times I tried to get sober and went through drug and alcohol withdrawal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e2. \"\u003cem\u003eStep Away\u003c\/em\u003e\" is about unrequited love for a close friend (or a \"best friend\" if you believe in that term.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e3. \"\u003cem\u003eMy Angel\u003c\/em\u003e\" is about the end of a romantic relationship and the death of a loved one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e4. \"\u003cem\u003eFor You\u003c\/em\u003e\" is about unrequited love and being jealous of the same person that you are in love with. (as experienced through me, when I was in high school!)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e5. \"\u003cem\u003ePimba\u003c\/em\u003e\" is about an imaginary baby penguin! I actually wrote this song to annoy my friend, and it worked! (my friend was sitting next to while I was writing it!) It is sort of a joke song, but I know that the emotions I try to convey in the song are real. (experiencing loneliness, feeling invisible, sadness and melancholy all while trying to stay positive!)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e6. \"\u003cem\u003eNothing Makes My Heart Sing\u003c\/em\u003e\" is about depression and hitting \"rock bottom.\" It is also about realising that you have given up on all of your dreams. I was trying to write a song about all of this, and then I read the poem \"Dream Deferred\" by \u003cstrong\u003eLangston Hughes\u003c\/strong\u003e. After reading that poem, I was able to write the entire song immediately. That poem became a muse for the song.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e7. \"\u003cem\u003eTrying To Say No\u003c\/em\u003e\" is about self love deficit disorder and being a people pleaser. It is about caring about other people's needs more than you care for your own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e8. \"\u003cem\u003eYou Have Something Special\u003c\/em\u003e\" is a song against bullying and in support of the victims of bullying.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e9. \"\u003cem\u003eDon't You Ever\u003c\/em\u003e\" is about not feeling comfortable in the body you were born with and the gender you were told that you \"are.\" It is about gender identity (or lack thereof!) and me finally accepting that I am gender neutral. It is also about loneliness, depression and social anxiety and how I believe that we all experience the same set of emotions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eJoanna Sternberg\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fat Possum","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50475496145227,"sku":"1136721","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50475495817547,"sku":"1136720","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/66f5fe9b-6bd9-418d-b46e-dce9b05e4494_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727447584"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_3eeaef9d_thumbnail_4096_37f1c3b2-c041-41b5-9898-09b446417716.jpg?v=1726284801","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/joanna-sternberg.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}