COURTESY ELLE VEN
"Nobody can go back and change things. I couldn't change back that I got married... but I could change my future." --ellee van, on changing her name from Jessica Kunin to ellee ven.
Not just a number
Changing her name to ellee ven
-- after the number 11 -- leads to
subtle transformation for
the rising singing star
A rose, by any other name, still smells sweet, but a change of name can give an aspiring entertainer a new identity with no strings attached. And so it is that a former teacher with a graduate degree in education is playing the Wave Waikiki tonight and tomorrow in her seductive persona of ellee ven.
ellee ven
Where: Wave Waikiki, 1877 Kalakaua Ave.
When: 10 p.m. today and tomorrow
Admission: $10, 18 and over (21 and over tomorrow)
Call: 941-0424
"It gave me the freedom to create something," ellee ven (born Jessica Kunin) explained.
"When people ask 'Who are you like?,' and you've only written two songs, what are you like? It's too early to make any sort of decision, and felt with the whole 'ellee ven' thing, I would create this theme and everything I created would support the theme (and) there'd be no expectations. Nobody can go back and change things. I couldn't change back that I got married... but I could change my future."
Kunin's stage name is a play on the number 11, which she describes as "representing two equals in perfect union" and, thus far, it's been a winning formula. Songs from her 2001 debut album, "The Eleventh Hour," have already been heard on the TV drama "Judging Amy" and several MTV shows. Two songs from her second album, "Mind Control," put her on the now-defunct mp3.com and mainstream Adult Contemporary charts in 2003.
Now she's embarking on a bigger project. "eleven by ellee ven," a double-disc CD/DVD release, will be released next month. It's going to be marketed as a DVD with a bonus CD.
"At this point, it's more the established artists who are putting out DVDs as a reflection of their catalog of work, and a lot of newer artists don't have that yet. So I'll be one of few newer artists on those shelves (in the DVD section)."
BUT HOW DID Jessica Kunin, who graduated from Pepperdine University with a Masters in education, make the transformation to a post-modern chanteuse specializing in a musical blend she calls "groovetonics"?
A quote from Henry David Thoreau -- "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined," -- is part of the story behind her metamorphosis.
"I came across that about four years ago, and it really seemed to renew my focus and my commitment to my artistic world. It's difficult to remain committed sometimes to something that isn't really profitable financially, even if it is (fulfilling) in other ways. I was at a standstill, doing a lot of temping, and a lot of other work that just really wasn't satisfying, and it reminded me about the commitment to my goal."
Kunin also credits her father, a businessman who "won a lot and lost a lot," with teaching her that success is often a matter of making an informed commitment to a project and then seeing it through. She first became involved with the music business by helping friends promote their bands -- handing out flyers, organizing events, doing simple video projects -- but after looking at the probable start-up costs for her own indie label, she decided to that she'd be better off teaching. She also got married, a decision she describes as "a personal disaster."
"All of a sudden, I felt like I was just settling in so many areas of my life, and nine months later, I decided, 'Nope, I'm doing an about-face and I am going to do what I really want to do.
"One of the most important things to communicate is that everything is a process and, again, it's my stick-to-it-tiveness thing. I had no idea if I could write a song but I knew that I loved music ... and I knew I wanted my own label and I liked promoting people, but the ellee ven thing didn't come about until after I knew that it was a business where I would constantly be interested and stimulated in."
The term "groovetonics" is also intended to catch the ear as well as soothe the soul.
"It makes you move and it makes you feel better. It can be a slower song, it can be a faster song, it's just meant to affect you, and that's the other thing about the creation of the ellee ven name. You cannot limit yourself before you begin, and the one thing that is totally thought out in the theme of my writing and in my project is that I do want to make people feel better, and I do want to move people."
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