Jalin Malin Music

“As an American Folk Artist, I have been nicknamed the Female Woodie Guthrie of music. I was exposed to music at a young age, via band class and choir. Yet, I wasn’t encouraged to play, as girls weren’t supposed to be drawn to drumming and percussive instruments. So I tucked my talent away for 20 years or so. It was in my mid twenties when I finally tapped in to the music that was bubbling from within. I went out to buy my first guitar, desperately looking for a left handed one that was used and affordable. I couldn’t find one that resonated with me. So I purchased a used Spanish Style Classical Guitar for a right handed person. I taught myself how to pick out a couple original tunes, and shared them with some friends one day. They asked me if I wanted to open for a gig they had coming up two weeks later. I remember telling them I only had three songs. So they encouraged me to write some more and booked me for the gig despite my little bit of experience. I wrote six more songs before that first performance. As the unknown opening act, one would think that the audience was their to see the headliners. Yet, after playing my 9 original tunes, the audience stood up and formed a line to the back of the building. One by one, they hugged me and congratulated me. Most of them didn’t stay for the headliners. Yet all of them put a spark in me that has been on fire ever since. It’s been nearly twenty years now.

I have written and recorded hundreds of original songs on several different instruments. After traveling to Germany in 1999 and staying there for 6 months performing and writing more music, I came back to the states and went on the road for 15 years, absorbing every genre of music I could get my hands on. I was influenced by other traveling musicians, train hoppers, gutter punks, hippies, and homeless men and women. I started writing songs about the stories they told me. I discovered that I had a certain unique quality in being able to meld together several stories into one song, thus touching the lives of less fortunate folks. My mission became one of service. I only booked gigs that would raise money for others, despite not ever having a home of my own. It was that mission, that guided me across the country and back with less than a hundred dollars to my name…at any given time. And in that, I always had my needs met somehow.

Every instrument, from that point on, came to me via a new friend or stranger. In turn, I would gift these instruments to traveling kids, and homeless people, so they could be inspired to share their stories in a similar way. Personally, “music” was my saving grace. It fulfilled me and instilled a sense of true purpose to help heal the hearts of those who have walked the most difficult paths. Music became my reason for waking up each day. It brought me out of the depths of pain and sorrow, and propelled me to truly release myself from the past completely. It is nearly impossible to speak about the traumas I endured from a young age. Yet, via music, I can share those stories abstractly and creatively without falling into pieces all over again. At the age of 42, a bigger purpose has unfolded. It is now time for me to share the entirety of my musical creations with the world! So I am coming at social media, with everything I have got! And it is a lot!!!!!” 

-written by Jalin Malin