Entertainer of the Month
Soap Box Duo
Jenesia and Alexander McMullen have just returned from Haiti. Before we can tell you why, we need to tell you how they got there in the first place.
It was the jazz program, honest, where the Duo met. Jenesia was a vocal student, Alexander was studying guitar. Alexander says that within a month of dating, he knew he wanted to marry Jenesia. It would sound crazy, so he did wait five months to pop the proverbial question. Five months after that, the two were married. Jenesia had been teaching music for some time and it was a natural fit for Alexander to join her. Jenesia formed Music With Purpose in 2009 with Alexander joining her and both teaching students their in their specialized disciplines. Trying to balance a school and a music career as a duo was extremely difficult. Though the school paid the bills with consistent income, it was the live shows that the pair wanted to do. The issue was bittersweet. They were able to get more and more gigs but it came at a price. Students lessons had to be moved, or in some cases canceled. It was something they couldn’t continue and in 2015 they “shelved” the teaching to follow their dreams.
With the advocate in both of them, the soap box, the speaker’s platform, was a natural fit. Soap Box Duo took the look of the prohibition era. Jenesia typically dresses in a little shorter, flowing dress and if you added a hat, you would swear she just stepped out of the 1930’s or 40’s. Alexander adds suspenders to his trousers, button down shirt, tie and occasionally a cap. He would not look out of place driving a delivery truck in the era. It was an image and a show they were trying to project.
While you would think that they each have their parts when it comes to writing, they really have no set format or pattern. With influences running from John Mayer to Beyonce, it’s the energy and Jenesia says “grit” that appeals to them. They both take part equally in lyrics and melody. They write about things that are close to home for them. Sometimes it’s family, sometimes it’s a cause and sometimes it’s love as they celebrated their third anniversary this past October. Recording what they write is something the pair likes to do. They have worked a lot with Two Bodies of Water in west Edmonton, even having shot a video in the studio. They have their own You Tube channel where you can catch that and others that they have filmed, including a five parter that was done at Stony Plain’ s Multicultural Center.
A quirk of fate introduced them to Little Warriors, an organization that helps raise funds and awareness for treatment of sexually abused children at the Be Brave Ranch. The McMullens were playing at a local café in Edmonton when Glori Meldrum, founder of Little Warriors came in. Jenesia had knowledge of her work and after an introduction and a chat, they were playing at Unmasking The Myths, a stand alone effort to help raise funds for Be Brave Ranch. As it turns out, it was a match made in heaven. It gave the Duo a platform to speak out and contribute to the awareness as the subject hits close to home for both of them.