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How did the name "Fenderella" come about?
The bass I wanted was a Fender jazz bass. A guy I was in a band with during high school gave me that nickname. I decided to use it professionally, because my father would be irritated with people calling the house at all hours!
Although many people first became familiar with you via your joining Klymaxx, you actually worked with some very notable musicians prior to that. Tell me about some of those experiences.
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How did the name "Fenderella" come about?
The bass I wanted was a Fender jazz bass. A guy I was in a band with during high school gave me that nickname. I decided to use it professionally, because my father would be irritated with people calling the house at all hours!
Although many people first became familiar with you via your joining Klymaxx, you actually worked with some very notable musicians prior to that. Tell me about some of those experiences.
I decided I had to do music. So I would take my bass guitar and stand outside of concerts in the North Caroline area: Fayetteville, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh. I would drive to them. The Brothers Johnson, Larry Graham, and Mother's Finest were doing concerts. I'd get up in the morning and be there when they were doing load-in. I said, "I want to just sit with you for a minute." They knew I was a musician. They were kind of impressed that I was standing out there with a bass wanting to sit with them. It paid off for me. I got to sit with all of them and they would show me different things about playing.
You also worked with George Clinton, right?
Yes! It's funny; I signed with George even before Klymaxx. He was sort of like my dad after awhile. I'd go to his concerts. After every show, he and I would go to his room. He'd have two double beds. I'd sit on one and play the bass. He'd listen to me play for about 15 minutes and would encourage me. Then, I'd leave, and everybody waiting to do drugs standing outside his room could finally come in! [laughs]
So, you were signed to his production company?
Yes, Uncle Jam. I had come to L.A. with him. More than anybody, he encouraged me year after year. I remember at a party we went to together, he introduced me as his daughter to Prince! But he was so busy with so much stuff, that when I had the chance to join Klymaxx, he said, "Just do it!"
A little bit before that, you also managed to get out your own record, "A Wild and Crazzy Song," on TK Records. How did that come to be?
That was right before I signed with George. He came to the studio where I was working as an intern. I was based in Richmond, Virginia, at that time. I had met a great musician whom I wanted to work with. So, there was a studio called Alpha Audio that gave me a job, and I had the chance to record there at night when people weren't using it. I recorded some stuff with the guys who worked there. I remember driving down to Florida. I would drive anywhere to see anybody to say, "Here's my music." We met a guy named Steve Alaimo down there. We gave him the music. He put it out, and it got a little bit of play on the east coast. Frankie Crocker even picked it as one of his favorites; but then nothing else happened with it. I didn't care, though. I was excited!
Was it George who ultimately encouraged you to move to L.A.?
Leon Sylvers is actually who's responsible for my going there. The SOLAR "Galaxy of Stars" would travel through the southeast. Dick Griffey and Leon would see me standing with my bass at the backstage door. I thought it was so cool—the buses with the rainbow on the side. I just wanted to be a part of it. Mr. Griffey had signed a female band; but he said their bass player couldn't play. He said, "Give me your number and I'll call you. There's a situation that might be cool for you." Well, he did call me; and he said, "We want you to fly out to L.A. if you're interested. There's a group that you can fit in with." And that's what happened. I was on a plane to L.A. Right after I got there, Klymaxx was already halfway through its first album. I signed my paperwork and I was part of the group. In fact, the group was also still auditioning for a percussionist. Sheila E. came in, but she decided to not be in the group. She was already established.
What was it like being out in L.A. and recording those first two albums with Klymaxx for SOLAR?
I had never lived out of the southeast. But I had always wanted to go to California. I would listen to Chaka Khan's song, "Hollywood." It was different. I felt sort of alone in the world in some way, but not really. Being around other women who played was really cool. I was really excited about the opportunity.
Had you aspired at all to be a singer?
I used to sing with the brush and play the guitar, even to the Beatles' "She Loves You"! But I wanted to play, really. So I came into the group not to sing; I was designated as a bass player. But on our second album, we worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Although we didn't have any big hits, I have to say that Jimmy is the reason I got to sing anything. He said, 'She needs to sing!'
Yes! I remember that you sang the lead on the single "Convince Me," which your co-member Lynn Maltsby wrote. What was it like for you in the studio leading a song like that?
I've always been a funk kind of person. I went from that to a pop singer immediately. Mr. Griffey would say, "You can't sing no R&B, you're a pop singer!" I was frightened. My voice was trembling a little!
Klymaxx hit its commercial stride a couple of years later with the Meeting in the Ladies Room album. You had a part in writing the breakthrough hit for the group, "The Men All Pause," with member Bernadette Cooper. How did that come about?
I always did tracks. I would give Mr. Griffey cassettes full of grooves. He called me "Grooves." "The Men All Pause" was one of them. I used to listen to a lot of funk. I did beats that were heavy. So, I gave it to Bernadette, who was a crazy, insane creative person, and she wrote the vocal parts and talked about how much she loved herself. And that pretty much took care of it!
You mentioned the differences between singing funk and pop. Certainly, you got to experience success with both via Klymaxx, from "Then Men All Pause" to "I Miss You"—the latter becoming a huge crossover hit for the group. Did Lynn write that song specifically for you to sing?
No, Lorena was supposed to sing it! I think she was sick [the day of the session], and I guess the voice of Jam was in their heads saying, "Joyce should sing it!"
During the late 1980s, Klymaxx split into factions. You ended up recording a very successful solo album for Motown entitled Maximum Thrust. What led to that?
Jheryl Busby was in charge of the Klymaxx stuff at MCA. He was getting ready to take Berry Gordy's place at Motown. Motown and MCA were still part of each other. He asked me, "Why don't you do a solo album with me at Motown and still be a part of the group?" I thought that was brilliant. I was living in Atlanta at the time. I was still in the group; but I kept flying back and forth, because I discovered there were so many talented people here. I signed Dallas Austin as a songwriter-producer when he was 17. We were working on a bunch of music. Then we had a meeting. Jheryl said, "I need to know that every person in this room is part of the group that I'm signing." Because he was going to Motown, he thought that [other members of the group] were going to be jealous and try to kick me out. That's exactly what happened. After I signed my Motown deal, they informed MCA that I was not part of the group anymore. I didn't even know I was out of the group!
You had a big hit with "Mr. DJ" (featuring Doug E. Fresh), which reached #2 R&B on Billboard's R&B chart. Were you pleased with the outcome?
I loved it. The key thing about "Mr. DJ"—at that time, people did records where the singer would sing through the whole song, and then the rapper would have a little guest spot. I said, "Okay, I'm 30, and this beat is a young beat." I wanted to feature the rapper and then sing the hook. Nobody was doing that! I needed Doug E. to start the record.
Given that success, why didn't you release a second solo LP?
After I signed Dallas, I took him to L.A. Reid and Babyface and said, "This guy's a genius!" I flew him to Jam & Lewis and introduced him to to Motown. Two of the three people that I took him to began to work with him and pay him under the table and cut me out. I kept thinking, "If I was a dude, they wouldn't be disrespecting me this way." If you're signed to a production company, you have someone who negotiates on your behalf. I had just bought Dallas a new BMW on credit. We hadn't had great success yet at the time. But he was like my kid, so I bought it. The next thing I know, Dallas said, "They were giving me more money than I'd ever seen." We all had to go our separate ways.
One chapter of the Klymaxx story that I wanted to ask you about, which was mysteriously left out of the Unsung episode about the group, is the One Day album that you released with the group in 1994. Given the previous tensions, what led you to rejoin forces?
I felt, "Isn't it a shame that we had so much potential as a group and we let ridiculous things keep us from being more successful?" I was doing well at the time. Even though Dallas and I had parted ways, since he was originally signed to me as a songwriter, I still owned some publishing on the songs from the first TLC and Boyz II Men albums. So, I started flying everybody to Atlanta. Everybody was doing different stuff; but I've always felt that everybody has the right to participate, if you want to.
What was that experience of running your own label with independent distribution like, compared to being signed to other labels?
It was a learning experience. I had tractor trailers in my front yard, and all these people that worked at Turner Broadcasting moonlighting and doing independent video. But if I look at what it cost me, it was insane! I always put money into music. I wouldn't go out and buy a new car. I'd go out and get some equipment and do something with music. I loved it so much, I was just crazy like that! I wouldn't do it again the same way, but I will be doing it again in a different way.
What important characteristics do you feel Klymaxx contributed to the landscape of popular R&B music?
Women playing instruments—the idea that you can do things out of the norm, and it's okay. You can play drums, bass, horns, guitar. Singing is cool; but you don't have to just sing. You can contribute in other ways. And if you do sing or rap, it can be about self-love—that you have value. That's the biggest thing.
Aside from Jams for Animals, are there any other projects you have in the works now?
Jams was my sole focus for the last year. I had to get enough stuff together to form a presentation. The biggest thing I've learned in all my time in music is that one song can change your entire life. 2014 is my year to really write and produce. I do plan to put a group together of people who've been successful before. We may be like Daft Punk, where you can't see our faces—where people are like, "I don't want to listen to those old ladies, they're 50," but if you hear the music, it's timeless!
Is there any one particular aspect of the present day music industry that you would like to have an effect on changing?
I want to show that once you reach 40 or 50, you still have value in society.
Anything else you'd like to say to our readers?
Whatever your calling is in life, follow it and do it. The older I get, I realize I have much less time to waste—whether it's in a job that you hate or a relationship that's negative. Free yourself, love yourself, honor yourself and other beings. Be kind. Pay it forward. Spread a little love. Enjoy every moment of your life and don't take it for granted.
Check out the Jams for Animals website
Connect with Justin Kantor on Twitter.
Listen to excerpts of Justin's interview below:
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