We are Spinning Jenny! A band comprised of 3 sisters (17, 13, 11) and their dad. AMA!

Where did the name come from?

Funny story! None of us are actually named Jenny or anything. We are homeschooled, and a long time ago (before we played music) we were learning about the industrial revolution. One of the inventions that came about during that time was the spinning jenny, basically a spinning wheel with an engine attached. Our mom commented that "spinning jenny" would be a cool name for a band, and we just never forgot about that!

I googled spinning jenny, and I saw pictures of the spinning wheel. I really like that it inspired your band name!

Yeah, we like the look of it! Very steampunk/industrial! We've thought about putting the spinning jenny into a band graphic for us!

I bet you'd like this Gordon Lightfoot song. Maybe you know it already.

We've never heard it, but we'll take a listen! It matches our name! Haha thanks!

You guys rock! My 10 year old daughter is currently learning to play the guitar and violin, and your videos have been a huge inspiration for her. Keep it up, and we'll keep watching. All the best!

Thank you so much!! Hearing that we inspire people like that (especially young people) is just so motivating! We wish her the best and tell her we said never to give up! Music is such a great thing to learn. Thanks!

I don't really have a question, but I just have to say that you guys are amazing! You're everything that I wanted to be when I was your age. Keep up the good work!

Aw, thank you so much!! That's such a nice compliment! We definitely will & we hope that you continue to keep up with us!

What band would each of you love to perform with?

Our Dad says that he would love to perform with Foo Fighters! Julia says she would love to perform with No Doubt. Talia and Angelina's choice is Paramore! We've actually gotten the opportunity to play with Rob Parissi of Wild Cherry because he is from our hometown, so that was incredible!

So... Which one are you? Are you dad? Or Julia?

This is Julia, just replying using our names so it wouldn't be confusing!

Thanks for doing an AMA! You are all really really cool. Did you start doing music as a part of your schooling, or was it an independent choice by each of you? And random question, what are your favorite foods?

Thank you so much!! We all were addicted to the video game Rock Band, which made us want to play for real! It wasn't a school thing. Dad's favorite food is any kind of pasta, Julia's is seafood, Talia's is Chinese, and Angelina's favorite is any kind of Italian food, especially spaghetti!

Ahh that's really neat that you were inspired by a video game! And great food choices, good food for rocking! :)

Yeah, without Rock Band, all of this probably would have never happened! And yeah, we're Italian, so food is a big deal for us!

I feel like I saw you on America's Got Talent.....

Did you ever enter that?

No, we haven't! Something that we may be looking into in the future, however!

Don't, there's better ways to share your creativity. Tv shows "own" any of your own original music if its played on the show.

Good to know! We'd preferred to just get discovered somehow!

This is the best and most organic place currently.

Spotify and pandora are good also.

Oh great! We definitely will try to get our album on Spotify when it's finished!

Goodness! There are some pervs around arent there?! Please ignore those guys. This question is for the dad, how did you get your kids interested in instruments? I would love to get my kiddos playing.

Well we have always love music here but the video game Rock Band is what really peaked the girls interest in learning to play real instuments. In that game they were exposed to some really great music from classic bands like Rush, The Police, Deep Purple, The Outlaws and many more. They had so much fun as a video game "band" that they wanted to try the real thing.

Where did the inspiration to form a band come from? How long have you played you respective instruments?

Honestly, we never planned on starting the band! We all played instruments, but our grandmother was actually the one who made us learn a few songs to play at our family reunion! After that, it just kind of took off! Julia our rhythm guitarist has been playing for around four years, Talia the drummer has been playing for around 2 or 3, and Angelina our bassist has been playing for two years and keyboards for around 6 months!

We've never had any lessons though!

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Thank you so much!!! Winning the Paramore contest was an incredible moment for all of us, as we are huge Paramore fans and never expected to win! The other best moment that we've had was playing our original music out at a show for the first time! That was an amazing rush. Hey, just get us a spot and we'll be happy to come!!

Julia - is that guitar part hard to play while singing the verses? It's very impressive and you totally nailed it.

Yes it was at first, but after some practice it wasn't a big deal! Thank you so much! The riffs that don't go with the singing usually turn out to be the most fun to play and sing together!

All of you play so well and dad has a killer rhythm/background vocal/parenting thing going on. Barring father, you remind me of The Donnas, any punk bands you cover?

Thank you so much!!! We used to play a few Dollyrots songs, which were really cool & we've done some Green Day as well!

We've also covered "Ruby Soho" by Rancid!

Rancid is my favorite!! I have seen them 3 times(2 warp tours and once in Las Vegas.

Aw that's so cool! They are a really awesome punk group. We love how they mix in that reggae feel!

If you don't already know 'Operation Ivy' I would recommend them. Tim Armstrong's first band.

We don't know them, but we'll check them out!! They sound cool!

I liked your covers of Alien Ant Farm a lot. A lot of respect for the Bassist for that cover. Do you enjoy doing rock covers or just rock style in general?

Thank you so much! We love rock n roll, and originally started with only rock stuff in our setlists! More recently, we've expanded our music across a wide variety of genres, but we still have our roots in rock & our original music is alt. rock!

Cool story

Thank you so much!

First of you all are ridiculously talented and I can't think of any more awesome of a way to bond as a family.

It seems the three of you split up vocal duties pretty evenly. Any rhyme or reason to deciding who takes the lead on each song?

Thank you so much!! It's definitely a lot of fun. There is, actually! Us three girls all have really different voices in style and range, so that dictates who sings the song. For example, Angelina takes the really high-range, power songs with singers like Amy Lee and Alicia Keys, Talia goes for the more soulful, energetic songs with singers like Adele or Gin Wigmore, and Julia always takes on the more grungy rock n roll songs with singers like Courtney Love and Alanis Morrisette!

Hey, congrats on making the frontpage and everything, sorry that the ama didn't get more steam, but it was probably for the best, because the internet can have some scum, and I think most of the important questions were answered for future fans(you definitely got more fans from the frontpage than the 112 upvotes this received at the time of my posting).

Anywho, I think you guys will go far, and wish you luck. I hope my daughters will be half as passionate as dedicated as you guys seem to be. The guys that think the dad is riding on the girls coat tails are pimple faced basement dwellers. They'll figure it out when they have kids.

Thank you very much! The response from Reddit across our social media has just been incredible! And thanks about our Dad, we think he is amazing and could never do what we do without him!

Just wanted to let you know that we posted a new video on here! It's a cover of "Jet" by Paul McCartney and Wings, and we hope you check it out and share it with your friends!!

What should I have for lunch?

It is our unanimous decision that you should have subway!

What have you got planned for the future, gigs, etc?

The next big thing for us is getting in the studio and finishing our demo album! We have gigs planned throughout the rest of the year, but other than that we're just trying to promote ourselves the best that we can!

Is the oldest sister going to college soon, or is she going to stay with the family to keep the band together?

This is the oldest sister, Julia! The college I am probably going to attend is actually only 10 minutes away from where we live, so I don't think it's going to be a big deal! I'm not planning to live on campus either.

if you had a choice, would you have rather been in public school or did you love home schooling?

Our parents always ask us before the start of the school year if we want to go to public school, but we always stick with homeschooling. Homeschooling is really what allows us to pursue our music because of its flexibility, while if we were attending a public school, it would be extremely difficult to put time into the band!

very true! i was also homeschooled and i love the flexibility! i don't know what the rules are in OH but we needed to get tested once a year and now with the right tester that can even be done over skype!

We love it too! We get tested once a year as well, but we've never heard of the Skype thing! That's really cool!

Spinning Jenny by Skyclad, the band that invented Folk Metal.

We've heard them before!! They have a really cool sound; very unique!

Do you all exclusively play your instruments, or dabble in each other's? I noticed that all of you sing, so was wondering how far your instrumental talent extends.

For the most part, we all exclusively play our own instruments, although our Dad plays bass on a few songs! Generally, though, we just stick to our own stuff!

Do you guys have any big plans for the future? Do you want to make it big or just live normal lives and get a normal job when you grow up?

Making it big would be amazing. We would love to make a career out of music and it would definitely be an incredible experience! We will take the opportunity if it ever comes our way! We'll just have to see where life takes us!

Where does your name come from?

Funny story! None of us are actually named Jenny or anything. We are homeschooled, and a long time ago (before we played music) we were learning about the industrial revolution. One of the inventions that came about during that time was the spinning jenny, basically a spinning wheel with an engine attached. Our mom commented that "spinning jenny" would be a cool name for a band, and we just never forgot about that! Also you can read our story here to see how we got started: http://isuckatbeingateenagegirl.com/2013/08/21/the-spinning-jenny-story/

Question for the drummer, Talia. How long did you have to practice before you felt you could comfortable drum along to songs? Also do you play any other instruments?

Hi, this is Talia! Since I'm self-taught, the way that I learned how to play was by playing along to different songs until I could do it well! I don't play any other instruments, but I sing!

I'm assuming your dad has had a great influence over your musical abilities. Was this a dream of his to have his daughters be such talented musicians and maybe form a band one day ? How did you all decide on what instruments you would play ? Talia, we need a drummer for the band, Angelina we need you on bass ?

He never really intended us to be doing this, although he was very happy to teach us music when we started taking an interest! We were all addicted to the video game Rock Band, and we all just naturally gravitated to the different instruments. Julia took guitar, Talia always played drums, and Angelina loved the bass! From there we just never had an interest in learning any other instruments from those!

Few years of experience with no lessons. Damn, I need to start using my keyboard piano. =\ You guys are pretty damned impressive. You should link your youtube channel in your opening post. Edit that baby in there for easy lazy redditor access. Lol

Thank you so much!! That's a great idea, we'll do that now!

Hi, you guys are great! Have you started out learning how to record yourselves? You can make your own studio at home.

Thank you so much! We've used recording programs at home, but we're recording our original music at Aardvark Productions in Steubenville, OH!

Just discovered you guys last night and watched several of your youtube videos - keep up the good work!

Thanks so much! We're really glad you like our videos and you can listen to our original songs here: http://www.reverbnation.com/spinningjenny19?profile_view_source=profile_box

I have no big questions, but just want to say you guys are awesome! It is wonderful seeing you guys play music; all of you are not only talented but it is easy to see music is your true passion! Keep rocking on!!!

Thank you so much!! We all really love all kinds of music, and now that we're writing our own we appreciate music even more!

Hi Guys! What are you all listening to at the moment?

All the best!

Hello! Dad has been listening to Black Crowes, Julia has been listening to Paul Mccartney, and Talia and Angelina have been listening to Paramore's new album! We all enjoy a wide variety of music!

Great to hear! (excuse the pun!)

Rock on guys! \m/\m/

Thank you so much!! Hope you keep up with the band!

Wow You guys are good! Is it Angelina that sings your cover of 'girl on fire'? Ow and I subbed.

Thank you so much and yes she does! Angelina usually takes the high-range, power songs!

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Thank you! We like it too, even though we get asked a lot which of us is Jenny!

Man, you guys are just a crazy amount of fun. Really talented, too, and the family thing comes across as cute rather than cliche. Any plans for the future?

Thank you very much!! That's really great to hear. Well, we'd love to make it big someday, so right now we're just promoting ourselves as best we can and working on our demo album. It would be incredible to make a career out of music!

I saw the video of your para more cover yesterday. You all sound awesome!! I loved it. Keep up the awesome work!

Thank you so much!! We always appreciate good feedback!

You guys are great, keep up the good work. Drummer is awesome too, special shout out for being stuck in the back there. Do you guys ever change instruments and positions? Also would love to hear some vocal harmonies. If you don't, perhaps something to work on, there is nothing as pleasing to the ear as hearing a family harmonize together.

I also have a question for Dad, but was wondering if there is a way he could pm me. I too have a daughter and we jam, I just have a personal question about level of musicianship, tutoring and playing with other musicians. Would rather ask it out of the public eye, and he can share it afterwards if he likes. PM me if he can, if not, oh well, keep up the great work, seriously and keep at it, at some point you should make it, 3 talented sisters, that is a unique commodity. Dad is talented too, but at some point the record labels will probably tell you that you have to lose the old guy :)

EDIT I see you have a whole channel, and I see you harmonize well together, only saw the one video the other night, then responded. I see said the blind man, as he picked up his hammer and saw.

Thanks for the question. This is John, the dad. I'm not sure how to PM on here but would be happy to discuss any questions you might have privately. If you know how to PM please let me know, if not maybe we could do it through email. Thanks again.

MINGO!!!! I went to college in Steubenville, Mingo has way more charm...

Oh really? That's so cool! Yeah, Mingo is a nice little town where everyone knows each other & helps out in the community!

First off, congratulations on your success! I love to see talented projects come out of my home state!

How did your success come about? Did you start the project with contacts in the music industry or were you ''discovered'' at some point? What can an average Joe do to ''make it'' in the industry?

Thank you so much!! Well, we started by opening up for our uncle's band, who is very successful around our area. After playing for a while, we just started to make a name for ourselves and people were calling us to play all kinds of different gigs locally. The biggest contribution to our success so far, however, has been winning the Paramore contest! The exposure from the contest was tremendous, and really helped to get our name out there! We're still trying to make it ourselves, but the best advice we can give is to do your own thing. Don't try to be like anybody else and work hard for what you want! Show people that you really have something special, give them a show, and they will listen.

Just saw your video or your paramore cover on the front page the other day, you guys are great! It's nice to see kids involved with music rather and have a passion for something so great :)

Thank you very much!! We are very blessed to be able to be involved in music, especially within our own family! Hopefully we will be able to do it for a very long time!

What state are you from?

We are from Mingo Jct. Ohio!

Congratulations on winning the Paramore "Still Into You" Karaoke contest! Saw you a couple months ago from Paramore's facebook page, and you guys were amazing! So here's our (me and my gang) question to you guys, what's your favorite song by Paramore? And if you don't mind answering our follow-up question, what's your favorite album (still by Paramore)?

Thank you so much!!! That's a tough one! Our dad's favorite is "In The Mourning", Julia's favorite (right now) is "Part II", Talia's is "Daydreaming", and Angelina's is "Now". We love the new album, but the best overall is probably "Brand New Eyes." How about you guys?

You guys have another subscriber, I was really impressed. Got yourself another subscriber.

Yeah, we're always thrilled to get more subscribers! Gotta keep getting our name out there! Thank you!

Any relation to the Boston band Spinning Jenny in the 90's?

Nope! Only two of our band members were actually alive in the 90s!

No... just no.

Sorry you didn't enjoy it.....