Kendra P., 16, is a student at SHS.
At least once in everyone’s lives, you’ve caught yourself doing the typical “singing in the shower”, “dancing in your underwear”, or “singing into a hairbrush”, when no one was watching. You’ve even been alone, singing along to the radio, and wondered, “Imagine if I sang on the radio? Imagine if I was the one who made millions of people smile with my voice?” A dream that is almost always considered “far-fetched” or “nearly impossible” to a majority of people in America. Stephan Jenkins, along with the rest of the population, is guilty of once thinking being a star is something close to impossible.
Stephan Douglas Jenkins, born on September 27, 1964, in Oakland, California, raised briefly in Wisconsin, but mostly in Palo Alto, California, became, and is now, one of the most unforgettable, successful, adored alternative artists in the world. With deep brown hair and rich green eyes, Stephan Jenkins found his way to steal the hearts of millions with the help of his band members in his band Third Eye Blind. At age 5, Stephan was found banging on pots and pans on his kitchen floor, and “composing” original works. By age 9, he was given a drum set where he began to really get himself enthralled with music, but didn’t expect it to go anywhere at all; thus investing in his future career as a marine biologist. Not yet satisfied, he even tried the trumpet, but couldn’t read the notes. “Everyone said I was pretty much un-teachable,” Stephan remembers. Growing up, Stephan attended Gunn High School, in his hometown Palo, California, and graduated in the class of ’83. With a degree of literature, Stephan then continued onto college and attended the University of Berkeley graduating in ’87, being the valedictorian of his class, which was an incredible accomplishment, knowing that he overcame dyslexia has a child.
Following making his degree, he reluctantly followed his dream and became a solo musician in San Fransisco. For Stephan, that wasn’t enough. He decided to pull together a band, and go for the gold. Lineups after lineups failed, and the odds weren’t in Stephan’s favorite. Former Fungo Muno bassist, Arion Salazer, came across Stephan's path one day and the two decided to name their newly formed band Third Eye Blind, in reference to the metaphysical concept of a third eye.Coincidentally, at one of the band's first shows, developing student and guitarist, Kevin Cadogan, introduced himself to the Jenkins and easily became part of Third Eye Blind in late 1995, along with his friend Brad Hargreaves, former drummer of the band Counting Crows. The band, in full swing, starting working on finding an image, began getting major attention by major-labels through his producation of the Braid's cover of the band Queen's original piece, "Bohemian Rhapsody," which unexpectedly did a lot for Stephan and his band. Stephan couldn't believe it; before he knew it, he was signing a publishing deal, which was reported to be the largest deal ever presented to an unreleashed artist. Playing frequently in the Bay-State, Stephan and his band attracted the public with their 14-track demo, making their way to open for their first big show for Oasis in 1996 at the Civic Auditorium. This concert was an undeniable success, rewarding the band with an encore Stephan never dreamed of. To barely anyone's surprise, the band signed with Elektra/Asylum, allowing them the artistic freedom they longed for. Stepha
n was made the band's producer, and with this authority his band made their debut in San Fransico with the help of Eric Valentine, who helped them earlier work on their other demos. Making Stephan's dreams come true, the self-titled Third Eye Blind was released in 1997, and by that summer, "Semi-Charmed Life" became an off-the-charts hit, followed by "How's It Going To Be" and "Jumper." The words could hardly come off of Stephan's lips, that his band and himself had broke into the Billboard Top 200 and remained there for over a year, making the name for themselves as one of the most popular bands of the 90's.Their next album, Blue, made it's way in 1999 and sold 150,000 copies within a month of releasing it. It was claimed as the band's strongest album, but what really seemed to steal the hearts of fans was "Never Let You Go," which seemed the be the most popular song compared to Stephan's first singles. Stephan and his band began to play for charity causes, such as shows in support of Tiger Woods Foundation and Breathe, a performance that promoted breast cancer awareness. In 2003, the release of Out of the Vein was the least successful of the three albums. Returning to the drawing board, Jenkins had some altercations with writer's block, which in turn prolonged the release of their new album for six years, but in the mean-time Stephan and his band put together a collection of their greatest hits in 2006, and continued a tour to keep their oldest hits alive. And recently in 2009, Third Eye Blind debuted their newest album, "Ursa Major", a long time coming for their die-hard fans.
It's evident that Stephan Jenkins' life was drastically changed because of his rising fame, and it's even more evident that he wouldn't have had it any other way. Or was it? Stephan had the life, great band members, adoring fans, and all the riches and fame that came along with being a popular artist. But all that glitters wasn't gold, and Stephan found a way to hold it together. In 1998, after ending a relationship with Craig Bierko, actress Charlize Theron became Stephan Jenkins girlfriend, evidently changing her interest from actors to musicians. Their relationship was more than Stephan could ask for, until 2001 when demise quickly came. It wasn't that Stephan didn't want her anymore or anything of that nature, it was the topic of marriage. It was the typical case of "girl wants to get married, guy doesn't" and Charlize began to look else where. Being the rising star that Jenkins was, it was almost impossible to settle down and make a commitment as drastic as that of marriage. Not only was it the troubles of marriage, but being enthralled in stardom, it wasn't very difficult to have a steady girlfriend without the public's panties in a bunch. Jenkins recalls, "To have everything exposed makes you feel a little strange. But I learned a lot from Charlize, actually. I learned that you cannot put the relationship second. Because love is not enough." But that wasn't the last stop on the love train for Jenkins, in 2002, Stephan Jenkins begins dating Vanessa Carlton, a very talented musician. Together, the two, as Carlton puts it, created a child, a child of music. "Heroes and Thieves" was produced by Jenkins, and the two, after dating for four years, for un identified reasons drifted apart in their own directions, heartbreaking for the two of them, nonetheless. Could it be the music industry that tore them apart? Highly likely, but all Stephan was sure of was that he made a fantastic friend along the way. Relationships weren't the only roadblock for this rising star, Stephan also experienced hard times within the relationships of his band members. The original four: himself, Kevin Codagon, Brad Hargreaves, and Arion Salazer, weren't the original four for much longer. After Codagon's final performance at Sundance Film Festival in 2000, drummer Brad Hargreaves was the one to break the news to Codagon that he had been fired from the band. This was a difficult time for the entire band, especially with a lawsuit being put on Stephan and his band, for an undisclosed amount of money, although Codagon quotes, "I was always in it for the music, not the money." Despite the demise, Jenkins and the remaining band members only wished the best for Kevin and his future success. For whatever reason Kevin had been fired, it was evident that he must be replaced. In turn, Tony Fredianelli replaced Codagon, being the best replacement Third Eye Blind could have chosen. Stressed and in need of taking it easy, the newly reformed band took a breather for two years, with their newest member, and put most of their focus on charity shows and things less drastic. But this wasn't the end of the topsy-tervy misfortune Stephan was experiencing with his band mates, in 2006 Arion Salazer, bassist, began missing a lot of the Third Eye Blind's live shows. In an effort to save Salazer, a Third Eye Blind fan site, 3eb.co.uk - The Village Church Yard, encouraged fans of Salazar and the band to join in a letter writing campain addressed to Salazer, sending the letters to him in 2006. The loss of this band member was crucial, but the men appreciated his decision and understood where he was coming from. Jenkins reports, "We love Arion and he’s just had a lot of personal struggles. So the band is not a working place for him right now, but he did play bass and actually co-wrote a song called “Red Star” with me and I love that song. I think he’s very talented, but we’ll be having other people play bass with us. But it’s not because we don’t love Arion, because we really do." It was a solid thing to accept, but the band did, although the time Arion left was a time of struggle. After the release of Out of the Vein in 2003, it wasn't as much as a success as the previous albums, which lead into Jenkin's lengthy battle with writer's block prolonged the release of Ursa Major six years. This was a huge problem for Stephan and his band members, but in the mean time, they continued to support their success. When the release of Ursa Major finally came, they seemed to make their album theme a constellation of a bear. Stephan explains that the idea of the album cover is the long six years they were in hibernatioin, they are bears that have awoken and are hungry for success and are ready to break out all over again. Strong-willed bears they are, for they have become one of the most popular alternative bands with the most devoted fans the music industry has seen in a long time.
Stephan Jenkins has come a long way, and as he sees it, he always has a long way to go and is ready to accept the challenge. The music industry has brought him this far, and he explains, "Third Eye Blind was this band that was marketed and processed and packaged in a way that we didn’t really recognize. After all that marketing wore off, what you have left is a playlist. Fans discovered that in the ways that they do, which was very personal for them, and then they share it with each other. We had more people come to our shows this year than had ever come before." Stephan claims Ursa Major's songs were experimented in front of audiences at previous shows, and the reaction was phenominal. The album, he says, has a confident tone to it, which is an attractive quality it should have. Stephan is all about his lyrics, and his method is unique compared to other musicians. He writes whatever ideas occurs to him, and he makes the ideas rhythmic in his mind. He says, "That’s my primary mode of organizing some kind of emotion or provocation into a piece that makes that emotion travel." Surprisingly, Stephan seemed to have some trouble with lyrics for his new album. He says he has to feel the idea, or it doesn't work, even if he's been working on the lyrics for three years. Also, Jenkins finds himself in a completely different position than he was in the '90s, in a great way. The interest and sensitivy Third Eye Blind's producers had back then was nothing compared to what the band had in mind, and Stephan feels now-a-days, people with good music can go out and get it put out and it's eligible to find audiences in ways that weren't possible before. With the great success of Ursa Major taking full swing, Jenkins plans to come out with a follow up album, "Ursa Minor," hopefully thriving the fans the same way Jenkins and his men have for years on end.
Are you the person that's afraid to chase the dreams you have? Don't be ashamed, Stephan was that guy. Coming from the orange county, he didn't have a clue he'd be the risen star he is today. He's a popular, inspiring musician, along with in his earlier years, a sex symbol. Struggles come along with every success, but he wouldn't trade any of the bumps in the road for the world. Stephan Jenkins is living proof that following your heart down the path that's calling for you, is the only way to find a way.
At least once in everyone’s lives, you’ve caught yourself doing the typical “singing in the shower”, “dancing in your underwear”, or “singing into a hairbrush”, when no one was watching. You’ve even been alone, singing along to the radio, and wondered, “Imagine if I sang on the radio? Imagine if I was the one who made millions of people smile with my voice?” A dream that is almost always considered “far-fetched” or “nearly impossible” to a majority of people in America. Stephan Jenkins, along with the rest of the population, is guilty of once thinking being a star is something close to impossible.
Stephan Douglas Jenkins, born on September 27, 1964, in Oakland, California, raised briefly in Wisconsin, but mostly in Palo Alto, California, became, and is now, one of the most unforgettable, successful, adored alternative artists in the world. With deep brown hair and rich green eyes, Stephan Jenkins found his way to steal the hearts of millions with the help of his band members in his band Third Eye Blind. At age 5, Stephan was found banging on pots and pans on his kitchen floor, and “composing” original works. By age 9, he was given a drum set where he began to really get himself enthralled with music, but didn’t expect it to go anywhere at all; thus investing in his future career as a marine biologist. Not yet satisfied, he even tried the trumpet, but couldn’t read the notes. “Everyone said I was pretty much un-teachable,” Stephan remembers. Growing up, Stephan attended Gunn High School, in his hometown Palo, California, and graduated in the class of ’83. With a degree of literature, Stephan then continued onto college and attended the University of Berkeley graduating in ’87, being the valedictorian of his class, which was an incredible accomplishment, knowing that he overcame dyslexia has a child.
Following making his degree, he reluctantly followed his dream and became a solo musician in San Fransisco. For Stephan, that wasn’t enough. He decided to pull together a band, and go for the gold. Lineups after lineups failed, and the odds weren’t in Stephan’s favorite. Former Fungo Muno bassist, Arion Salazer, came across Stephan's path one day and the two decided to name their newly formed band Third Eye Blind, in reference to the metaphysical concept of a third eye.Coincidentally, at one of the band's first shows, developing student and guitarist, Kevin Cadogan, introduced himself to the Jenkins and easily became part of Third Eye Blind in late 1995, along with his friend Brad Hargreaves, former drummer of the band Counting Crows. The band, in full swing, starting working on finding an image, began getting major attention by major-labels through his producation of the Braid's cover of the band Queen's original piece, "Bohemian Rhapsody," which unexpectedly did a lot for Stephan and his band. Stephan couldn't believe it; before he knew it, he was signing a publishing deal, which was reported to be the largest deal ever presented to an unreleashed artist. Playing frequently in the Bay-State, Stephan and his band attracted the public with their 14-track demo, making their way to open for their first big show for Oasis in 1996 at the Civic Auditorium. This concert was an undeniable success, rewarding the band with an encore Stephan never dreamed of. To barely anyone's surprise, the band signed with Elektra/Asylum, allowing them the artistic freedom they longed for. Stepha
n was made the band's producer, and with this authority his band made their debut in San Fransico with the help of Eric Valentine, who helped them earlier work on their other demos. Making Stephan's dreams come true, the self-titled Third Eye Blind was released in 1997, and by that summer, "Semi-Charmed Life" became an off-the-charts hit, followed by "How's It Going To Be" and "Jumper." The words could hardly come off of Stephan's lips, that his band and himself had broke into the Billboard Top 200 and remained there for over a year, making the name for themselves as one of the most popular bands of the 90's.Their next album, Blue, made it's way in 1999 and sold 150,000 copies within a month of releasing it. It was claimed as the band's strongest album, but what really seemed to steal the hearts of fans was "Never Let You Go," which seemed the be the most popular song compared to Stephan's first singles. Stephan and his band began to play for charity causes, such as shows in support of Tiger Woods Foundation and Breathe, a performance that promoted breast cancer awareness. In 2003, the release of Out of the Vein was the least successful of the three albums. Returning to the drawing board, Jenkins had some altercations with writer's block, which in turn prolonged the release of their new album for six years, but in the mean-time Stephan and his band put together a collection of their greatest hits in 2006, and continued a tour to keep their oldest hits alive. And recently in 2009, Third Eye Blind debuted their newest album, "Ursa Major", a long time coming for their die-hard fans.It's evident that Stephan Jenkins' life was drastically changed because of his rising fame, and it's even more evident that he wouldn't have had it any other way. Or was it? Stephan had the life, great band members, adoring fans, and all the riches and fame that came along with being a popular artist. But all that glitters wasn't gold, and Stephan found a way to hold it together. In 1998, after ending a relationship with Craig Bierko, actress Charlize Theron became Stephan Jenkins girlfriend, evidently changing her interest from actors to musicians. Their relationship was more than Stephan could ask for, until 2001 when demise quickly came. It wasn't that Stephan didn't want her anymore or anything of that nature, it was the topic of marriage. It was the typical case of "girl wants to get married, guy doesn't" and Charlize began to look else where. Being the rising star that Jenkins was, it was almost impossible to settle down and make a commitment as drastic as that of marriage. Not only was it the troubles of marriage, but being enthralled in stardom, it wasn't very difficult to have a steady girlfriend without the public's panties in a bunch. Jenkins recalls, "To have everything exposed makes you feel a little strange. But I learned a lot from Charlize, actually. I learned that you cannot put the relationship second. Because love is not enough." But that wasn't the last stop on the love train for Jenkins, in 2002, Stephan Jenkins begins dating Vanessa Carlton, a very talented musician. Together, the two, as Carlton puts it, created a child, a child of music. "Heroes and Thieves" was produced by Jenkins, and the two, after dating for four years, for un identified reasons drifted apart in their own directions, heartbreaking for the two of them, nonetheless. Could it be the music industry that tore them apart? Highly likely, but all Stephan was sure of was that he made a fantastic friend along the way. Relationships weren't the only roadblock for this rising star, Stephan also experienced hard times within the relationships of his band members. The original four: himself, Kevin Codagon, Brad Hargreaves, and Arion Salazer, weren't the original four for much longer. After Codagon's final performance at Sundance Film Festival in 2000, drummer Brad Hargreaves was the one to break the news to Codagon that he had been fired from the band. This was a difficult time for the entire band, especially with a lawsuit being put on Stephan and his band, for an undisclosed amount of money, although Codagon quotes, "I was always in it for the music, not the money." Despite the demise, Jenkins and the remaining band members only wished the best for Kevin and his future success. For whatever reason Kevin had been fired, it was evident that he must be replaced. In turn, Tony Fredianelli replaced Codagon, being the best replacement Third Eye Blind could have chosen. Stressed and in need of taking it easy, the newly reformed band took a breather for two years, with their newest member, and put most of their focus on charity shows and things less drastic. But this wasn't the end of the topsy-tervy misfortune Stephan was experiencing with his band mates, in 2006 Arion Salazer, bassist, began missing a lot of the Third Eye Blind's live shows. In an effort to save Salazer, a Third Eye Blind fan site, 3eb.co.uk - The Village Church Yard, encouraged fans of Salazar and the band to join in a letter writing campain addressed to Salazer, sending the letters to him in 2006. The loss of this band member was crucial, but the men appreciated his decision and understood where he was coming from. Jenkins reports, "We love Arion and he’s just had a lot of personal struggles. So the band is not a working place for him right now, but he did play bass and actually co-wrote a song called “Red Star” with me and I love that song. I think he’s very talented, but we’ll be having other people play bass with us. But it’s not because we don’t love Arion, because we really do." It was a solid thing to accept, but the band did, although the time Arion left was a time of struggle. After the release of Out of the Vein in 2003, it wasn't as much as a success as the previous albums, which lead into Jenkin's lengthy battle with writer's block prolonged the release of Ursa Major six years. This was a huge problem for Stephan and his band members, but in the mean time, they continued to support their success. When the release of Ursa Major finally came, they seemed to make their album theme a constellation of a bear. Stephan explains that the idea of the album cover is the long six years they were in hibernatioin, they are bears that have awoken and are hungry for success and are ready to break out all over again. Strong-willed bears they are, for they have become one of the most popular alternative bands with the most devoted fans the music industry has seen in a long time.
Stephan Jenkins has come a long way, and as he sees it, he always has a long way to go and is ready to accept the challenge. The music industry has brought him this far, and he explains, "Third Eye Blind was this band that was marketed and processed and packaged in a way that we didn’t really recognize. After all that marketing wore off, what you have left is a playlist. Fans discovered that in the ways that they do, which was very personal for them, and then they share it with each other. We had more people come to our shows this year than had ever come before." Stephan claims Ursa Major's songs were experimented in front of audiences at previous shows, and the reaction was phenominal. The album, he says, has a confident tone to it, which is an attractive quality it should have. Stephan is all about his lyrics, and his method is unique compared to other musicians. He writes whatever ideas occurs to him, and he makes the ideas rhythmic in his mind. He says, "That’s my primary mode of organizing some kind of emotion or provocation into a piece that makes that emotion travel." Surprisingly, Stephan seemed to have some trouble with lyrics for his new album. He says he has to feel the idea, or it doesn't work, even if he's been working on the lyrics for three years. Also, Jenkins finds himself in a completely different position than he was in the '90s, in a great way. The interest and sensitivy Third Eye Blind's producers had back then was nothing compared to what the band had in mind, and Stephan feels now-a-days, people with good music can go out and get it put out and it's eligible to find audiences in ways that weren't possible before. With the great success of Ursa Major taking full swing, Jenkins plans to come out with a follow up album, "Ursa Minor," hopefully thriving the fans the same way Jenkins and his men have for years on end.
Are you the person that's afraid to chase the dreams you have? Don't be ashamed, Stephan was that guy. Coming from the orange county, he didn't have a clue he'd be the risen star he is today. He's a popular, inspiring musician, along with in his earlier years, a sex symbol. Struggles come along with every success, but he wouldn't trade any of the bumps in the road for the world. Stephan Jenkins is living proof that following your heart down the path that's calling for you, is the only way to find a way.
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