Jana Peri

Jana Peri crafts hook-driven power pop/rock that fuses raw energy with tuneful accessibility, shaped by the British Invasion sounds of the 1960s and the punk plus new wave currents of the 1970s and 1980s. Her entire existence has unfolded in the New York region, beginning with her birth in the Bronx, followed by a move at age two to Long Island suburbs, where she remained until turning eighteen and relocating to Manhattan. While growing up on Long Island, she took in an array of rock and pop/rock styles. Before reaching her teens, she held Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis in high regard and immersed herself in British Invasion acts such as the Beatles—who exerted a major influence—the Rolling Stones, the Who, and the Kinks, soon adding Blondie, the Pretenders, and Joan Jett to her inspirations. Having already begun singing and playing guitar prior to adolescence, Peri has named John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Blondie's Debbie Harry, and the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde as "personal icons." Upon finishing high school and departing Long Island for Manhattan, she enrolled at New York University and earned a drama degree. By 1994 she was performing in Manhattan rock venues, and she issued a self-titled EP on her own Hot Jupiter label in 1999.