Jennifer Interviewed by 20/20 on Behalf of Murdered Friend's Family, Only In Houston, September 2009

FOX 26 News Interview About Koloroutis Murder Case, FOX 26 News, September 2009

Live From Sugarhill Review, Only In Houston, March 2009

Live From The Potpourri, Houston Community Newspapers, March 2009

Keep Silent Review & Interview, The Houston Chronicle, 2008

Spring Recording Artist Kicks Off Concert Series, Spring Observer, 2008

Murdered Teens Remembered in Song, Bay Runner Magazine, 2003

Jennifer Grassman at Sugarhill, Mix Magazine, 2003

More articles coming soon!

Jennifer Grassman calls her original compositions "spiritual" and "feminine." It's a moody mix she likens to the work of Sarah McLahlan, Tori Amos and Loreena McKennitt.

The Houston performer's 2006 disc, At the Back of the North Wind, showcased pounding melodies and piano arrangements (and a voice that echoes the ethereal swirl of Sarah Brightman).

Grassman, a University of Houston vocal major, brings that same sense of purpose to Keep Silent, a new, double-disc collection of ancient Christmas carols and hymns. She's been touring churches throughout Texas and chatted recently about her holiday mission:

When did the seasonal spirit first strike?

My first big gig was playing at the Warwick Hotel during the holiday season. I did little renditions of my favorite carols that I'd grown up with in a very conservative church. They were sentimental to me. I was able to kind of make them my own. It's been inspiration, I'd say, for about three years.

Was it Christmas year-round at home during recording?

I've basically been listening to Christmas music for the last year-and-a-half. My tree was up until August — until my husband finally made me take it down. The cats really loved it.

How did you set the Christmas mood?

I would turn all the lights off. I had a little cinammon-apple scented candle that I would light. And to me, that smelled like Christmas because my mom would always bake apple pie. That would help me get in the mood.

What was special about the title track, Keep Silent?

That's from the fifth century. It was originally translated from Latin, from the liturgy of St. James. It's different from any other Christmas carol I've ever heard. This was just very devout, very somber. It's almost like a Gregorian chant. I just found it really fascinating.

Was it tough incorporating your two originals into the mix?

They are pseudo-ancient carols. I didn't want them to be a huge contrast to the old carols. I wanted to keep a consistent mood throughout the CD. I've always been influenced by classical music, so it wasn't too hard of a thing to do.

What's your favorite Christmas song?

Handel's Messiah, even when I was really little. It's just a tradition for me on Christmas. I wanted to keep that going ... that very traditional, very pure (sound).

Doesn't a Christmas CD present unique marketing challenges?

Obviously, I won't be able to sell many in July. But the good thing about it is every Christmas, every holiday season, I'm going to have a CD to sell. People just buy it hardly without even hearing it. In that sense, it's a really easy sell.

In keeping with the theme, what's been the most memorable Christmas gift you've received?

I was dating my husband, ... and we were exchanging gifts. Jason got me a bottle of perfume that — get this — I asked him for three months earlier. He remembered the name of it. I was shocked. It was Clinique Happy.

joey.guerra[at]chron.com



Spring’s own Jennifer Grassman will perform at “Rock For SAFE,” a free concert at the University of Houston aimed at educating students on how to protect themselves from becoming victims of sexual assault.

Hosted by the student organization SAFE (Stop Abuse in Family Environments), the event will take place on Oct. 20 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the University Center, Arbor Level.

A singer-songwriter, Grassman, who lists Sarah McLachlan and Tori Amos as inspirations, is also a volunteer and event organizer for RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network).

“I got involved because I’m a survivor and when it was time for me to escape my situation RAINN was one of the organizations that I looked to to figure out how to do that and realize what happened to me,” Grassman said. “It was very empowering and encouraging for me. It’s a hard thing to wrap your mind around.”

Many local organizations will be on site with literature and statistics, painting the brutal picture of sexual abuse.

Sexual assault, which is commonly known as rape, is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country and one of the least reported, cites the University of Houston’s Department of Public Safety 2007 Annual Security Report. The document further reports that acquaintance rape accounts for 84 percent of all sexual assault cases involving college-age students, most as a result of alcohol use.

This is Grassman’s first of a series of mini-concerts called Rain Showers that are designed to raise sexual abuse awareness around Houston.

With five other concerts in the works, she is is still nailing down the dates for the series, which will culminate in the citywide benefit concert RAINN Over Houston scheduled for June 2009. It was originally planned to take place at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, but due to extensive damage from Hurricane Ike the location is up in the air.

Grassman will mainly be performing on college and church campuses to educate the community on abuse statistics and how to reduce their risk of assault.

“We are especially targeting high school and college groups because those groups have higher levels of abuse and rape,” Grassman said.

She deals with her personal experience through her music, both clearly spelled out in the lyrics and between the lines.

Before she even acknowledged she was an abuse victim, Grassman received an e-mail from a man saying he was raped as a little boy by his father and now has post-traumatic stress disorder from the ordeal.

“He said whenever he started to have a panic attack he went to my Myspace or website and listened to my music,” Grassman said. “I just thought, ‘Oh my God. If I could help just one person it would be amazing. If I got involved with RAINN the impact could be 100 times bigger.’”

RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE) which has helped more than 1.2 million people since its inception in 1994. The group recently launched the National Sexual Assault Hotline (www.rainn.org), the country’s first secure web-based hotline, which provides a safe, secure and anonymous place for victims to get help online.

RAINN also helps to educate more than 130 million college students each year about sexual assault and leads national efforts to improve services to victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.

Grassman is thankful to use her gift of song to raise awareness.

“It’s very important for me to take something good and beautiful out of all of the horrible stuff that happened to me when I was a kid and share it with everyone,” Grassman said.

Murdered Teens Remembered in Song

Clear Lake Musician to hold Benefit Concert for Crime Stoppers

By Peggy "Domino" Taylor

A young lady loses her girlfriend to a horrible crime. A year later she pushes through her pain and uses her musical talent not only to remember her in song, but with ambition and drive, she coordinates a benefit concert to raise money to help solve this unsolved quadruple murder. Meet Jennifer Grassman, a loving friend, talented singer and songwriter, ambitious businesswoman and she's all of 19.

Jennifer and her band EdenNox are putting on a concert to benefit Crime Stoppers at Six Flags Astroworld. On July 18, 2003, four Clear Lake teenagers were murdered in a Brook Forest Subdivision home, Rachel Ann Koloroutis, Tiffany Nicole Rowell, Marcus Ray Precella and Adelbert Nicholas Sanchez. Everyone has seen and read the news accounts, grieved and shocked that something that horrific could happen to these fine young people in our community; but even more shocking is that the killers have not been caught. On September 19, 2004, these teens will be remembered. The concert is to be held on the Center Stage at Six Flags Astroworld to help publicize the composite sketches that the police released two months ago and to promote Crime Stoppers.

Crime Stoppers, a charitable organization, runs a 24-hour, 7-day a week crime tip hotline (713-222-TIPS) and a cash reward program. The largest reward in national history, $100,000 is offered for information that leads to the arrest in this case. The billboard on I-45 and FM 1959 displays the composite sketches of two people who investigators say are possible witnesses in this mysterious case.

Jennifer Grassman and Rachel Koloroutis became friends several years ago while working as cashiers at Randall's supermarket at Space Center Boulevard. They did what most teen girls do: laugh, talk about make-up and boys, chit-chat with customers, and go to Starbucks for lattes. One afternoon, Jennifer told Rachael she had written enough original songs to dedicate to her friends and with that, Rachael asked if she would write a song for her. They laughed as bubbly teens do and Jennifer told her she would.  Shortly after that fun time, her friend was gone.  It took a week to sink in, for the news her mother had to tell her.

"I was really sad and depressed, just trying to make sense of it all. To help ease the pain and clear my head, I fulfilled my promise and wrote a song for Rachael," said Jennifer. The song in memory of her missed girlfriend is White Roses.

It took a while for her to approach Rachael's family, but she had the song in her heart and wanted to share this musical memorial. George Koloroutis, Rachael's dad, was actively raising donations for the Crime Stoppers reward when Jennifer said she wanted to do more; hence, a concert. She had played several venues in normal bookings in Houston and the Clear Lake area, appeared at festivals, coffee houses and the University of Houston's theater, but she need a bigger venue to hold an expected large crowd. Jennifer went to meeting after meeting not getting the answers she needed. This determined teen didn't give up. After months of working on this benefit concert, it occurred to her that Six Flags Astroworld, a family oriented fun place, had to be the place. She knew it was a long shot, but her faith kept her going. Astroworld wanted to help when they heard Jennifer's story of Rachael and her friends. Despite the busy line-up, Astroworld arranged the benefit concert for September 19 at 2:00pm. This girl on a mission was ecstatic!

Six Flags Astroworld gave her one thousand $23 off coupons to hand out at her current concerts to give everyone a chance to go. She then proceeded to contact Kim Ogg, from Crime Stoppers.  Then arranged press conferences to publicize this benefit. Astroworld will also donate $1 to Crime Stoppers for every admission ticket sold. The coupons are available at her concerts or by downloading them from her website www.jennifergrassman.com.

Hosting the event will be Kim Ogg of Crime Stoppers with Jennifer Grassman, George Koloroutis will also be there to speak to the audience. Musical performances will be by Jennifer and her band EdenNox. She really hopes that a lot of people come out to enjoy the show. "This is not just about publicizing some sketches or putting on a great rock concert, it's about keeping the hope alive…it's about spreading the word… and that is why we need everyone to help us accomplish this," Jennifer concluded on a positive note. With this singer/songwriter's determination and faith, it's already a huge success.

Jennifer Grassman is bound to make White Roses a hit in our hearts with notes she composed out of love so that her friend will never be forgotten.

Rachel won't be forgotten and neither will Jennifer's determination.




Pianist and vocalist Jennifer Grassman was at SugarHill Recording Studios (Houston) working on a new patriotic song called "Where the Wind Blows" with engineer Steve Christensen. The piano and vocals were recorded live in Studio A into Pro Tools through the Neotek Elite console. The entire song, which Grassman produced, was done in only one take.

She wrote the song in support of U.S. troops and it is airing daily on Soldier's Radio and Television Network, as well as online at www.soldiersradio.com.

For more information on Grassman, visit her Website at www.jennifergrassman.com. Visit SugarHill at www.sugarhillstudios.com.