No Place Like Home
Singer-songwriter Molly Jenson, 30, chatted with us while en route to Portland, Oregon, from her five-state “No Place Like Home” house-concert mini-tour, where the playlist includes tunes from her album Maybe Tomorrow. Jenson has shared the stage with Tristan Prettyman and opened for
Jonatha Brooke. She lives in Fullerton. Local gigs have included Plush Design Lab, McClain’s Coffeehouse and The Slidebar in Fullerton as well as Gypsy Den in Santa Ana and Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa.
What’s a house concert?
It’s a one-hour show in your living room. House concerts are popular in other parts of the country, but people are just starting to warm up to them on the West Coast. I hang out before and after and talk about my songs. I love the intimacy they bring.
If you could only listen to three recording artists the rest of your life, who would they be?
Feist. Rufus Wainwright. And the Cardigans.
Your songs are about love and relationships.
About two-thirds are about relationships I’ve been in. Half about the sad side, half about the good, what’s happening to me right now, what emotion is hitting me the hardest. If it’s the beginning of a relationship, it might be about starting to hold hands.
Do you have passions other than music?
I paint. Multimedia on wood, all really bright and random. Bright colors and robots.
What do you appreciate most about Fullerton?
I love Fullerton, it is the cutest little town. I live three blocks from downtown. My brother and I hang out on the porch a lot. We walk down to the Fullerton Farmer’s Market on Thursday nights. I love fresh fruit, fresh produce. Year-round, about once a month, they show movies on the back of the historic Fox Fullerton Theatre. The Twisted Vine is an amazing wine bar. Plush Design Lab has the best hot chocolate. I love all the restaurants. I’m surrounded by good food.
Where do you shop for clothes?
I’m a Buffalo Exchange fan, the one in Fullerton and the one at The Lab. I like American Vintage, across the street from the
Buffalo Exchange in Fullerton.
You land a big recording contract. Where do you celebrate?
If I were to celebrate all over again, I’d probably go to the Rusty Pelican in Newport Beach, because I have so much history there—I’ve sung there off and on for about seven years. They have the bar upstairs and music on the weekends. My friend Tim O’Nan has been playing there for years; the Pawn Shop Kings, too. I’d get the amazing seared ahi and a Caesar salad.
Where would you take visitors to show them the real O.C.?
I would take them to Urban Outfitters and Buffalo Exchange at The Lab and just hang out, to the beach at Big Corona (Corona del Mar State Beach) or to ride bikes on Balboa Island, to dinner at Roman Cucina in Costa Mesa and after dinner, if there’s music on, to the Rusty Pelican. That would be perfect.
Details
American Vintage 210 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, 714.449.9760 • Buffalo
Exchange The Lab, 2930 S. Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714.825.0619; 215 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, 714.870.6855 • Corona del Mar State Beach Ocean Boulevard and Marguerite Avenue, Corona del Mar, 949.644.3151 • Detroit Bar 843 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa, 949.642.0600 • Fox Fullerton Theatre Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue, Fullerton, 714.870.0069 • Fullerton Farmer’s Market Thursdays 4–8:30 p.m. (entertainment 6:30–8:30 p.m.) through October, 121 E. Wilshire Ave., Fullerton, 714.738.3167 • Gypsy Den The Lab, 2930 S. Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714.549.7012; 125 N. Broadway Ave., Santa Ana, 714.835.8840 • McClain’s Coffeehouse 817 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, 714.525.5282 • Plush Design Lab 207 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, 714.738.5100 • Roman Cucina 1773 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, 949.645.5550 • Rusty Pelican 2735 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach, 949.642.3431 • The Slidebar 122 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, 714.871.2233 • The Twisted Vine 127 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, 714.871.1200 • Urban Outfitters The Lab, 2930 S. Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714.966.1666; Irvine Spectrum Center, 81 Fortune Drive, Irvine, 949.727.0951; Fashion Island, 857 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, 949.760.0267
