Artist: Jill Andrews
Hometown: Raised in Johnson City, Tennessee; lives in Madison, Tennessee.
Latest album: Thirties
Personal nicknames: Jerry, Jilly, Jer
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
I don’t know if this is exactly my favorite, but it stands out to me as the strangest. I was at a venue in Asheville, North Carolina, playing in my old band, the everybodyfields, and there was a guy in the audience who was standing directly in front of the stage staring me down like I was his prey. In the middle of one of our slow sad ballads, he climbed onto the stage, and made a beeline for me. Just as he got within kissing distance of my face, he suddenly veered off in another direction as if being guided by some invisible puppeteer.
He was headed for a huge pile of stacked chairs in the corner of the room. He proceeded to climb them. When he was nearing the summit, they began to sway beneath him, until they could no longer withstand the weight of his body. They toppled with a loud crash and he toppled with them, all grunting and snorting. Keep in mind, this was in the middle of one of our songs. The whole room was silent. We kept singing. He was escorted out and the show went on. Apparently the whiskey was a little strong that night.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
Be yourself and follow your vision.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
I love to walk in the woods. I find it to be the most peaceful place. I find energy in discovering things just below the surface of the dirt or high up in the trees. I bring that energy back home with me and it resurfaces in many creative forms: metaphors, memories, and new ways of thinking.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
My favorite food is sushi. I love how vibrantly colored and how perfectly assembled it is. I love the spice of the wasabi and the sweet bite of the ginger. I think a good musical pairing with sushi would be The Flaming Lips, circa Yoshemi Battles the Pink Robots. Sushi and The Flaming Lips are both full of fanfare. There is intentional joy crafted into both presentations; confetti explosions accompany one while flavor explosions accompany the other. There is room for dreaming with both.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
Hardly ever. My songwriting basically consists of me putting my journal entries to music. I have always written from a very personal perspective. For some reason, vulnerability is where I feel most comfortable.
Photo credit: Fairlight Hubbard
