Just Jill is a singer and songwriter who recently moved to Denver from Estes Park, Colorado. She plays a variety of styles of music from traditional folk to bluesy rock and roll. In her own words, "sprinkle in a little Grateful Dead or Ani DiFranco and that gives you Just Jill."
We recently sat down with Jill to chat ahead of her upcoming performance here at The Center on Wednesday, February 19 as part of our "Breaking The Sound Barrier" series.
Who are your biggest inspirations, and what influence have they played in your music? Who has been in your regular rotation lately? Which albums can’t you live without?
My biggest inspirations have been Bob Dylan, Ani DiFranco, Indigo Girls, Prince and Alicia Keys. Through most of my life I have always looked to Bob Dylan and Ani and one of their songs always seems to fit just right for whatever I need. My regular rotation lately has been the musical Hamilton, The Highwomen, Josh Ritter, Lizzo, Murder By Death, Devocthka and Jason Isbell. I am a music junkie. I listen to music as often as I can and I am always trying new musicians. Every two to three months I make a playlist that generally has some new and some old stuff on it and I play it on repeat. Albums I can't live without would be Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks," Ani Difranco's "To The Teeth," Indigo Girls' "Swamp Ophelia" and Jason Isbell's "Southeastern."
Earlier in our conversation you talked about how your love of playing and performing music sort of grew out of your tight-knit queer community in high school. Can you tell us a bit more about the role community plays in your life and music today?
I was fortunate enough to find community theater at a young age and continued to do it through college. Those open-minded adults always made sure I was okay and gave me space to grow. With that sort of adult stability, it allowed me to be more open in high school. For being from a town of about 20,000 in southeastern Wisonsin, we oddly seemed to have a fair amount of young, queer students. As part of our exploration into the "gay scene" we went to queer coffee shops in Milwaukee and would listen to all sorts of folk singers and singer songwriters. It also introduced me to Ani and the Indigo Girls which became staples for us. The Indigo Girls album "Swamp Ophelia" became like our coming out album. So many of the songs seemed to speak directly to us.
In turn, we started to play them. I started playing guitar in 8th grade and picked it up regularly my sophomore year. We would hang out and sing Indigo Girls songs and I would play guitar and it made us feel less alone, we had each other and we had their songs. I also discovered that by playing guitar it was a low key way to express my queer-ness without talking about it. By playing Indigo Girls and Tori Amos songs I was also able to meet girls who were like me and liked girls...which when you're in high school and awkward about everything, was extremely helpful. Two of those friends formed a duo that played together through college in a queer coffee shop in Madison and again continued to open the door to meeting new people.
Fast forward to present day. When I first moved to Estes Park, January 2003, I moved in with my best friend from high school. We had met in high school and he was an amazing musician then and continues to be. He always pushed me to be better and play more and work hard at learning songs and writing. Having learned through high school and college that music brought people together, I continued that when I got to Estes. We would go to open mics and eventually I joined a band. I always felt like my community welcomed me and welcomed the songs I wanted to share. Music was a way for me to share my views life and the world and politics (taking cues from Bob Dylan).
To me, music is community. I bear my soul when I play and I share deep thoughts and values and play songs that resonate with me. As I continued to play music, again I felt that my community supported me and wanted to listen. In my early 20's I was in a band and when we went our separate ways, the place we played reached out to me to play solo. I hadn't ever really thought about playing for three hours for people and they supported me and showed up for me and continued to make me feel welcome. With my newest move to Denver I knew that finding places to play was important. Being a part of a community has always been important to me and music has always been a way for me to find new people and create new spaces to thrive.
Can you tell us more about Girls Rock Denver and how you got involved in that organization?
Girls Rock Denver is amazing! When I met my partner, her daughter had been a part of it since she was 8 years old. I sort of stumbled into it on their showcase day and jumped in and helped backstage setting up instruments for each band. After one day of being a part of it, I immediately knew that I wanted to give this organization my time--I was blown away! We are part of a global organization and there are Girls Rock Camps everywhere. With music as our vessel we work to empower youth and come together and create a safe space for all voices. We offer workshops during our camp week that include everything from consent and gender to self-advocacy and gear repair. It also brings together an amazing group of volunteers. Everything we do is volunteer driven. We have camp co-directors and a leadership team along with over 100 amazing volunteers. It brings together folks that play music, some that don't play, some that like hard rock and metal, some folk or bluegrass and everything in between. There is room for everyone at Rock Camp. "What's valid at rock camp is valid everywhere."
What advice do you have for women looking to explore their passion for music?
Do it! Look for places in your community, start anywhere and believe in yourself. If you want to run sound and lights find places to go, reach out to groups like Girls Rock or others like it in your community and start somewhere. It is never too late to try something new or learn something. I know I have a big personality and that has worked in my favor over the years, I know that is not everyone's story. Find a way that is both comfortable and pushes you to what your passion is. Stay true to what you want to do and go after it.
If you could describe “Just Jill” in just three words, what would they be?
Story, love, song
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