With singer-songwriter (and former DIVA cover star - check out
our
December 2011 issue) Jill Jackson's fantastic new album Getaway
Driver released 14 May, we decided it was high time to catch up
with Jill for a quick chat about a few of the tracks on this
highly-anticipated new release.
(Incidentally, Jill very kindly summoned her inner psychic and
wrote the horoscopes for us in the June issue of DIVA, which goes
on sale May 10. Very funny they are too - make sure you check them
out!)
In the meantime, however, here's what she had to say about some
of the tracks on the new album, in response to my often rather
tangential questions.
Getaway Driver
DIVA: Where did the idea for this song
come from?
JJ: I always wanted to rob a bank. I'd always
kinda thought that would be pretty cool. (laughs) I had the idea
for it when I was driving around America. The idea for the song
came out of my head. I wrote it really quickly but it became a bit
of a story, you know, from start to finish. It starts with robbing
a bank and then the getaway driver getting shot and it kind of just
wrote itself.
Is the song also a metaphor (for getting away from a bad
relationship, for example) or is it meant literally?
It's meant literally (laughs).
Are you a rebel?
I kinda wish I was, but no, not really. I'm more of a geek.
Really? What's geeky about you?
Everything really. I'm not a party girl, I like sitting playing
my guitar or banjo, you know. I've got a stamp collection.
Have you ever stolen anything?
Yeah. I once accidentally stole a bottle of Diet Irn-Bru from
Boots. I had it under my arm and I paid for everything else. That's
it though.
********
Song for John
DIVA: Who was John?
JJ: John was my grandpa. That's a song about
him. He passed away a couple of years ago and I wrote that song
just a couple of weeks after he passed away because it was
Christmas Eve, you know, and on Christmas day we kinda… it's like
the lyrics: "We put your hat up on the fireplace…. " It was about
how we marked his passing, so the song was about that, you
know.
A lot of these songs are sad. Do you feel sad
often?
No, but it is easier to write the sad songs. It's easier to
write them but harder to sing them. Song For John is harder to sing
live if members of my family are in the audience, because it gets
to them because they know what it's about.
********
The Letter
DIVA: I listened to this song at work yesterday and it
made me cry in a very discrete manner. Do your own songs make you
cry?
JJ: Um, yeah. They do, definitely. I find that
sometimes you have to, once you've written it, disconnect yourself
from it. When you're performing it you've got to just not think
about what you've written about, but still have that emotion in it,
you know? It can get to you a bit, it depends what kind of mood
you're in.
So it's almost like pretending someone else wrote
it?
Yeah.
What's The Letter about?
It's a really emotional song. It's about being in that position
of wondering if you're going to get to be with someone and
wondering if they're actually wanting to be with you. It was
written at a really hard time in my life.
How long ago did you write it?
It's not very long ago; it's about a year old.
So you had someone particular in mind when you wrote
it?
Yeah….
OK, I won't press you for details.
(laughs)
********
End of the Line
DIVA: In songs like End of the Line you seem really
articulate about your feelings. Is this true outside of
songwriting?
JJ: Songs are definitely how I channel [my
feelings]. I'm not very good at talking. End of the Line is a song
about being really frustrated with life and relationships -
obviously especially in the chorus, you know.
Speaking of the chorus, are you a good
dancer?
I'm a terrible dancer. Terrible. I think I'm good, when I'm
dancing, but then I think from an outsider's point of view, I'm a
terrible dancer.
Do you have any interest in ballroom dancing or any of
that?
You know what, I actually love that kind of stuff. I've always
wanted to learn to do the tango. But I think I'm more music than
movement (laughs).
********
Runaway
DIVA: Cars seem fairly central to this
album....
JJ: Yeah, but I don't think that was
intentional. It was an accident.
They are a symbol of freedom in a way, aren't
they?
Yeah, they're a getaway aren't they really? When I think of
Getaway Driver I just picture being out on the road in America,
driving down a big dirt road. There's a real sense of freedom.
What was your first car?
It was a Vauxhall Cavalier. It had 220,000 miles on it. It was
awesome. I was 17. You had to slam the doors for all the buttons to
go up. As soon as I got it my parents didn't see me for about a
week.
What is your dream car?
A 60s Mustang. A red Mustang with cream leather. Pretty
specific.
Do you run away from problems or are you a quite
practical person?
No, I'm terrible. I run away.
And finally Jill, what scares you?
Ah, um. Nuns. And blimps.
Visit jilljackson.co.uk for
Jill's up-coming tour dates and more info.
Getaway Driver is out from May 14
PHOTO: KRIS KESIAK
Check out a video of Jill performing the title track Getaway
Driver, below, for a taste of the new album.
