Defining love is an arduous, painfully private task for some, but vocalist / songwriter /
keyboardist / guitarist Jill Carole wears the definition on the sleeve of her new CD and in the
chorus of its seventh track: "You're everything I wished upon: the Easter Bunny, sex and Santa
Claus. " Indeed, the San Francisco Bay Area artist is an attention-getting songwriter and a master
at blending the tongue-incheek with the confessional in her collection of powerful and personal pop
songs. Her newest single: "I Slept With Kenneth Starr" (which has been aired on San Francisco radio
stations KGO and KPFA) is another fine example of how Jill balances serious subject matter with her
own quirky brand of humor and clever word play.
Jill Carole was recognized early in her career by the Berklee College of Music, where she twice
received the Top Singer-Songwriter Award. Her song style ranges from memorable and catchy pop tunes
to haunting and textural melodies. Her background in poetry and fiction writing shines through in
songs with a sense of place and story, each one a literary landscape. A self-confessed
"love-junkie," she writes about all aspects of love: from loss of virginity ("It Was Paris") to
revenge fantasies ("Walk The Plank") to self-flagellation ("Audrey Hepburn Wouldn't Stay") to
sex-addiction ("Kiss The Girls).
In April 1998, Jill was signed to England's Mystic Records and promoted her CD by touring the U.K.
in May and June as a support act for Colin Blunstone, former lead singer for the Zombies and a
Mystic artist as well. She has also opened shows for such artists as: Love And Rockets'David J,
Byrds'founder Roger McGuinn, and Suzzy Roche of the Roches. In the studio, her songs have featured
Bob Weir (The Grateful Dead), drummer Steve Perkins (Jane's Addiction), guitarist Paul Robinson (Dan
Hicks, A] Stewart), and keyboardist Jim Pugh (Chris Isaak, Robert Cray).
In the Bay Area, Jill has performed at such venues as the Paradise Lounge, the Bottom of the Hill,
Sweetwater's, the Freight & Salvage and New George's. She has appeared nationally at festivals, and
internationally has played some of England's finest theatres and venues. With her lush vocal
delivery and instrumental flexibility on guitar and keyboards (she plays both on some songs), Jill
is available to perform either in an acoustic situation as a duo (with guitarist Paul Robinson) or
with her electric four-piece band, the Contrarians.
Jill Carole was born under the exit sign adjacent to the powder room of the Alabama
Theater in Birmingham, Alabama, during a revival showing of
Gone With The Wind--just five minutes prior to little Bonnie Butler.
From the age of three, Carole could sing the score to this Southern epic in every key
of her three-octave range. But her influences broadened when her mother, a local opera
singer and Beatles fan, turned her on to vibrato-laden Vivaldi and contralto renditions
of "Love Me Do" and other Beatles favorites. Carole left the South to study at Amherst
College and then at The Berklee College of Music, where she twice received the top
singer-songwriter award. This distinction took a back seat to her genuine career
watermark, however, when she was French-kissed by Forest Whitaker in their acting-school
rendition of The Greeks (he played her father). Jill Carole and her band,
the Contrarians, perform and live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Her new release, The Easter Bunny, Sex And Santa
Claus, is now available on Rebelle! Records.
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