I Heart the Music: Your Online Source for Live Music Reviews and Interviews in Toronto!

Harley Davidson is not a name that you would normally associate with music, however on May 6^th they hosted the “Precious Metal” event that saw iheartthemusic and plenty of other Toronto celebrities out in full force. This event, which took place at the Liberty Grand in downtown Toronto, featured massages, manicures, food, alcohol, half-naked male models and, of course, music! The live performance of the evening was singer Jill Barber. Jill garnered acclaim in 2008 with a double-Juno nomination and multiple East Coast Music Award wins. Having lived all over Canada, following her heart along the way, she has still managed to stay grounded. iheartthemusic spoke with Jill before the “precious” evening about love, music and that other famous sibling…

iheartthemusic: So you are playing at a Harley Davidson event, do you ride a motorcycle yourself?

Jill: I’m a big rider! [laughs] I’ve been on the back of one before and it was the one and only time in my life. [But] perhaps my mind will be changed…

iheartthemusic: You were born in Ontario, but then you moved out East. Why the move?

Jill: I made the spontaneous decision to move out East for love. It wasn’t the last time I’ve done it because I’m now living in Vancouver and moved here for love again.

iheartthemusic: I can relate, I once moved overseas for love! [laughs] So you have scoured the country in a lot of ways, what’s been your favourite spot to live thus far?

Jill: I honestly feel at home in all these different places. Toronto is the home that I was given, and then when I moved out to Halifax it was sort of my chosen home for a while and it is also where I built my career. That’s why a lot of people associate me with the East coast. I got all my support from the people out East so that when I go back there it’s almost like a hometown show. Now I’m sort of doing the same thing on the opposite coast and creating a home for myself there. I love, love, love Halifax, but I sort of felt like I was ready to open a new chapter in my life, plus I love the ocean and so living on the coast is great. I have this pan-Canadian experience now, having lived in these different regions of the country. People definitely try and associate artists with a place and I’m working really hard to become Canada’s sweetheart!

iheartthemusic: In terms of writing, I heard you draw a lot of your writing from personal experiences, do you think that your surroundings and where you were living affected your writing ?

Jill: I’m definitely informed by my surroundings, but at the end of the day I draw most of my inspiration from going inside of me. I don’t think it’s changed my writing style, but as my life changes and evolves, my music changes and evolves. That’s an important part of the process. I find that as a writer, a change of scenery offers a new perspective and gives me a shot of creativity.

iheartthemusic: So what has been the biggest change in your sound and your writing style from your first album to now?

Jill: My last record called For All Time was definitely a folkier, rootsier sound and with this new record Chances we’ve definitely taken it into a slightly more sophisticated, jazzy, classic sound. I don’t think so much that my song writing has changed, but that we made a really decisive decision in the production phase. The one common thread amongst all my songs that people have always remarked, is that they sound like they could be old or my voice sounds like it could be old or even timeless. I heard that a bunch of times and I really don’t know why I have a passion for writing songs that sound like they are from the forty’s or fifty’s because I’m a pretty modern woman.

iheartthemusic: Do you find it hard to promote your genre of music?

Jill: I don’t know. The people that are my fans and my audience are an amazing cross-section of people of all ages. I do think that I have sort of found an audience for it and actually a really wide audience. It’s not a mainstream audience, but there are a lot of people out there looking for alternatives to the mainstream.

iheartthemusic: You aren’t the only musician in the family! Your brother Matthew has garnered some success as well. I read that the musical drive didn’t come from your parents, so do you have any idea where this urge to become musicians came from?

Jill: I cannot account for Matt’s talent, but I can account for mine. I essentially followed in his footsteps. Growing up, I’ve always looked up to him and the reason I got into music was because my brother was into music and I was into whatever he was into as a young girl. So it was definitely him that inspired me and he also encouraged me to pick up his guitar and teach myself to play. When I was fourteen and fifteen, there weren’t that many women role models so it was really great to have an older brother to really encourage me.

iheartthemusic: I think the music industry has changed a lot with respect to women in the industry, but did you find it hard to break into?

Jill: It was hard to break into the industry definitely, I don’t know if that was because I was female or not. I mean it’s hard for everybody and I think it actually helped me. Now I feel like young  female singer/songwriters have a lot more competition. At the time when I started, I didn’t have a lot of female peers doing it, so I’ve always embraced my femininity with my music. I think that what I do is different than what male singer/songwriters do and that’s something to embrace as opposed to fight.

iheartthemusic: What was the most memorable moment for you in your career so far?

Jill: I’ve had a lot of great stand out moments, but in terms of relishing a moment, the most magical evening of my career was getting to perform backed by the Symphony Nova Scotia. It was absolutely astounding having the feeling of being up there with the power of an orchestra; it was just magical for me and I felt like I was walking on clouds. It was a dream that I had had for a long time and when it came to fruition it was almost more than I could handle. I managed to hold it together and really enjoy the experience of it and had all my friends and family there. I imagine its what people feel like on their wedding night.

iheartthemusic: Do you still get anxious before a show?

Jill: I always get a little nervous and I always get excited. There is nothing I love more than performing because of the energy and exchange; I mean there isn’t anything better than live music. That was definitely what made me fall in love with music; getting the chance to see the live experience. It’s the collective experience with strangers and doing what I most love to do-which is sing and perform. I just love it! It has never become routine for me.

iheartthemusic: Any embarrassing stage moments?

Jill: The most embarrassing moment of my life happened on stage actually. I was playing in this beautiful theatre called The Grand Theatre in Calgary when I was on tour with Ron Sexsmith. It was just myself, my producer and my guitar player and on that tour we were singing out in the audience a lot. It was always really nice and they would sing along and it was a beautiful way to end the show. Since the show was in Calgary, I thought it would be appropriate to wear my cowboy boots. I wasn’t used to walking around in them and then I decided it would be a good idea to walk backwards up the stairs to get back on stage. The only good thing that I can say about this is that my timing was impeccable, however in that process of walking backwards I guess I stepped on my knee and dislocated it. My kneecap popped out and then back in and I literally buckled. I was holding my guitar and didn’t have time to put my hands down and so fell on my ass and my guitar hit the ground and rang out throughout the theatre. As I remember it, every single person stood up in their seats and collectively gasped!

iheartthemusic: Oh my god! Did you cry?

Jill: I actually just made it back down the stairs and made it backstage and burst into tears. I ended up being in a brace for a couple of months after that too! That was nothing compared to the utter humiliation of falling in front of all those people!

See even celebrities have really embarrassing moments! Jill will be participating in a plethora of music festivals this summer including Montreal Jazz Festival, Winnipeg Jazz Festival, Edmonton Folk Festival and a little festival in London, Ontario called the Home County Festival. Be sure to drive by and see her when she is in your town!

photography provided by April Day