Off Off Off Broadway and a new record!

Guys,

I am starting a small but packed tour that takes me from the Red Wood forest (SF tonight! Who's coming?), to the Gulf stream waters, with lots of places in between. I will be co-billing a few of them with my pal, Lisa Loeb.

Check out my site for a venue near you: Jillsobule.com/shows

And, I will buy beer, or bad-music-bar-wine, for the 1st 20 folks that email me back.

For those that happen to be nearby or visiting the Florida West Coast, come see...YENTL. I wrote the songs. Just to let you know, the short story and play is a different beast from the movie. Last Friday was the opening - my first opening ever. And it was a big success, I think, although I did overhear an older woman say to her husband, " I don't remember any of the songs. There is no Papa Can You Hear Me ". I will post some songs soon. 

You can find out more about YENTL here: http://www.asolorep.org/shows/yentl/2011-2012

Finally, after working on two musicals, it is time to do a " Jill" record. What would you all like to hear? What kind of record? I've got a lot of new stories to tell. You are welcome to write me back at Jill@jillsobule.com

Cheers, jill

May the New Year bring you peace, happiness and Jill Sobule live!

Jill has tour dates a gogo in January and February. Check out the SHOWS tab for links to the venues and where to buy tickets!

Hope to see your shining faces there!

xo, jules

Team Jill

JILL'S WINTER TOUR DATES

JANUARY 2012

Jan 24, 2012 (Tue) @ 8 PM
1330 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA
at Yoshi's San Francisco 

Jan 25, 2012 (Wed) @ 9 PM
856 10th St., Arcata, CA
at Humboldt Brews

Jan 26, 2012 (Thu) @ 8 PM
726 Drummond Ave, Davis, CA
at Palms Playhouse 

Jan 27, 2012 (Fri) @ 8 PM
1101 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA
at Kuumbwa Jazz Center 

Jan 28, 2012 (Sat) @ 7 PM
28912 Roadside Drive, Agoura Hills, CA
at The Canyon Club With Lisa Loeb

FEBRUARY 2012

Feb 02, 2012 (Thu) @ 7 PM
100 "J" Fisherman's Wharf, Redondo Beach, CA
at Brixton With Lisa Loeb

Feb 03, 2012 (Fri) @ 7 PM
1337 India Street, San Diego, CA
at Anthology TWO shows with Lisa Loeb!

Feb 04, 2012 (Sat) @ 8 PM
33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, CA
at The Coach House With Lisa Loeb

Feb 11, 2012 (Sat) @ 8 PM
6123 Lower York Road, New Hope, PA
at New Hope Winery

Feb 14, 2012 (Tue) @ 8 PM
56-58 South 12th Street, Pittsburgh, PA
at Club Cafe

Feb 16, 2012 (Thu) @ 7 PM
316 South Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI
at The Ark

Feb 17, 2012 (Fri) @ 7 PM
1245 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL
at Space

Feb 18, 2012 (Sat) @ 9 PM
6504 Delmar Blvd, St Louis, MO
at Blueberry Hill 

Feb 22, 2012 (Wed) @ 8 PM
155 Varick Street, New York, NY
at City Winery

Feb 23, 2012 (Thu) @ 8 PM
405 Columbia Street, Hudson, NY
at Club Helsinki 

Feb 24, 2012 (Fri) @ 7 PM
70 Sanford Street, Fairfield, CT
at StageOne, Fairfield Theatre 

Feb 25, 2012 (Sat) @ 8 PM
2 Young Road, Londonderry, NH
at Tupelo Music Hall
 

Signed Xmas CD/Dreidel:  It includes the Hanukah favorite, " Jesus Was a Dreidel Spinner"  my cover of Robert Earl Keen's, "Merry Christmas to the Family", and Christmas is The Saddest Day of the Year (which was voted number 10 on Entertainment Weekly's "100 Great Christmas Bummers"). Since I (again) waited a wee bit too long to order more CDs, you will get a copy that I, Jill Sobule, personally burned along with a signed Dreidel. 

Get Your Signed Holiday CD and Dreidel Now!

A Handwritten Lyric: I will write out the lyrics of your favorite song in a limited edition, old-school-composition notebook. I have really awful penmenship due to a slight essential tremor (shaky hands), so it will either look very artful or very drunk. There will only be 50 of these available, so don't miss out!

Get Your Handwritten Lyric Notebook Now!

My Signature Travel Guitar: Yes, I have a signature model. It's like the basic one, yet has my...logo. This is the best gift you could give a beginner (it's small and easy to play). Or for the traveller as it fits so easy on the plane and the mean flight attendents won't give you shit about it.

My great T-shirts: So I went into Barney's and saw t-shirts for $200. First I thought, "this is bullshit" and then I said to my friend, "mine are so much better, and way cheaper". The Underdog Shirt is back, as well as the famous "most dangerous places in the world (plus The Epcot Center)" Heavy Metal Tour shirt

Music: New music will be out in the Spring, but in the meantime, why not turn your friends on to some of my older records?

Wanna window shop? Check out the STORE tab on my site or peruse the goods at My Topspin Shop at http://jillsobule.spinshop.com/.

Oh! And if you are one of the beautiful and amazing people who live near Lake Michigan (my WI-born assistant, Jules, may have told me to write that part... she's pushy) and want to spend NEW YEAR'S EVE with me and Julia Sweeney, come join us at SPACE in Evanston, IL for a festive JILL AND JULIA SHOW. Check out the SHOWS section for more info AND all of my upcoming winter tour dates! Hope to see your faces!

Happy Holidays!

xo, jill

Join my mailing list and get a free download from A DAY AT THE PASS!

Take your pick between BABY DOE

or SHAKY HANDS!

Well, first of all, I have been semi-successful on staying off "the internets" in hope of paying more attention to things like...song writing. I've got two musicals and the next record to write. I have been declared "musical director" of TEDMED (the medical and science offshoot of the TED conference). It has demanded that  bring out my organizational skills. I have none.

But here are a few things that I can declare:

The Jill and John Doe record , A Day at the Pass, is now on itunes! If you go there, will you leave a nice comment, even if you don't buy it?

The Jill and Julia (Sweeney) Evanston New Years Eve 6:00 PM show  is back by popular demand. 

Also requested was a new order of my Underdog Powerfist shirts. They are the perfect choice for OWS fashion.

That's it for today.

Just last week, I ran into this woman who used to work at Warner Chappell when I had my publishing there. She was not one of my champions. She didn't "get" or like my songs, and was always bragging about her best client and friend, Michael Bolton. The first thing she said (after an ingenuous hug) was, "are you still singing?" I wanted to reply "are you still a big jerk with bad taste?" 

Maybe, she didn't actually mean it in a snotty way. Maybe, she had just looked at the sad update section on my website.

So...this is what I've been doing since I've been back from touring:

Times Square - the musical:

  Last week, I was in Colorado holed up with Robin Eaton (my co-songwriter), fab director, Steve Cosson (the Civilians), and Jim Lewis (who wrote the book for "Fela," with Bill T. Jones). Do any of you remember "Times Square"? The movie that came out in 1980? If not, you are not alone. It is hard to find, but has now been crowned with cult status. It is a kind of girl buddy (with some sexual undertones) coming-of-age story that takes place in gross, dirty, dangerous - yet, way more fun - pre- Giuliani Times Square. Aspen might not have been the most inspiring place for writing it, yet it worked. I never slept, didn't shower, and drank the freshest wine.

Dottie's Charms:

  My pal Marykate, a few years ago, gave me a charm bracelet that she found on eBay. The former owner, named Dottie, looked like she wore it sometime around the 50s or early 60s. I had this idea of giving a particular charm to each of my favorite authors to write a lyric to - most have never written a song. I have collaborated, so far, with Rick Moody, Jonathan Lethem, David Hajdu, Luc Sante, Nick Tosches, and 7 other fancy-pants writers. I'm currently recording it and trying to figure out how to put it out.

Yentl:

 Yes, Yentl. Did you know that it was a play before it became one of my favorite bad movie night pics? I just read an old interview by I.B. Singer who wrote the short story. He was not thrilled with Bab's Yentl, nor in love with the music. I hope he will (in heaven) be more pleased with my attempt. As with "Times Square", it is also a coming-of-age story with some interesting sexual twists. The play will actually start it's run in January at the Asolo Theater. I better start writing. If I can only get that "Papa Can You Hear Me" song out of my head.

Yours,

Jill

Oh, I do have new Underdog Power Fist t-shirts to sell, as soon as I get them back from the all- women's (or womyn's) nudie Burning Man-like festival I played at last month. So check my store soon. 

Again, I love any requests, suggestions, stories or accolades.

I am excited and honored that I was asked to sing at  the Netroots conference. I've got to come up with a couple of my more politically satirical numbers. 

Speaking of numbers,  I am going to try to to stay off the internets so I can concentrate on writing again. I  have come to realize that I can't play boggle, surf news sites, watch streaming Netflix videos on my Ipad, and write meaningful songs at the same time. I am thinking of going to a convent, ashram, or prison where there is no wireless. 

Any advice or pointers? Internet addiction counseling? I will check this blog in the meantime - maybe... just twice a day?

And don't forget that the 16th is Record Store Day. You may be able to buy the Jill and John Doe record in real life at your local indie store

APRIL 2011

** Jill Sobule & John Doe **
Apr 12, 2011 (Tue) @ 8 PM
2208 Elliston Ave, Nashville TN
Exit In

** Jill Sobule & John Doe **
Apr 13, 2011 (Wed) @ 7 PM
500 23rd South Street, Birmingham AL
Workplay Theatre 

** Jill Sobule & John Doe **
Apr 14, 2011 (Thu) @ 7 PM
1913 Poplar Ave, Memphis TN
Hi-Tone Cafe 

** Jill Sobule and John Doe **
Apr 15, 2011 (Fri) @ 7 PM
3509 Lemp Ave, St. Louis MO
Off Broadway

** Jill Sobule & John Doe **
Apr 16, 2011 (Sat) @ 10 PM
2715 Rochester, Kansas City MO
Knuckleheads 

** Jill Sobule & John Doe **
Apr 17, 2011 (Sun) @ 8 PM
8410 Hickman Road, Des Moines / Clive Iowa
Bombay Bicycle Club 

** Jill Sobule & John Doe **
Apr 18, 2011 (Mon) @ 8 PM
1434 N. Farwell Ave, Milwaukee WI
Shank Hall

** Jill Sobule & John Doe **
Apr 20, 2011 (Wed) @ 8 PM
1308 4th Street SE, Minneapolis MN
The Varsity Theatre : tickets
 

Get it Now

Buy - $15

   By the way, the first musical soundtrack record I ever had was...Hair -not sure what my parents were thinking. I  always  sang out  really loud to my favorite song,  "Sodomy,Fellatio, Cunnilingus...".   Of course, I had no idea what I was singing. After a week, somehow,  the record disappeared. Just for revenge purposes, I have included more than a few cuss words in our piece.

I'm  trying to figure out what to sell in my website store for the Holidays . I will have my Xmas CD (with the classic Jesus Was a Dreidel Spinner), plus... a signed dreidel.  I am thinking of recording a couple of new Holidayish songs too. What would they be?  

I am also working on my own live bootleg record, the "charm bracelet project" and...the Jill and John Doe live record.

Please email me with thoughts, suggestions, and cuss word ideas.

Then, my pal Robin Eaton comes to town to work with me on the Times Square musical. There will be a reading at the Public Theater in NYC late November. We need to come up with that big last song that will get the crowd up from their seats  roaring for an encore. Help!

And back on the road. This time with Cheryl Wheeler. I hear she is fantastic live. It starts at McCabes in Santa Monica on Nov. 5th and ends in Berkeley at Freight and Salvage on the 13th. Oh, and on the 6th is a Jill and Julia (Sweeney) show in San Diego! Check all the in -between places too.

The John Doe and Jill live record looks like it will be out in January. We have to come up with the best t-shirts. I asked a month ago if there were any great graphic artists (pro or not) out there for my own shirts. Well, now is the time.

With all this going on, I am still trying to find time to write  music for my next record. I am working with my fav authors on the lyrics. 

I am voting in the Colorado election this year. I will not be voting for Tancredo.

The International World Wide Web has reached my store: jillsobule.com/store. Soon, I will add t-shirts, signature travel guitars and a blog site with a comment section where you can add your praise, vitriol, and opinion. 

I'm still on the road with Fountains of Wayne (also solos shows)!  We are having so much fun. Check out the dates: jillsobule.com/shows.

What else:

I am working on the musical, "Times Square". We will be doing a reading the end of November at the Public Theater in NYC.

The Jill and John Doe record will be released by December!

Working on a new record with lyric collaborations by some of my fav authors (David Hajdu, Rick Moody, Luc Sante, Michelle Tea, etc.

I am trying to eat better, which is hard on the road, and exercise at least once a month.

Please write me back with anything you desire to say

xo, jill

I will be touring most of October and November. I hope a bunch of you can come. The first few dates are with my friends Fountains of Wayne- not to be missed. There are also several dates with the fab Cheryl Wheeler.  If there are any particular songs of mine that you must hear, please email me (jill@jillsobule.com) and I will try to accommodate. 

jillsobule.com/shows

Look out for some new music too. We are just now working on the artwork for the Jill and John Doe (of X and Knitters fame)  fan-funded and attended (mostly) live record. Also, on my website, I will soon be releasing several digitally released  EPs. For instance, Rita Houston (of WFUV DJ fame) will be curating a b-sides  one. Every month I hope to have a new one. 

cheers, jill

I'm not quite sure how to pack.

Anyway, I will be playing at a  in Stockholm, then off to Berlin to be on a panel, as well as see some music at Berlin Music Week.

That sounds fancy, but a couple of weeks later, I will be opening up for Fountains of Wayne where I will be sure to stay at the best Comfort Inn.

Check out all my dates!!

When I was about to release my 2nd Atlantic record, "Happy Town", I was alerted that Wal-Mart   was refusing to carry the CD. They told the label that the broken capsule depicted on the cover was somehow celebrating illegal drug use. Never mind that the drug in question was Prozac (with the familiar mint green and Mercedes cream/yellow colors) but that Wal-Mart  itself is one of the  big dealers. What made it even more silly, was they thought the granules pouring out looked like cocaine. That never crossed my mind. It made me wonder what kind of hopped-up druggies Wal-Mart was employing.

I decided, rather than dismiss a whole segment of society that would probably not buy my record anyway, to...wimp out.  I replaced the capsule with a test tube -big deal. Somehow, this made them happy and the  "cocaine" stayed.

I  related this story to my friend, Ken Paulson, who at the time ran the Freedom Forum. Years later, he is now the president of the Newseum in DC. "Happy Town" maybe did not make it to the Billboard Charts, but does lie in infamy as an example of "dumb censorship"

Here is a song from Happy Town: Love is Never Equal". Steve Earle sings with me. And check out our dueling gee-tar solos.  Oh, and that's me playing the spastic drums.

If you don't have the record, I think you might want to get it from my store. My store!

Julia Sweeney and me!

  Jul 09, 2010 (Fri) Brownfield Maine *** Stone Mt. Arts Center (J&J)
  Jul 10, 2010 (Sat) Northampton MA *** Iron Horse Music Hall (J&J)
  Jul 11, 2010 (Sun) Sellersville PA *** Sellersville Theater 1894
  Jul 14, 2010 (Wed) New York NY *** City Winery
  Jul 15, 2010 (Thu) Fairfiled CT *** Fairfield Theatre-State One ***

I have to admit that I was a little freaked out. Not just to play the revered hall, but to play in front of the smartest, most talented kids in the entire country. What song would I sing? What lyric would not get their eyes rolling? 

After thinking real hard, as well as being somewhat of a semi-slacker, I thought I would rework one of my crowd favorites, "Underdog Victorious". Rather than a budding rock star, I would make Bobby Trucks, the protagonist, a writer. Instead of shredding his guitar like a super hero, he would be equipped with a leather Moleskin and a feather plume.

On the big night, I was feeling pretty confident. Plus, I had a half an emergency Xanax in case I panicked. That's until they asked me to talk a bit before the song. Yikes! What do you say to really really bright kids who probably can see what a big impostor I am (I have issues that pop up ever now and then). I had no time to prepare anything, so I just winged it and...told the truth.

I said..."You scare me". I said that I was intimidated to sing my song in front of "the most talented and bad-ass kids around". And what do you know? That did it! They were now on my side. Using the word "bad-ass" sealed the deal. No matter how mature and brilliant a kid is, they still appreciate a bit of cussing. I even got them to sing the end chorus with me!

It was only after completing song that I could then truly take in the amazement of the evening. These kids were incredible. These were the future Capotes, Warhols, and Avedons (all past award recipients). 

As Whitney once sang (not an award winner), " I believe the children are our future".