Jess Hill

It is a cliche, through and through but this songwriter recently fell in love with California.
Gazing out the windows above the bay area heading for San Francisco, Joni Mitchell’s “Cactus Tree” (the live performance from Miles of Aisles) playing in my ears, knowing I was about to touch down and fall into the arms of three of my all time favourite people set the tone for a vacation that proved to be inspiring, spiritually fulfilling and fun as all get out! California, I’m in love.

I love to travel and all too often as a musician travelling becomes touring which, well just isn’t the same. It’s brief and beautiful, fleeting moments are either fabulous or exhausting. Day after day sedentary in moving vehicles makes me feel a bit like I am in some kind of stasis – cryogenically frozen – saving my potency for the 45minutes to 90minutes that I will be performing. Warmed back to life by the breath of friendly faces and stage lights. On tour it seemed that the only time I ever really felt awake was on stage.  Vacation in California was the complete opposite.

I arrived on Friday evening around 11pm and my dearest dears, old housemates and chosen kin picked me up and we immediately made our way to Oakland to fetch two more dreamy loves and go for some good, ol’ fashioned, American soul food.

My dear friend Scott Bell (Buffaloswans) and I getting set to enjoy some delicious mac and cheese, black eyed peas and collard greens.

A wholesome and delicious start to what would prove to be an enigmatic journey in which I felt myself begin to unravel and finally embark upon much of the planning for the next year. Over the next 10 days in the midst of beach visits, coastal drives, parking lot popsicle parties, lounging in garden paradises of succulents and flowering cacti nestled and blooming between warehouses, blue moon song swaps, witching hour playground escapades, the wooing of strangers, spontaneous house concert intimacies, brunch after brunch after brunch, the near fulfillment of my secretary fantasies, kittens in a basket style cuddle puddles, and the brushy landscape buried in a gauze of thistle seeds burning itself into my memory – my heart exploded. In the aftermath of my own lovely destruction it was clear what had to be done: I would return to California and make a record with one of my closest friends at the dawn of the new year.

There is much to be decided still but I can tell you this much dreamers; the next album will be a collection of songs completed in the 6months leading up to going into the studio. They are the newest of the new and therefore feel like the truest expression of my heart post unravellation. Your first chance to hear these tunes will be Friday September 28th at Vancouver’s beautiful Prophouse Cafe (make note that this is an early show so that you arrive on time and don’t suffer any disappointment). In conjunction with the planning of this record are a few other projects….most notably on the menu of my mind are  ORCHARD remixes, an EP of some twangy tunes from my past, and hopefully if all goes as planned the realization of the next full length -a collection of dark fairytales in the form of song and with any luck a new band will be born. I’m feeling newly inspired and full of energy. I know that it is the result of the incredible amount of love, support and creativity I am lucky enough to be sharing in. You, are a part of this and I thank you for that.

xo
jess hill

Here are some pictures of my California adventure:

P.S. If you are on Instagram, follow me. I am addicted to it! 😉

08/09/2012

Oh, i am blogs behind schedule and with no openhearted rambling to date. Why has it become so easy for me to lose track of the days? I’m quick to blame the hectic, heavy weight of summer but I’m sure thats akin to the poor craftsmen blaming his tools.

I have little fears. Knee shaking, sweaty palm making, nervous heart beating fears. That the stories I tell and share will only manage to come across one dimensional, narcissistic or worse yet dull. I daydream of my truest intentions shining in every word. Each sentence stringing the story I tell myself about myself together and making it true. I want to write the confusion into clarity and in the process find myself in conversation.

Is anyone out there?
Perhaps I really am blogging only to myself?
How can we make this a more interactive experience?

As I ponder these things over my second delicious coffee of the day, I am patiently awaiting a dear and lovely man of great familiarity. My stomach is churning slightly at my impulsive behavior for having hastily agreed to meet in the spur of the moment but its a great feeling in more ways than one. I am reminded of the enormous potential in the world for love and that the romances I have been blessed to partake in have brought my heart an ever increasing ability to love deeper, truer, freer!

Today was deep freezer deliveries, children’s giggles and melt downs, massages and reiki treatments from remarkable jewish grandmothers and the most decadent iced coffee with homemade ganache. Life is sweet and I am full of gratitude….even with blisters on my feet.

Hope to see you at the show tonight!
xoxo
Jess Hill

Oh, i am blogs behind schedule and with no openhearted rambling to date. Why has it become so easy for me to lose track of the days? I’m quick to blame the hectic, heavy weight of summer but I’m sure thats akin to the poor craftsmen blaming his tools.

I have little fears. Knee shaking, sweaty palm making, nervous heart beating fears. That the stories I tell and share will only manage to come across one dimensional, narcissistic or worse yet dull. I daydream of my truest intentions shining in every word. Each sentence stringing the story I tell myself about myself together and making it true. I want to write the confusion into clarity and in the process find myself in conversation.

Is anyone out there?
Perhaps I really am blogging only to myself?
How can we make this a more interactive experience?

As I ponder these things over my second delicious coffee of the day, I am patiently awaiting a dear and lovely man of great familiarity. My stomach is churning slightly at my impulsive behavior for having hastily agreed to meet in the spur of the moment but its a great feeling in more ways than one. I am reminded of the enormous potential in the world for love and that the romances I have been blessed to partake in have brought my heart an ever increasing ability to love deeper, truer, freer!

Today was deep freezer deliveries, children’s giggles and melt downs, massages and reiki treatments from remarkable jewish grandmothers and the most decadent iced coffee with homemade ganache. Life is sweet and I am full of gratitude….even with blisters on my feet.

Hope to see you at the show tonight!
xoxo
Jess Hill

And treasures too!

Stay tuned!

xoxo
Jess

If we stay in the habit of hiding the habit of hiding
We will create a nuisance of our hearts….

I wish I may, I wish I might
Wish on the belly of a bird tonight
I blink my eyes, I even think twice
But seagulls fall like stars so bright
The shining white breast of a big sea bird
Swoops to catch the weight of all these words
In the moonlight and flying high
Our wishes on the wind will cry

Oh, oh, aa, ahh, a ahh ha, aa, ahh, a ahh ha

If we stay in the habit of hiding the habit of hiding
We will create a nuisance of our hearts….

A small scratch in the throat makes the song a recipe for thistles and roses….makes the sweetness thin and salty. We sing anyway.