Alist Nation January 2021
Cover Story
Wow, where to start you have so many wonderful things happening. Can we begin with you telling us a little about yourself and your childhood? My family is very musical, so music has always been an important part of my life. I started singing when I was little and put shows on in the basement that my family would come down and watch! In elementary school I was in band (playing clarinet) and choir, where our concerts were actually mini musicals. That really gave me the bug for performing, so I started taking musical theatre classes and doing local productions. My parents have a band that plays out, and around age 9, I began going up to sing a few songs. I taught myself how to play guitar when I was 12, and the songwriting came naturally as my playing got better.
Please tell us about your new song, “A Little Conversation.” One of my producers, Mikal Blue, often encourages me to co-write songs with other musicians. One day at his studio, he introduced me to a musician and songwriter named Sarah Thiele. Sarah started playing a pretty chord progression on the piano, I came up with some beginning lyrics, and the song progressed quickly from there. We wrote it in about two hours and laid down the tracks that same day. The sound of just piano and vocals seemed to match with the tone of the lyrics, so we kept the production simple. Sarah also sings back-up vocals on the track. When my mom arrived at the studio, we played it live for her, and she actually cried. I guess that’s a good sign that the song has potential!
What inspires you when writing music? Everything inspires my songwriting, especially people and things happening around me or in the world. I wrote my song “I don’t know” while sitting in a car and making observations about things going on outside of the car.
How would you describe your sound? My sound is kind of a mix! I definitely have a raspy singer-songwriter vibe, but I’ll occasionally write songs that my producers will amp up a little, like “Worth My Time.”
Tell us about the first concert you ever went to. When I was 12, my older sister surprised me with tickets to see Meghan Trainor. She wasn’t crazy famous yet, so we actually had pretty good seats. I was super excited and had a great time.
We are so excited for your upcoming film “Godmothered” when will it come out? Godmothered premiered December 4th on Disney +, just in time for the holidays!
This year is finally coming to an end, what have you learned about yourself in 2020? I learned that I sometimes get done more when I’m around other people, at least things that I’m not excited to do, like school. Surrounding myself with motivated people helps motivate me. When I’m by myself, I have no problem doing things I love, like crafts, playing guitar and songwriting, but reading that Shakespeare novel is a different story!
You have so many amazing projects for 2021 tell us a little about each one and what they mean to you. I’m excited to release my first album early in 2021. It will include most of the singles I’ve released, plus four or five new songs. I’ve been writing songs for a few years now, so this is a milestone. I have a video idea for one of the songs, “A Little Conversation,” so I’ll be working on the script and production for that, and hopefully we can shoot it once we can do so safely. There are two possible films I’ll be acting in but both still in the early stages, so I’m not sure whether or not they will happen in the coming year. I’m also eager to do more directing, so it’s possible I’ll write and direct another short film.
What's your favorite food? Artichokes
What's your favorite place to shop? Garage
Where is your favorite place to travel? Edinburgh, Scotland
Your favorite social media app? TikTok
Where should our readers keep up with you?
Instagram: @jilliansheaspaeder
Twitter: @jillianspaeder
TikTok: @jillian.spaeder
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