MacD on Music: Rust or Gold

Derry, long established as one of (if not the) musical heart of Ireland, has been on a roll concert-wise in recent times (thanks in no small part to people like Lee Mason and Kieran Dunlop).

The past few years have seen our fine city welcome acts as diverse as Glen Hansard, Fontaines D.C., Alabama 3 and Night Demon.

This week I’m talking to another one of the great artists making Derry a stop on their tour, Jill Andrews. Jill’s song ‘Rust or Gold’ will be familiar to any fans of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, the show set in what must be one of the worst hospitals in the world, but even though their patient (and staff) mortality rate is through the roof, they always have great music as those routine issue goes horribly, horribly wrong.

I spoke with Jill recently about, among other things, having her song featured in such a famous show, and her upcoming gig in St. Augustine’s.

First up, we spoke about coming to Ireland: “I’ve never been to Ireland before. I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland, and I’m really excited for the opportunity, for sure. I’ve seen loads of pictures, for years and years and years, and I picture it as very green and hilly.”

We then moved onto the aforementioned cursed Seattle hospital, with the great music: “I’ve had a few songs in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ over the years. My first song was called ‘Rust or Gold’, which is on my album ‘The War Inside’, and it was a really big moment for me, because it’s such a big show and such a good look for a song. It was very exciting. I’ve had several songs in that show at this point. It’s a great show and I definitely watch it myself.”

Next, we spoke a bit about her own musical background: “I grew up in East Tennessee, in the Appalachian Mountains, and I wrote a lot of poetry and short stories when I was a little kid. I sang in church choir pretty much my whole childhood. I started playing guitar when I was nineteen.

"I worked at a summer camp and all the camp councillors were playing guitar and I got inspired and I went home that first weekend and I got a guitar and brought it back to camp. I started learning how to play all those easy camp songs, the ones that are just G, C and D. I immediately started writing songs when I started playing the guitar because I had a songbook, but it wasn’t great, and I didn't feel like learning those boring songs so I started writing my own.”

“I’ve always really liked to write down my feelings and things like that, so it was a natural avenue for me to go down, and that’s kind of how my song writing is. It’s very personal and emotional. After that I co-founded a band called the Everybodyfields.

"I was in that band for probably about seven years and we toured all over the US and released three albums and that’s where I really learned how to write songs and perform in front of people. It was a good time of exploring and learning what to do, and also, what not to do. I started my solo career in 2009 and ever since then I’ve just been chugging along. I try to release new music as much as I can and tour as much as I can.”

After that, Jill told me about some of the people she’s enjoyed working with over the years: “I’ve worked with the Avett Brothers. I’ve opened a lot of shows for them in the past and Seth Avett sang on one of my songs. It’s a song called ‘I’m So In Love With You’ on my album ‘The War Inside’. I’ve worked with a guy named Langhorne Slim.

"We collaborated on a song called ‘Sea of Love’ that we wrote together. A long time ago, I opened for Willie Nelson [who’s new album is available in Cool Discs]. That was a crazy opportunity for me. That was a once in a lifetime thing and it was once in a lifetime!”

And that’s it for another week. Jill Andrews will be playing St. Augustine’s on the 29th September with support from Rosborough, and The Black Box in Belfast the following day with support from Paul Casey. Her new album, ‘Modern Age’, is out now.

She can be found on Instagram @jillandrewsmusic.