Jillette Johnson Explores Transgender Issues On New EP Whiskey & Frosting

The Press House is very excited to be working with Wind-up Records (The Darkness, Evanescence, James Durbin. Five For Fighting and others), recording artist Jillette Johnson. Unlike a lot of artists out there today, Jillette writes all her own music and lyrics. Her sound is fresh and addicting. Wind-up Records is putting everything they have into her record, Whiskey & Frosting (August 14th). We really think she has a shot at becoming huge. The bravely vulnerable song, "Cameron" explores the struggle of a transgendered person and emerges a universal anthem for staying true to oneself. Please read the press release below for more information on this song, and a special Instagram splash page that has been created to help people express who the are. We would love to get Jillette and her CD some coverage. She is free for interviews (SO great to talk to!) and we have JPEGS as well. I know you get hundreds of requests like this every day, but I promise, this one is special. Please take a minute and listen to her  music - www.jillettejohnson.com

 

      

New York, New York - August 14th, 2012: Wind-up Records is proud to introduce a unique and powerfully expressive young talent, singer-songwriter Jillette Johnson. Today Johnson will release her smoldering and passionate debut EP, Whiskey & Frosting. Later this month, she will release an artfully arresting video for the EP's darkly beautiful breakup ballad "Pauvre Coeur." 

Whiskey & Frosting is one of those rare and revelatory debuts where you experience a young songwriter with a highly mature sense of artistic self. The NYC-based singer-piano player wrote all the EP songs herself. The piano-based songs unfold with honeyed drama and grandeur, showcasing Johnson's soaring vocals, which manage to both be comforting and spiritually rousing.

"Two of my favorite things are whiskey and frosting," Johnson says laughing. "The title came directly from an impromptu birthday party with friends where I ate the frosting off cupcakes and drank whiskey. I was telling my producers about that night when I realized how similar those two things were to my writing style. I don't write happy songs without some melancholy feelings in there. I like to paint an entire emotional picture. There is depth, sorrow, and overly sweet tones. Many of the songs are about living as a young person in New York City, living irresponsibly and exploring consequences."

Johnson got signed to Wind-up on the strength of the EP track "Cameron." The bravely vulnerable song explores the struggle of a transgendered person and emerges a universal anthem for staying true to oneself. "I didn't know I was going to write about a transgendered boy, the words just came out and I thought, 'Oh, this is about someone trying be someone they don't appear to be,'" she reveals. "'Cameron' ended up being inspired by a transgendered kid I'm close with, but the song also captures the need to feel at home in your own skin."

To coincide with the release of "Cameron", Wind-up Records created an innovative splash page, (currently live), which allows viewers to take a photo using Instagram and upload it with the hashtag #arentyoucameron, to add images to the "Cameron" photo mosaic at  www.jillettejohnson.com This feature highlights us individually, enhancing and showing the bigger picture of the song's message, that we are all "Cameron" in one way or another. A music video for "Cameron" will be released as well.

Peter Zizzo, widely respected for developing Vanessa Carlton, Avril Lavigne, and Michael Mangini, esteemed for his work with Joss Stone, Bruce Hornsby, and David Byrne, produced the EP. The duo's innate understanding of Johnson's singular vision, and respect for her fully formed compositions helped them enhance the power and dynamics of the music.

 "Pauvre Coeur" juxtaposes gorgeously spare classical-flavored piano against bluntly confessional lyrics about a dried up romantic relationship. It's raw and cuts deep. Johnson sings: If I recall it was a Friday/ Gentle hum before the war/You were high and watching poker/ And I had just walked in the door/ You started screaming at the TV/ Saying, make a play you filthy whore / And I was trying to make you see me/ Like the way you did before. The Kyle Thrash-directed video stunningly captures the destabilizing and heated feelings that overtakes you during a breakup, when things spiral out of control and the relationship's demise happens at a dizzying pace.

The "Pauvre Coeur" video and the Whiskey & Frosting EP announce the arrival of a boldly emotional and unflinchingly honest pop artist.