BWW Interviews: Singer, Songwriter, Poet, Actress!! JEWEL Brings Her Many Incredible Talents to the Agua Caliente Resort Casino, Today

Three-time Grammy nominee Jewel brings her world renowned vocal talents to THE SHOW at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa tonight, June 7 at 9:00 pm for a unique "impromptu" style concert featuring both her greatest hits and songs she has never recorded. Songwriting became a means of survival for Jewel - she experienced homelessness living out of her car as a teenager in San Diego. Three years later her first single "Who Will Save Your Soul" launched her stardom. She has sold over 27 million albums in her career, so far. I had the opportunity to chat with the singer about her upcoming concert in Rancho Mirage and "all things Jewel". Here are a few highlights from that conversation:

DG: You have been called a singer, an actress, an entertainer, a poet, a painter. How do you see or describe yourself?

J: Umm ... Curious is the only way I would see to describe myself, I guess. Maybe a writer. I have a writer's heart. I love the writing process.

DG: Did you have any training with either your writing or your singing, or does it all just come naturally.

J: None with writing. Except I wrote a lot and I think that's the best training you can get. I studied great writers. I was fascinated with the Russian writers. I was fascinated with the classics at a young age. I got into all the great classics - which led me into the Russian writers and the Latin American poets. I also loved great singers so I learned to sing like them. Sarah Vaughan and Joni Mitchelll and Loretta Lynn - I sort of learned different tips from all of them. I did attend a fine arts high school when I was seventeen - my Junior and Senior Year - and I studied some classical voice. Which really opened up a different part of my register.

DG: Who would you consider to be the biggest influence on your life and/or career?

J: (A deep breath). Oh, my gosh. Struggle I guess. You know, I wrote to make myself feel better. It was a medicine I could afford. Umm. It led me on a very personal journey. You know, its funny. It's hard for me to pinpoint just one person. What really made me want to be a writer were honest writers like Anais Nin because he didn't use artist propaganda to make himself more perfect than he was and that's what kind of writer I wanted to be. I wanted to be an honest writer and show my ugliness as much as I showed my hopes or goodness. And that really sculpted the type of artist I've become.

DG: Did success come as a surprise to you?

J: Yeah, I was pretty surprised. Umm. I didn't think my music would be massively popular. I was very earnest. I wasn't cool. I saw what was on Mtv and it was always very cool kids and I was never a cool kid. I was always very earnest and probably the opposite of what cool is. So I was pretty surprised that it went as far as it did.

DG: Tell me something about you that people would NOT know by reading your resume.

J: I'm not very serious. I get asked a lot of serious questions and I tend to write songs that are serious because my life has been kind of heavy. But I'm pretty silly. I have a really dark sense of humor. I think that surprises people at my shows a lot.

DG: You've accomplished so much in your career, so far, What would you consider to be a highlight?

J: Probably just that I'm not in my car. I can afford doctors when I need to see a doctor. I can travel at will. Those things are still really thrilling liberties that I never thought I would be afforded.

DG: Is there something that you have not yet tried or done or accomplished that you want to do

J: I'd like to do a Jazz Standards record that really just focuses on singing. That's a genre I'd still like to go into.

DG: Standards or original songs?

J: Probably a combination. I've written quite a few. But there are some great standards that I would like to sing that I didn't write.

DG: Tell me about your Lifetime movie "Ring Of Fire".

J: Thank you. It's debuted already. It's the story of June Carter Cash's life, so it's sort of her biopic.

DG: Have you ever considered doing Broadway or doing a musical?

J: You know, I was offered a great part years ago. It's a difficult schedule. I think it would be very creatively fulfilling, but a bit of a grind. So, I haven't felt like doing it yet. I know I'd enjoy it of I did it. I'd have fun.

DG: What can audiences expect to see at THE SHOW at the Agua Caliente?

J: I don't do a set list. It's just me an my guitar. I take requests and every show is different. I record the shows and sell them afterward. I do a lot of songs I've never recorded - so no show is the same. That's why I record them and let people take them home afterward if they want. I tell a lot of stories. It's pretty informal. My little brother is opening for me.

DG: Last question, When all is said and done, how do you want to be remembered on your tombstone?

J: I don't know. "I tried".

JEWEL is appearing at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa for one night only on June 7 at 9:00 pm. For tickets visit www.hotwatercasino.com/theshow.

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