Official Website of JillandKate

We’ve done this before on another post called One Last Thing and it was pretty fun, so let’s do it again.

The Last Time I Cried:

Jill: Believe it or not, watching the commercials during the Olympics. The actual events make me a little emotional as well, but those dang commercials get me every time.

Kate: The other night in my bunk. I was having an overwhelmed/girlie/crymy eyes out moment…I was listening to depressing music…aka…”Farewell” by Rosie Thomas…hadn’t cried that hard in awhile…kinda felt good to get it all out.

Last Greeting Card I Sent:

Jill: My brother’s birthday was July 31 and I sent him a funny Awkward Family Photos Card. I love those. I could stand in the greeting card aisle all day and read funny cards.

Kate: Well…I haven’t sent it yet…it’s been in my bag for months. It’s hysterical though. It’s got a girl sitting on a donkey on the front that says ” Nothing much happening around here.” Then inside it says…”Just sitting around on my ass and thinking of you.” Hysterical. I just need to actually send it to someone.

Last Indulgence:

Jill: We were home for 16 hours and I made Ghirardelli Double Chocolate brownies. Delicious.

Kate: A Vitamix. I LOVE smoothies so having a Vitamix makes it ten times easier to make. They are kind of very pricey…but I see it as an investment in my health…haha…

Last Song That Made Me Rock Out:

Jill: Eye of The Tiger. We were on the Pedal Tavern in Nashville for our friend Ashley’s birthday (it’s a 16 person bicycle-powered party on wheels) and when that song came on we all rocked it out and made it up the giant hill. It was quite a moment.

Kate: “Eyes Wide Open” by Gotye..I was driving by myself. I cranked it up and sang along. Maybe not so “rock out” but still fun!

Last TV Show I Watched:

Jill: Bunheads. It’s my new favorite show. If you liked Gilmore Girls, you have to watch this show. That Amy Sherman-Palladino knows what she’s doing.

Kate: The new Matthew Perry show GO ON. I LOVED IT!!! It’s free on iTunes right now! Check it out.

Happy Saturday!

Here are some questions that you guys asked us wayyyyy back in the day–we are answering them little by little!

Hope you have a fun weekend.

-j&k

Anakellya: What is the best part about your job?

Traveling, doing what we love, meeting great people…those are just a few. There a lot of really GREAT things about our job!

Emma (she’s got a few questions): 1. What are your fave songs of all time and why?

Jill: “Stay” by Lisa Loeb. It’s simply my favorite song ever written.

Kate: I hate this question….I stew over it for hours…I would have to say “Top of the World” by Patty Griffin.

2. Edward Cullen or Bill Compton (True Blood)?

Edward. (Neither of us have seen True Blood…so I guess Edward has an unfair advantage.)

3. Is there a difference between UK and US fans?

Yes. The UK fans seem to have this crazy accent going on. What’s that about?? Just kidding. We love all fans the same.

4. Please will u do a UK gig for us soon? (Louise asked this too)

We hope to. Seriously. We miss those accents.

Jen: Can fans only get your songs off Youtube and will you guys ever do your own concert?

Fans can get our songs on iTunes or order our CD’s from our new online store! And yes…we just played on July 1st and are hoping to do some more shows soon! Check back to our blog soon to see when we might play a last minute show near you!

Stephany: 1.What was your reaction at all the press you ladies received for NSOT17th for The Climb?

It was crazy! Who knew it would get press at all? We love that song and are glad other people seemed to like that video.

2. If you could go back in time to see how they were as a kid who would you chose between Jason, Cory, Einar, Ric, Miles, or Aben?

Jill: Einar for sure. Oooh…Miles would be a good option too. The best would be to see all of them hanging out together as kids. Haha. That would be a good time.

Kate: Hmm….I would say Miles…he’s so entertaining to watch as an adult I can only imagine his energy as a child

3. How do your families feel about you guys being away for long periods of time?

How could they not miss these faces? But in all seriousness, both of our families are very supportive of what we do. We have both been blessed with really great families.

Lauren: What I’d like to know is do you have a favorite inspirational quote and also who inspires you, what inspires you?

Jill: I love this quote from the movie “The Answer Man” which I think we’ve blogged about before. Lauren Graham’s character says that there are three rules she lives by:

1. Don’t take advice from someone you wouldn’t trade places with.

2. Try not to do something you can’t take back.

3. Something is what it is and it’s not something else.

I also am inspired by Emily Dickinson poems and Patty Griffin songs. Most of all, I think I mostly find inspiration in the people around me. You usually don’t have to look to far to find inspiring people.

Kate: There is a book called “Who You Are When No One’s Looking” and the whole premise is that ‘character’ is who you are when no one’s looking. I love that. Also I get tons of inspiration from other blogs that I read (I’m kind of a nerd-haha) but there is something about people being honest in the situations they find themselves in…whether it’s motherhood or decorating… I love reading all different blogs.

Ashley: What’s your absolute favorite song to perform live?

Jill: Finding My Own Way or Pop Song.

Kate: “You Might Break My Heart” on the piano.

Elizabeth: What did you guys do for NYE? Did you get to spend it in nashville or at home with your fam?

New Year’s was in Nashville this year and pretty low key. We’d been traveling SO much that it was nice to just chill at home.

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More questions to come–slowly, but surely.

j&k

So you guys are  driving down the roads of Nashville and and BAM a KC song comes on the radio. Do you switch it? Belt it out like Kelly would? Or sing back up? Hahah!  –Lizzy

Hmm….since we get to hear the lovely songs so often I would say we generally change the channel…or we giggle and sing at the top of our lungs and roll the windows down.  Depends on the mood.

When can we expect a new JillandKate album? And how was JillandKate formed?? –Michelle

Well, we are right in the middle of recording a new project…so we are not sure when exactly we’ll release it. But, if all goes well…sometime this year! Woohoo!  We can’t wait for you guys to hear the new stuff! “jillandkate” was formed when we met at a music program in college…we’ve been working together for 7 years…wowza!

Can you tell me what you would have done if someone told you “you can’t sing, music is not for you, find something else to do?” Have you always believed in you and in your singing and music skills ? Have you got any advice for self-confidence? –Charlotte

Well Charlotte…people will tell you all sorts of things. You generally need to examine who is telling you those sorts of things. Sometimes people will speak out of their own insecurity and try and make you feel the same insecurity. Only take advice from people that love you and want the best for you. As for your second question…NO! Haha…I think every artist doubts themselves from time to time…sometimes more often than not, but I really think that’s just par for the course for any artist type. When you love doing something and people affirm you in that, go forward and be confident in yourself. You are unique. There’s no one else with your experiences and you have something to offer to the world.

My question is are you guys are coming to Los Angeles, California for the All I Ever Wanted tour? –Kelly

Sadly…no. Sorry

Where I can find your song lyrics? –Max

Max! We are working on re-designing our website and on that site we will have all of our song lyrics. Sorry that you’ve been searching with no luck…we’ll let you know as soon as we post them!

Its none of our business but my friends and I are wondering if you all have boyfriends? –Mary

Well, true…it’s none of your business but currently we are both currently boyfriendless.

What is your best and worst habit(s)? In a previous Q&A session, you revealed that “Stained” was the first song you two wrote together. What are the lyrics and/or meaning behind the song? –Selena

Kate: I think one of my habits is both good and bad. I multi-task constantly. Which is great when I want to get a lot of things done, but sometimes because of my multi-tasking, I tend not to be in the moment or focus on one thing.

Jill: I’m a little OCD with things. Aren’t we all? I have to count telephone poles and headlights when I’m driving. I annoy myself with that.

Stained was the first song we wrote together over 7 years ago. It was about being negatively affected by a relationship and how that in turn affects all of your other relationships.

What would you say to someone who’s written a bunch of songs and doesn’t know what steps to take?  What are your favorite five music videos of all time? –Erin

Erin, if you have a lot of songs, play them for as many people as possible. Look for honest people in your life that will tell you the truth…seriously…you need people who say, “I love you, but that’s a horrible song.” Haha…it’s hard to have your creative works critiqued because art is really all subjective…but you have to examine your personal goals. If you want to write songs for other artists that you hear on the radio, listen to those songs, use commonalities from those songs to help you see what made them popular. Kate’s favorite video of all time is Janet Jackson’s “If” and Jill’s favorite video is “Waterfalls” by TLC. Three of our other favorites are “Disturbia” by Rihanna, “Beverly Hills” by Weezer, and of course “Barbie Girl” by Aqua.

Do you girls have a certain time where you sit down and write or is it whenever you get something in your head? –Bianca

It’s pretty much whenever we feel like it. We do sit down from time to time intentionally to go over songs or edit them…that sometimes feels like pulling teeth. It’s much easier to write when you feel inspired.

My friends and i were wondering what your most crazy insane fan story is? –Bre

We think it’s insane when people go out of their way to come to see us live. When we hear that people take plane rides, bus rides, trains, cars or walk to see a show it literally blows our minds. We feel so honored that people would want to make all that effort. It’s truly humbling.

So my question is if maybe y’all could ask around like other musicians and stuff cause i was wondering if the Berklee school of music is a good choice for me to go, or if you recommend some other place? –Myra

We’ve had friends that have gone there. It’s definitely a great school!

What are your favorite games and books? –Monique

Games: Yahtzee, Scrabble, Phase 10, Quiddler to name a few. Books: “The Time Travellers Wife” The Twilight Series, “Loose Girl.”

What is your favorite disney movie?  –Melissa

Kate: “Cinderella” & “The Little Mermaid”

Jill: “The Lion King” and “The Little Mermaid.” Oh and “Toy Story.” I pretty much like them all.

Are you afraid of the dark? When was the last time you cried? When the alarm clock rings, do you get out of bed immediatley? (I need 30 mins) Drink of choice? –Lizita

Kate: I used to be TERRIFIED of the dark. Like so, so, so scared. Somehow I just sort of got over it. Weird. The last time I cried was last night. When my alarm goes off I snooze at least once, or three times…hehe. I’m assuming you are speaking of alcoholic drink of choice? Vanilla vodka & coke.

Jill: I’m not generally afraid of the dark…unless I just watched a scary movie…then sometimes I can be. I cried last night. Oddly enough, I’m usually not much of a crier. I need a bunch of snoozes…I don’t enjoy getting out of bed. haha. Drink of choice would be Strawberry vodka with sprite. Also you can’t go wrong with a Mudslide.

Can you guys release an EP every couple of months because i need some more jillandkate? –Luciano

That is VERY sweet of you. But I think if we did that, you’d soon have to visit us in a mental hospital because that would be WAY too much work. Haha…also, we don’t want you to get sick of us!

How many stamps do you have in your passport? What brand of eye makeup remover do you use? –Holly

A LOT!!! Jill needs new pages in her passport! They almost didn’t let her leave Jakarta. Haha! Almay’s Make-Up Remover pads are awesome (oily & non-oily ones) or Kiehls super gentle make-up remover.

When is your(j&k) album coming out?? –Bonnie

Bonnie…this year sometime! We can’t wait to get it done!

Actually, no we don’t. We don’t have all the answers. But we do have some more answers to the questions you’ve been asking:

When you are singing your songs do you always/ever think about the person who you wrote them about while performing the certain song? -Stash

It’s different for us every time we perform. There are definitely times when you are  singing a song and you go right back to the reason or person that you wrote the song. If you perform a song a lot it can evolve and take on different roles.  Example: If the original reason for writing “Song X” was because two years ago the guy you were dating was a really big douche, two years later while performing that same song you might be really angry about something totally different but still be able to relate your feelings of anger through a song that was about your douchey ex. Hope that made sense. It’s different every night.

Are you planning any shows in England? -Hev

Hev…we would LOVE to play some shows in England. You folks are so kind and have been so supportive of our music–not sure when but we will play a J&K in the UK/Europe at some point. Deal? Deal.

You must have a decent amount of time on the tour bus. How do you pass the time? Are you watching seasons of LOST with Jason? What TV shows are you catching up on? I think you should watch Friday Night Lights. -Laura

We do have a lot of time on the bus. We play a LOT of games. Yahtzee, Scrabble, Strip-Poker (haha),  Sequence, Quiddler, Phase 10, Skip-Bo… we also watch movies from time to time. We have deep discussions about religion, philosophy,  and food We didn’t watch LOST with Jason.  But we are watching 24 & The West Wing from the beginning.  That’s right. Seven seasons of both shows from the beginning. All we can say about 24 is: All hail the power of Bauer And CJ on The West Wing is hilarious in a really dry way. Great shows. Thank you for the Friday  Night Lights recommendation. We’ll check it out.

Why arent you guys coming to Adelaide when you come to Australia?- Tj

Tj. We have no idea. Sorry. We just get told where to go and when That’s probably not a good enough answer for you but that’s all we got.

Who’s the funniest and craziest out of the two of u?? And how old are u guys? -Shay

Shay…very cool name btw. We are both 27. Representing the year 1982…holla! How could you pick one of us to be funnier than the other?? Couldn’t do it. We are both very, very crazy and sometimes that craziness makes us funny

Just want to know, How can I pray for you?- Jasmine

Jasmine you are so sweet. Safety & health. Yup. Thanks for the prayers. Prayer definitely changes things

I was just wondering if you could post a big list of singers/bands or songs (both old and new-er) that you guys have on your iPod? -Dylan

We’ll just put some highlights of regular things we listen to…here’s a giant list from both of our iTunes collections:

-Tracy Chapman

-Bon Iver

-Dan Auerbach

-Alanis Morissette

-Keith Urban

-Joy Williams (and The Civil Wars)

-Over the Rhine

-Peter Gabriel

-Kings of Leon

-Patty Griffin (of course)

-Gretel

-Jay-Z

-Miranda Lambert

-Saving Jane

-Steve Moakler

-The Weepies

-Eagles

It could go on and on, but that’s a good start…

Seems you girls have a diverse love of musicians (Mariah cary, Patty Griffin, to Jay-z, etc…), but lately, quite a few of your songs have all had a similar sound to them. Can we expect you girls to venture outside the comfort zone a bit on the next record? -Jackie

Actually that question is a great way to announce that our next album is going to be Latin-Fusion-R&B-Soul-Folk-Pop-Hardcore-Instrumental-Rap album. Who’s excited? Haha. And I (kate) am also going to be recording all of my vocal parts while hula-hooping…how out of the comfort zone is that??

-j&k-

Who cooks in the house? -Leea

I’m gonna have to say me. Kate. I love cooking. It’s therapeutic for me in a weird way. I don’t get to do it often because we aren’t ever home, but I love the sense of control I have being able to do it myself. I may or may not be a control freak at times. I love it though. Chopping everything up. Watching things sizzle. Yup. Good times. My mom is a ridiculously good cook…she’s the best. When my friends and I would come over to my house for a break in college she’d have fresh baked cookies ready and put chocolates on our pillows. No joke. My mom is incredible. I can’t say enough good things about her.

How did both of you meet? -Michelle

We met at a music program (The Contemporary Music Center) during college in January 2003 in Martha’s Vineyard, MA. One of these blogs we will give you the whole spiel…Schpeeeel if you will.

What place are you most looking forward to visiting in 2010? Where do you go on vacation? Whats your favourite word? -Jason

Kate: I don’t think I have one specific place I’m most looking forward to visiting…there are so many great things about all the places we are going I’ve never been to New Zealand though and am pretty excited I get to see it. I hear it’s like heaven. I’ll let you know. Home is where I like to go on vacation…haha…when you are gone so much, sleeping in your own bed and making coffee in your own kitchen can be the best vacation ever. But when I like to get away I am very much a tropical girl. Hawaii, somewhere in the Caribbean….give me a beach, some chips & salsa and a frozen fruity drink and that’s pretty much the description of the most perfect vacation…oh and a good book of course. I don’t think I have a favorite word. Hmmm…nope. Don’t think I have one…if ever I find my favorite word I’ll be sure to blog about it.

Jill: I love Australia. I always have fun going there so I think that is where I’m most looking forward to going this year. Kate was right. Home is the BEST place for vacation…whether it be Nashville-home or New Hampshire-home where I grew up. Okay okay, if I must pick a REAL place, I loved Maui when I went there a few years ago. My favorite word is: AWKWARD. I love spelling it out. I love words. I love palindromes and weirdly spelled words and everything to do with words.

Did either of you have a crush on Zack Morris (Saved By The Bell) or was A.C. Slater more your type? -Amy

Such an original question….well done Amy. Definitely Zack Morris. Come on. No contest. -kate

Did any girl NOT have a crush on Zack Morris? A.C. Slater was cool, but Zack is…i mean WAS my definite crush. -jill

Any beauty product must haves for you two? Is Kelly really a cool, down to earth person like she seems? -Stephanie

Beauty products…umm…concealer, some eye liner and some lip gloss can do wonders in under 5 minutes. True story. We have to wear so much make-up for stage that on off days we generally don’t wear a lot of make-up or any for that matter Yes, Kelly is unbelievably kind, brilliant, normal, super funny–we are honored to sing with her.

What is the one thing you most enjoy doing when you are on the road? -Jennifer

Kate: I love taking pictures out on the road or taking little videos. It’s a great way to document all of the things we get to do–sometimes I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday so I think it’ll come in handy in 50 years to have some pics and videos to remind me of what went on back in the day.

Jill: I love to steal Kate’s pictures because I am not so good at documenting. Also I read a lot, watch TV series, and write for fun. Oh, I mean…party so hard…yeah. Haha no…we are not really party hard people. There are cool people on the road too so it’s fun to hang out with everybody.