It's a Sunday afternoon at the Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia. Employees are rushing around setting up for this evening's show. This is the first Philadelphia headlining performance for 21-year-old Alaskan folk singer Jewel Kilcher – or just plain Jewel, as her friends, family and fans call her. Through the closed doors of the theatre waft the sounds Jewel's band practicing. In the bar area are a group of local rock journalists. That's a scary sight at any time, made particularly daunting by the fact that they are catching an artist on the cusp of the wave of her career.
Jewel walks into the bar smiling, looking comfortable in a pair of jeans and a white top. Looking much more blonde than you would expect from someone from the tundra state (due to Swiss descent,) she smiles and greets the throngs of press. Obviously, even at her young age, she's getting used to all the attention. As you talk to her, Jewel radiates a true happiness and trust of human nature – the type that could get annoying if not for the obvious strength and passion Jewel puts in these beliefs.
Born to musical parents – Jewel's dad was a well-known local pub singer and mom a music teacher – she took up music early. Playing with her dad and band as a young child, Jewel grew up on stage. As a teenager, Jewel decided to move to the mainland, ending up in San Diego. There she waitressed, wrote poetry and songs, surfed, played local coffeehouses and lived in the back of her '79 V.W. Van.
Word got out about Jewel and soon she was working on Pieces Of You, her debut album, produced by legendary boardsman Ben Keith (Neil Young, Patsy Cline.) Released in late 1994, the album began a steady, long climb into the public consciousness. Despite critical acclaim, it sold slowly at first. But her record label, Atlantic, stuck with it – much longer than most labels will go with an untested artist. Jewel steadily seeped into the news, playing Dorothy in a rock & roll version of The Wizard of Oz with Roger Daltrey, Debra Winger and Jackson Browne. She had a rumored relationship with tough guy actor Sean Penn. Then she made an appearance on VH-1 in concert with Melissa Etheridge, Joan Osborne and Sophie B. Hawkins. A year and a half after the album was released, the label re-issued Jewel's first single, "Who Will Save Your Soul?" and it has become a smash.
It still surprises Jewel. She never thought about music as making her famous. She was just looking for something to eat. Now she's in the midst of a mind-boggling tour. It's been tough, but she can't help but smile. "I've just done forty (shows) in thirty days – had five days off the entire year. So, it's getting grinding. It won't always be this hard. But, I love doing it. It beats waitressing. It's a kick. I thought I was going to steal toilet paper the rest of my life. I had no idea I would show up in Philadelphia and have a sell-out show... I'm not too cool to be excited, I guess. I'm a really excitable person, I'm not really a jaded rock & roll musician. This is all a kick for me. I'm really happy to have the opportunity." From: http://www.popentertainment.com/jewel.htm
