Jewel Kilcher, daughter of Atz Kilcher and Nedra Carroll, spent her early childhood in beautiful,
serene Anchorage, Alaska. She and her two brothers grew up in a family surrounded by
creativity and inspiration. Joyous household family sing-alongs were common and Nedra
sang sweet songs to Jewel and her brothers nightly.
As early as the age of six, Jewel began accompanying her parents singing in local
Anchorage performances, during which she mastered the fine art of yodeling from her dad.
When Jewel was faced with her parents’ divorce two years later, she went with her dad and
brothers to live in Homer, Alaska on the 800 acre family homestead. Although the divorce and
relocation invoked many mixed feelings, Jewel found solace in writing. She remembered the
vitality of those poetry workshops she participated in back in Anchorage.
As her teenage years approached, Jewel enjoyed performing with her dad as a duo in
local bars, hotels, and Eskimo villages. She learned how to “work a room” the way her dad did
and to study people’s reactions to the songs and stories.
Jewel's interests weren’t limited to music. She also spent a lot of time enjoying her first love,
horses. For hours on end, Jewel rode and cared for a horse named Clearwater.
At age fourteen, Jewel was introduced to something that would change her outlook on
herself and the world around her. She was "adopted" into a native Ottawa Indian tribe.
Among the sacred ceremonies she participated in, one included a "talking circle.” This opened
her eyes to the realization that although she was a prolific writer, she also needed to express
herself verbally. Jewel's Ottawan uncles taught her that spoken word was just as precious a gift
and she had her own special "gift to give the world.
One year later, Jewel was asked to perform solo for the first time, in Tom Bodet’s popular "End Of
The Road Show." Nedra rehearsed intensively with Jewel perfecting a rendition of "Somewhere
Over The Rainbow.” It was during the performance, in January of 1989, that Jewel
claims to have "found her voice.” Singing was something she wanted to celebrate more often.
High school was a stimulating growth period for Jewel and her dream. She spent her junior and
senior years at Interlochen Fine Arts Academy in Michigan as a voice major. Her vocal teachers
introduced her to opera and her singing skills improved drastically while practicing difficult
arias by Monteverdi, Bononcini and others. Working within a very stringent academic
schedule, Jewel also pursued interests including sculpture, art, music and dance. Another interest
she felt strongly about was acting. However, the school's policy didn’t allow voice majors to
participate in the drama program. With enough persistence and strong will, Jewel was finally
granted an audition. She successfully landed the leading role in that semester’s play "Spoon River
Anthology.” Her performance was so impressive, Interlochen began accepting other non-theater
majors into their drama program.
Upon graduation in the summer of 1992, Jewel made a bold move to San Diego, California to
live with Nedra. She got herself a variety of jobs, one of which was waitressing. But her delight in
meeting and chatting with the fascinating customers surpassed her actual job duties.
Lacking interest and skills in other jobs, Jewel soon found herself unemployed, pondering her
next move.
With Nedra's emotional support, encouragement and limitless hope to pursue their dreams, they
moved out of their apartment and into their vans. Cutting costs, eating mainly peanut butter &
carrot sticks, Jewel settled down with her guitar and began to write songs. These songs were from
her heart, about her own life, about those she'd met, about pain she saw in others and joy she
wanted to share.
Her song writing flourished and soon she met local singer/songwriter, Steve Poltz and his band
The Rugburns. Their friendship was instantaneous and Steve helped Jewel to work
within a verse/chorus/verse structure. His influence also helped Jewel combine her deeply
serious writing style with his own of humor and spontaneity. (Steve and Jewel later co-wrote You
Were Meant For Me and Steve appears in the video with Jewel.)
Also during this time Jewel met and collaborated with other talented musicians in San Diego. She
enthusiastically participated in "house jams" which often became spontaneous song writing
sessions for her. She then began performing solo to scattered curious crowds at coffee houses
throughout the San Diego area among which was The Innerchange Coffee House in Pacific
Beach. To her, it was just another fun gig to play after brushing the sand off her feet, but to the
audience it was an stirring experience not to be forgotten. Word spread around town, and soon
Jewel had a regular Thursday night gig at The Innerchange. For a mere $3, people listened to
a three to four hour set of Jewel singing and telling funny little stories about her life. Little did
she know how popular she'd become. Audiences multiplied, Jewels name began to appear in the
local press, and she landed several choice opening spots for bigger bands.
But 1993 was a year Jewel will always remember. By July her reputation as a
mesmerizing singer/songwriter had spread like wild fire to Los Angeles. Record executives
began racing each other to San Diego to see her perform. Her radiant stage presence, powerful
voice and alluring charm were in instant demand. Soon the limos were arriving and Jewel
knew that waitressing was far from what was ahead of her.
After a flurry of options, Jewel signed a deal with Atlantic Records. Her gift to give the world was
about to be opened. She spent the beginning of 1994 traveling to Los Angeles to meet with
potential album producers. Finally, Ben Keith (Neil Young and James Taylor) was chosen to
produce Jewel's first album.
The recording sessions began at Neil Young's Redwood Digital Studio in Woodside, California.
Young's longtime band, the Stray Gators, were recruited to back Jewel on five songs, along with
Steve Poltz. To capture Jewel's strong connection with her audience, Atlantic Records
suggested a live recording. So in late July, a sound crew set up The Innerchange Coffee
House to record four sets of Jewel singing to her regulars, who knew this was the last time they
would get seats this close. Over the next few months, songs were selected from the
Innerchange recordings and the studio sessions were mixed.
After the final special touches, Jewel's first album, "Pieces Of You," was released to the
public in February of 1995. Who Will Save Your Soul was the first hit single, followed by You
Were Meant For Me, and Foolish Games. As of this year, the album has sold over 10 million
copies and has won her, among others, an American Music Award for Best New Artist. She
describes the album as a time capsule of where she was at nineteen years old.
From 1995 to 1998, Jewel continuously toured the world, promoting her album. Quickly learning
the rigor of traveling the world, she played thirty cities in twenty days, touring Australia, New
Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. Europe was on her path three times. She had the
honor of opening for legends Bob Dylan and Neil Young and collaboratively performing in Lilith
Fair. By 1997, she was selling out 15,000-seat arenas. Her press and promotional schedule was
so rigorous, she appeared in over one hundred magazines and newspapers and several TV talk
shows. Most notable was her appearance on the cover of Time Magazine. However far from San
Diego, she still kept her friendships close. Steve Poltz opened for her several times and Jewel
and Steve occasionally performed their favorite songs together.
This year has proven to be a flourish of Jewel's other abilities. She published her first book, a
collection of her poetry entitled, A Night Without Armor which remained on the New York Times
best sellers list for weeks. She also made her acting debut playing the lead female role in
Ride With The Devil, a Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee.
Her long-awaited second album "Spirit, has just been released and is a spectacular display of her
development as a singer/songwriter. Its theme conveys Jewels strong sense of faith, love, and
humanity. Jewel chose Patrick Leonard (renowned for his work with Madonna) as the
producer who, as a musician and songwriter himself, related to Jewel from an artists point of
view. Among the many musicians who backed Jewel on this album, longtime friend, Flea (Red
Hot Chili Peppers), plays bass on Barcelona. Nedra, who is now Jewels manager, backs her on
several songs and sings a precious, beautiful duet with her on the albums additional track,
This Little Bird.
Jewel's spectrum of talent is unlimited and her continued realization of her dreams gives her
encouragement to inspire those around her. She found a responsibility through her fortune to
making a difference in this world.
POEMS
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