12/01/2011 - Belmont Vision
12/01/2011 - Belmont Vision
12/01/2011 - Belmont Vision
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Page 10 The <strong>Belmont</strong> <strong>Vision</strong>, December 1, 2<strong>01</strong>1<br />
Jilian Linklater<br />
The “Beat ‘N’ Track” this month showcases the songwriting<br />
strength of sophomore Jilian Linklater. The 19-yearold<br />
songwriting major first turned to piano, pen and paper<br />
in times of heartache, and the songs that resulted on the<br />
other side of the pain taught her some of life’s little lessons.<br />
A few years later, in her freshman year at <strong>Belmont</strong>, the the<br />
seasoned songstress awed audiences at two separate ASCAP<br />
Writers’ Nights. After securing top honors, she earned a<br />
performance spot at the 2<strong>01</strong>1 Best of the Best Showcase. But<br />
Dustin Stout learned all the hype doesn’t cloud the vision<br />
of this Michigan native. For her, it’s all about one thing: the<br />
song.<br />
Talk about the fi rst time you wrote a song. What’s the name<br />
of the song? What’s it about?<br />
The first song I wrote was called “I Don’t Need You<br />
Anymore” when I was 15, and if the title doesn’t give it<br />
away, it was a very dramatic song about a boy who broke<br />
my heart. So original, I know. Though the song isn’t one<br />
of my best, I still remember exactly why I sat down to<br />
write it, and that’s really what was important to me. I<br />
sat down and wrote it because I felt like it would be a<br />
good way to put it behind me and get something positive<br />
out of the situation. I never really intended for anyone to<br />
hear any of my songs at all. I just started writing to feel<br />
better.<br />
Talk a little more about that. How does songwriting lift<br />
your spirits?<br />
I played music and wrote songs to make me happy<br />
and to cope with whatever was going on in my life—even<br />
if I just got frustrated with someone. I remember getting<br />
in fights with my mom about stupid stuff. She would say,<br />
“Okay, Jilian, go away and go play guitar or something. It<br />
will make you chill out a little.”<br />
Is songwriting something you were always interested in, or<br />
did you start by accident?<br />
I wouldn’t really call it an accident, but I didn’t really<br />
start playing around with songwriting until my midteens—which<br />
is kind of later than most, I think. I always<br />
had played piano, and it made me happy to play music<br />
in general. But songwriting came along later.<br />
How would you describe your style? Is there a common<br />
theme that you tend to cover in your songs?<br />
My songwriting style varies, but for the most part, I<br />
usually just describe my music as acoustic pop or singer/<br />
songwriter. As for a common theme, I mostly write about<br />
real-life situations—whether it be in my life or a friend’s<br />
or family member’s.<br />
When you write a song, do you think about performing it in<br />
front of other people and what they will think?<br />
For me initially in the songwriting process, I never<br />
even considered the listener. Songwriting will always first<br />
and foremost be something I do because it makes me<br />
happy and helps me cope, but there are times when the<br />
listener comes into account. A song could make perfect<br />
sense to me, but it could leave the listener completely<br />
lost. What good is a song if you can’t get some sort of<br />
message across?<br />
You’ve performed at two of the Curb College’s ASCAP<br />
Writers’ Nights and even got to perform at last spring’s<br />
Best of the Best Showcase. Talk about how it felt to get<br />
such an honor and to be recognized so positively for your<br />
music. How does it feel to perform your songs in front of so<br />
many people?<br />
To be honest, when I applied for the ASCAP Writers’<br />
Night, I didn’t think I had any chance of getting it.<br />
Everyone writes at <strong>Belmont</strong>. So being picked twice – and<br />
as the winner last year – was so awesome. I was jumping<br />
out of my skin. And the showcase was crazy fun! I<br />
remember walking off the stage after playing my song<br />
looking at my violinist and percussionist. We all three<br />
were saying, “Yes! That was so fun! Let’s do it again!”<br />
We were so pumped. It was such a fun night.<br />
That’s great. Getting to play at a showcase as a songwriter<br />
is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But when it comes to<br />
writing and performing, do you prefer one more than the<br />
other?<br />
I would have to choose writing over performing.<br />
Though performing can be a rush, like at the showcase,<br />
it all just comes back to the song for me. I’ve said it<br />
a lot, but I love songwriting because it makes me feel<br />
happy! The performing part isn’t as big of a factor<br />
in that. Sure, I would still play music. But without<br />
songwriting, music wouldn’t be as big of a part of me.<br />
Speaking of the music that’s a part of you, your EP is<br />
called “The Back Door EP.” What inspired that name?<br />
The name “The Back Door EP” is credited to my<br />
roommate Emily Clark. It came from one of the songs on<br />
the EP called “Familia.” That song is just about growing<br />
up and family and coming home again which described<br />
the period of my life very well. So I thought that grabbing<br />
a line from that song would be relevant for the time I was<br />
releasing it. Plus, it’s got a nice ring to it.<br />
I heard your EP was recorded in a dorm room. Is that true,<br />
and if so, talk about that experience. Is it everything you<br />
thought it would be?<br />
Yes, it sure was recorded in a dorm room. My good<br />
friend Tyler Newkirk introduced me to Chris Royer,<br />
an audio engineering major, at the beginning of my<br />
freshman year, he and said he would be down to record<br />
some stuff. It just snowballed from there. The dorm<br />
room recording was super fun but challenging. There<br />
were space constraints and visitation hours we had to<br />
work around, but we made it happen. Chris made his<br />
wardrobe into a booth with carpet and blankets draped<br />
over the side. It was lovely. I sang right to all his clothes.<br />
One song that’s not on your EP is called “Make Me.” I<br />
heard you perform it at the most recent ASCAP Writers’<br />
Night, and from that moment on, I was a Jilian Linklater<br />
fan. Now, this isn’t your typical love song. Talk about why<br />
you wrote “Make Me” and what the song’s about.<br />
I wrote “Make Me” just this past summer. I actually<br />
found a little piece of paper with the idea for the song<br />
written on it in my dresser. I must have just scribbled it<br />
down a while ago and forgotten about it. But the song<br />
is about wanting to have your heart broken, which is the<br />
opposite of most songs you hear. But this song is about<br />
someone who has never been in love or feels incapable<br />
of love, and it seems that maybe a heartbreak is the only<br />
way that person can realize they are in love or can be in<br />
love.<br />
I always say there’s no greater thing than to feel the words<br />
of a song more than you even hear them. Your songs do<br />
that and strike such a chord with people who are listening.<br />
Why do you think that is?<br />
Well, I’d hope that the reason for that is that they can<br />
relate and feel the genuineness of the words they are<br />
hearing.<br />
I hear you are a sucker for country music. In fact, you<br />
even have a song called “Country Song” on your YouTube<br />
channel. Talk about what you hope people feel when they<br />
hear this song.<br />
I do love me some country music. The funny thing<br />
about “Country Song” is every single thing in the song<br />
is true. I didn’t just sit down and say, “Hey I’m going<br />
to throw a bunch of country music clichés in a song.”<br />
I sat down and wrote about my night, and it happened<br />
to sound like a country song! The whole attitude<br />
behind country music is that it’s real people and real<br />
experiences, so I hope that comes across in this song.<br />
It defi nitely does. Well, you’ve recorded and released an<br />
EP. You’ve won an ASCAP Writers’ Night and gotten to<br />
perform at last year’s Best of the Best Showcase in front of<br />
all of <strong>Belmont</strong>. What’s next for Jilian Linklater?<br />
As of right now, I am just writing as much as I can.<br />
And hopefully, in the future those songs will land me a<br />
publishing deal. That’s really what I have my eyes set on<br />
right now. But ultimately—if I want to be really cliché—I<br />
want to be happy doing what I love, with people that I<br />
love. Maybe If I’m lucky, the two will go hand in hand.