JJ Wilde

from Beyond The Stage Magazine - February 2022

MisterWives

PHOTOS AND WORDS BY BLAKE CHARLES

Canadian rocker JJ Wilde knows how to make a statement. A soulful, unapologetic swagger radiates from both Wilde and her music that makes her nearly impossible to ignore. Her voice crackles with personality as she sings about hard times, heartbreak, and the struggles of trying to make it in the music industry.

“I’m a very stubborn person and I’ve never kept my mouth shut,” said Wilde. “I don’t really believe in a certain persona as far as artistry goes. What you get is what you get. It’s just me, whether I’m working at the bar or whether I’m on stage, you’re going to get the same f****** person.”

For as long as she can remember, music has coursed through her veins. Wilde – whose real name is Jillian Dowding – grew up with music-loving parents who raised her on the sounds and styles of rock music. Her dad played her British rock and music from the underground scene while her mom played her Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon. From the heavy drums and raucous guitars to the raw and powerful vocal performances, Wilde was enamored by it all.

“Music has always been a huge thing since I was like a tiny little kid… There’s no way you can be raised on something and not have it affect what you do. I remember being a kid and getting woken up on a Saturday morning because my parents were blasting music super early in the music while cleaning the house and yelling ‘wake up kids!’ and it would just be like great music.”

Looking at Wilde’s music now, it’s clear that the music of her youth has greatly impacted the artist she is today. Her adolescence was spent not only falling head over heels in love with rock, but also – perhaps unknowingly – forming the foundation that her career is built on. She was basically a rockstar in training without even knowing it.

From the time she was a teenager, Wilde was working multiple jobs to pursue her musical ambitions. Most of her time was dedicated to work and school, but the rest was all about music. Her unwavering dedication has always been a part of who she is, which is why even in the hardest of times, she always lands on her feet.

“I’ve always kept 2-3 jobs since I was 15. It’s just kinda the way my parents raised me… That was nothing new, but the tiring thing was trying to do music as well because that’s really what my passion is. I felt like I was just spending energy doing all these different things and not fully doing music.”

After years of working non-music jobs, there came a point where Wilde didn’t know what would come next. She had the talent, drive, and passion to be a full-time musician, but she knew that even the most talented musicians don’t always make it. She’d grown exhausted from going job to job while pursuing music on the side, and eventually decided it was time to see what else was out there.

“I thought, ‘You know what, maybe [music] isn’t going to work’ so I went into a career counseling appointment at a college, and this nice lady was telling me all these different things about all these different careers… In that

appointment she told me all these options – and they sounded great – but I didn’t f****** want to do any of it… Even though this [music] thing isn’t working right now, I know now that if I were to pursue any of those, I would constantly be wondering ‘what if’, and I never want to wonder ‘what if.’”

It was only a few weeks after this unsuccessful counseling appointment that Wilde met her future manager. Luck? Perhaps. Hard work and persistence? Without a doubt.

Wilde released her debut single “The Rush” in late 2019 to rave reviews. The track was praised for its classic rock edge and Wilde’s stellar vocal performance, and quickly started gaining momentum on Canadian rock radio. The track is an absolute barn burner of a debut single that showed Wilde was ready to set Canada ablaze; and set ablaze she did.

“The Rush” went on to make chart history in Canada when it topped the modern rock, mainstream rock, and active rock charts simultaneously, making Wilde the first woman ever to do so. The song reached incredibly high highs and garnered Wilde some well-deserved praise and notoriety in the process, but the inspiration behind the song comes from one of the darkest times in her life.

“I went through a very dark couple of years before I went into music full time where I was very confused as to where my career was going. I was working three jobs, doing music, and it was just a dark time.”

This time in her life didn’t just inspire “The Rush”; it inspired the majority of her debut album as well. Released in the Summer of 2020, Ruthless is a hard-hitting project that bursts from the seams with grit and passion. The album is a rock album to its core that embraces elements of folk, alternative, and pop as well. No matter the sound, Wilde delivers every last uncompromising lyric with her signature timbre. The whole album shows her fighting through hardships, and ultimately turning her darkest days into anthems of resilience.

“My songs come from personal experience and have always come from a very personal place, almost to a fault. Sometimes it’s hard for me to write those songs because it’s like people are reading my f****** diary, you know what I mean?”

Wilde’s vulnerability is exactly what makes Ruthless such a powerful project, and is a huge part of what makes her such a special artist. At moments, the album is full of pain and rage, while other moments it hums with intimacy and sorrow. The title Ruthless really does say it all, as life was proving to be a harsh affair for Wilde at the time of the album’s conception.

“The title Ruthless really reflected a lot about where my life was at the time, but also the music industry in general. There’s no forgiveness, you know what I mean? I felt like it embodied where I had come from in the past couple years in this not super great place, and then also where I was hoping to go, and just not giving a s*** about what anyone thought about it and just f****** doing it.”

Wilde fought through the hardships, crafted a killer debut album, and once again made history when Ruthless won the JUNO Award for Rock Album at the 2021 ceremony. She became the first woman to win the award in 25 years,

with the last being Alanis Morisette with Jagged Little Pill in 1996. As someone who grew up watching the JUNO Awards and loving Alanis Morisette, this was an incredibly special win for her.

“It was so incredible. I can’t even put it into words to be honest. I mean, it was during COVID so it was a very small affair, but I loved that because it was just my family and me and a couple close friends. It was very intimate and amazing. The people that were there had seen my entire journey so it meant that much more to me.”

She also hoped her JUNO Award win could inspire young female artists in the world of rock, much like how artists like Alanis inspired her.

“There’s a lot of really f****** talented women up and coming in rock right now, and to be able to say ‘let’s f****** go’, that’s what it was for me... I just want women to empower women in this genre and in music in general, like we need to lift each other up.”

Following the huge success of “The Rush” and Ruthless, she released her latest project, an EP titled WILDE - EP in the summer of 2021. The project sees Wilde expand on the sounds of her debut, while keeping true to her soulful, rockin roots. Opening track “Bushweed” is full of twang and sass, “Off the Rails” is an absolute earworm that practically beg you to sing along, and “Mercy” hits the emotional high-point of the EP, as Wilde begs for mercy in a hymn-like way.

The EP has proven to be some of her best work yet, but the creation process for the project was completely different than how it was for Ruthless. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Wilde to stay in Canada while her main producer Frederik Thaae was back in Denmark, which forced them both to change their process and outlook on creating music.

“You have so much more time to sit on the music, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. When you’re in the studio, everything is so immediate; the energy is there, the creative energy is there, but you also have a timeline. You have a deadline. During the pandemic, there was no deadline. You’re just writing! I found that good balance of not digging in too far where you’re overthinking every song, but you’re also getting s*** done.”

It seems that no matter the challenge, no matter the circumstance, JJ Wilde will find a way to overcome. It can be heard in her voice, felt in her lyrics, and sensed in her aura. Her talent, drive, and passion had already taken her far, but with increased momentum and a limitless world around her, there’s no telling just how far she’ll soar.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Photos: Marlowe Teichman

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THE ACES

PHOTOS BY DANA JACOBS | WORDS BY PAULINA LEVITAN

What do you get when you bring Katie Henderson, McKenna Petty, Alisa Ramirez, and Cristal Ramirez together? The Aces. From practicing in their garage to selling out their own headline tour, this group is absolutely crushing it. They have landed on Billboard charts such as Top Albums, Emerging Artists, and Heatskeekers Album, as well as the Breakthrough 25 for Rolling Stone.

Two years ago, the quartet released their debut album When My Heart Felt Volcanic which was featured on The Recording Academy’s list of “11 Artists Keeping Rock Alive” and Billboard’s “Best Overlooked Pop Albums of the 2010s.”

Additionally, they have made TV appearances on shows like “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and MTV’s “Total Request Live” with Sway Calloway. Currently, they have been on a roll, working with other hot groups like 5 Seconds of Summer, COIN and X Ambassadors on the road. Back in November 2021, they embarked on their sold-out headline tour which kicked off in Seattle. Just days later, they spoke with Beyond The Stage from the back of their bus on the way to San Francisco for their third show. The group has loved every moment of performing live – as headliners and guest acts – thus far and has been embracing fans along the way.

“Touring during COVID is a whole different experience,” bassist Petty said. “It’s not like it was before, but we’re just grateful that we’re able to be out playing shows.”

Receiving over 46 million streams since its release in October 2021, their new album Under My Influence covers deep, vulnerable, and relatable topics that promote honesty and trust like the group openly expresses with one another and its fans. In the past, the group has avoided using gendered pronouns in its music, however, this album entails explicitly queer lyrics.

Lead singer Cristal Ramirez explained this came from a place of unsureness at the time of their debut album; Petty didn’t identify as queer and Henderson wasn’t out at the time, so the band didn’t want to misrepresent any of its members. They also feared that using such lyrics could limit their fanbase.

Fast forward three years, the band saw a lot of growth.

“It felt super natural for us to step into our power as queer women and tell our stories and just be completely honest and let those stories be out in the world,” Cristal Ramirez said.

When writing the music for Under My Influence, The Aces organically started using the pronouns “she” and “her”, agreeing to leave it that way because it was true to their stories being told in that moment.

Alisa Ramirez explained that it took almost all of 2019 to write the album.

“Cristal and I would go with one of our collaborators and write a song, get the bones of it, and then Katie

However, amid prepping for an album release, the pandemic transpired. Suddenly, the band’s plan to tour fell apart and they were forced to turn back to writing more music. Unfortunately, with the world at a halt, they faced a bit of writer’s block and felt uninspired.

“Here we had all this music we were just putting out that we spent a year creating, and so our tank felt empty, creatively,” Ramirez added. “So, a lot of 2020 was spent just putting that record out and making the best of the situation.”

Using a desire to return to their roots and approach things in a simpler way as motivation, most recently the band has been writing more with most of their music stemming from “organic jam sessions.” Encapsulating this same pure energy, the band has worked to create a safe space for fans and listeners with not only Under My Influence, but all their music and shows.

The Aces created a realm where people can be whoever they want to be and just hang out and make new friends with other fans.

“We have really special fans and they’re all so nice to each other,” Petty said. “We just really want to cultivate that and help it thrive and grow even bigger and stronger.”

Months prior to their headline tour, the group released a video for their single “Don’t Freak” which appeared fun to shoot for its allude to the classic 70’s punk pop vibes.

The concept came into fruition when Alisa Ramirez heard the song.

“It felt black and white and kind of like lightning crashing in the track, and it just feels really, really cool,” she said.

With the song being about mental health and the struggles people face with it, the band wanted to paint a picture of that space for viewers, creating a disoriented feeling.

“It felt like this Twilight Zone-esque song. So, I wrote this treatment and linked up with a director named Daniel Carberry who is absolutely amazing,” Ramirez said. “He executed it perfectly; we’re really happy with how it turned out.”

With over 3.8 million streams since its fitting release during Mental Health Awareness Month (May), “Don’t Freak” is highly acclaimed. Cristal Ramirez explained that the band is currently exploring topics they hadn’t before.

“I really, really struggled with really, really intense panic attacks throughout the pandemic and also just have had general anxiety disorder my whole life,” she said.

The band wanted to expand their repertoire to topics outside of love and relationships, and felt this theme was an important one to cover as it is a part of who they are as The Aces.

The group has certainly come a long way since their start.

“We used to practice in a tiny basement in Cristal’s house and then in my house, rattling the dinner plates upstairs. We just played any opportunity we had, Henderson said. “We’d play shows for our friends in our hometown, so to be opening for other bands and headlining our own tour is pretty surreal.”

The band is ecstatic to be back on the road, playing in front of audiences. Being away from their fans for two and a half years has allowed them to miss and cherish the live shows.

“To see how our new album resonates with our fans and to hear them singing every word back to us, has been such a cool experience,” Henderson added.

While on the road, the band has had time to stream other artists while traveling between shows. Petty shared that she’s been listening to the new Beach House EP. Cristal Ramirez has been jamming to Phoebe Bridgers, whom she has gotten really into recently. While Henderson found this question to be a bit difficult, she finds herself listening to Arctic Monkeys on tour, as well as the latest Avenue Beat album the debut farewell album. And last, but certainly not least, Alisa Ramirez has been listening to “a lot of shoe-gazey stuff.”

“I listen to a lot of Cocteau Twins, The Cure, The Smiths, stuff like that. But then also, I’ve been listening to Taylor Swift’s new version for Red. It’s interesting, a lot of fans will ask about that one, so it’s been fun to talk to them about it.”

Connecting with fans and staying true to themselves appears to be The Aces’ top priorities as artists. With over 91,000 Instagram followers on their group page and 950,000 monthly Spotify listeners, the band’s fanbase is constantly expanding and evolving just like they are.

Here at Beyond The Stage, we applaud them on their effort to be open and honest with listeners and not hiding their true colors. With more music on the way and a burning desire to keep playing live shows, The Aces have many avenues awaiting them in the future.