- Present yourself in 20 words or less.
I am a visionary creator who uses technology to communicate my visions, dreams and creations through various forms of expression from music visuals as well as web creations and communities.
- Why do you think your story is worth telling?
It is about getting back up after falling, not to mention that to my knowledge I am the only one of me on the internet or at least I was one of the first if not the first people to really understand and utilize the capacity to translate art through a digital media.
- Can you sumarize a day in your life in 15 sentences or less?
Wake up, drink a cup of tea, write in my personal journal. Then I say a prayer before going to make music in the studio or going to a photoshoot. After that, it is meetings with people with in the industry. Each day I try to the gym, to run or o do yoga before heading back to working on either music, writing, my websites, answering email or shooting video. It never stops.  It is a whirlwind of creation and work.
- Are you going to make it, are you making it or did you already made it?
Making it for me is to do what I love which I do everyday. I don't really care what the world thinks. To some, I made it. To others, I am famous. To even others, I am important.  But to me, I am just me.
- Do you consider yourself an ambitious person? Do you think that's a quality or a defect?
No. I don't watch tv. I don't play games with people's emotions in shallow relationships, and I don't drink or do drugs, so that leaves a large amount of time and energy to be productive. Most people have completely forgot that they can do something beyond being a permanent fixture on the couch. We all have the ability to do limitless things.  We just often never try.
- Being a beautiful girl has obvious advantages, but it also has a stigma attached to it, do you feel underestimated? Do you feel you have something to prove?
I don't feel I have anything to prove. I don't create to please or win the attention of the world. I create because I love it. 
- You're very active in many projects, music, modeling, your website changes constantly,  you write in your online journal daily and you're one of the most responsible people I've met when it comes to answer your e-mail. Personally, I don't think it's possible, how to you manage to do all that?
- Do you consider yourself a workaholic?
Thank you, I have someone who does the flash site, an awesome artist and a nice guy from France named JD. Glenn from www.lodgerproductions.com does all my video editing and watches over the site.  As far as theblackbookproject.com, I have two people, Whitney and Axel who oversee it.  MentalSanctuary.com is watched and maintained by JD as well. I have business manager and assistant, Rob, who is amazing and who I couldn't live without.  He takes care of all the mail, bills, and paper work between me and places like BMI and others as well as booking me and handling my schedule. I work from 8 am till 2am on a normal day. I make art all day so it is hardly work.
The Work
- What are your current projects? What's Jillian Ann doing?
I am working on my second solo album which will be out this summer. I am working on a musical collaboration that is very portishead/everything but the girl /moby esque with this amazing artist and poet sage www.sexdrugsandsundayschool.com  and www.sagepoet.com.   I am working on a new version of JillianAnn.com which will be out in the next few months. I am running an artist collective and community in New York ( www.mentalsanctuary.com) which is also a global portal where I am putting the gathering call out to other artists, dreamers and creators who want to see change and create. I also am working on www.theblackbookproject.com which is a database for models and photographers, but, unlike most modeling portals, we screen the photographers and make sure they are real.  I am also working on a live show for this summer which will be on the road. Currently I am working with a film maker and we are finishing up the first feature film that I have done called Alternative Model. I am shooting for fashion magazines and top photographers when I can in New York and around the world. Currently, I am doing a lot of music for films and tv as well. I just finished an hour and a half meditational CD which will be on my website soon.
I am also working on a series of paintings for a gallery show. I am working on a project called Zen Baby which will be a book as well as a section on the site. It's all about things like sex, drugs and God. I am also working on a book about the modeling industry.
Sage and I have a monthly night starting this month at a top club in New York called Pianos where we will be hosting a night of music, poetry and art.  We have weekly meetings for Mental Sanctuary in New York which is a rapidly growing and becoming quite a creative and beautiful group.  There is more, but at the moment that is what I have my teeth sunk into.
- I know this one will surprise some of the readers; approximately how many pictures of yourself do you have available in your web site? by how many photographers?
At last count, about 4500.  Taken by hundreds of photographers.
- Explain The Mental Sanctuary in 20 words or less. What projects are you developing with that?
Mental Sanctuary is about gathering, educating, helping, empowering, and connecting artists without strings attached.
- You have several guides to help people in different areas posted on your web site, pitch them and explain them, I'll include the address.
There is the Modern Models Guide which is the truth about the industry. Considering it was how I survived and lived for over seven years, it is written from experience and tells the hard truths I learned.  These articles are not candy,  They are not there to make you feel good or tell you it's a box of chocolates. It's real and raw.  The guide is at http://www.jillianann.com/MODELGUIDE.html  and it is a good read for anyone who is thinking of getting into the business. I am working on this and will develop it into a book over time.
There is a guide on New York City which I will be adding to as well.  This has everything from spiritual places to gardens to vegan and vegitarian restrunts. It's the places I go to and the things I do.  This is at http://www.jillianann.com/nyc.html
There is the rape and sexual abuse section. I and many I know were raped or sexually abused so this is a section on abuse and recovery as well as resources.  We are also working on creating a national directory of centers which offer free counseling and therapy to rape and/or sexual abuse victims.
The For Humans section of my site has many things there that I thought people would enjoy: CD-Junkie is at  http://www.jillianann.com/cdjunkie.html  and it has
a list of hundreds of artists I listen to.  I am a music junkie.  Soon it will be thousands because my collection is expanding. Most music on the radio is boring, but this music is stuff I think is good and you may never hear it on commercial radio.
Health and Diet Advice -- now one of the reasons I do everything I do is because I rarely get sick. I also spent years trying to find the way to eat and feel really good and I found it. I have done extensive research on nutrition and this section shows some of the information I found  http://www.jillianann.com/body1.html  and
http://www.jillianann.com/aDietThatWontKillbutwillHeal.htm
Everyone I know who is on the diet is very happy with it once they got over their fear.
There are also essays on God and sex and so on.  This shows what I have learned and also I get people around me to write stuff as well.   These can be found at http://www.jillianann.com/essays.html  Some of it heavy stuff, so be aware.
About Milan is at http://www.jillianann.com/aboutmilan.html  I was in Milan modeling and this section contains an agency list as well as a bit about the city -- its ups and downs and its ins and outs.
The Musician's Guide to the Internet -- Peter Spellman and Berkelee Press were  nice enough to let us digitize his book and this is a resource section for anyone who is a musician and who uses the net.  Peter Spellman's book and the resources it are amazing. http://www.jillianann.com/PeterSpellmanMusicianResources.html
Sound and healing is a section on what I found about sound and healing
- Do you consider yourself an altruist / philanthropies?
I am aware of the state of the world. I am watching my generation sink fast and I am just trying to stick out a digital hand.
- What's the best gift you've ever gotten from an online fan?
music and money :)
- Do you have a stalker yet?
Not really.  And I am not looking for one either :)
- Do you consider you crave for attention? Is that a characteristic of performers in general?
I don't really crave for attention. I just put my art and music out there to be shared with everyone.  I enjoy my solitude and in many ways try to hide from the attention.
- I personally think you have a very good chance of becoming a star soon. Are you prepared for it? How do you feel about it?
I am prepared which is why it hasn't happened. I believe that my work, my life, is in divine hands and because of that, there are many things I had to learn and understand before I went anywhere. Becoming a star is being put in a pressure cooker. There is a reason so many kill themselves and/or end up in rehab. It's hard.  It's heavy. And it's intense. I am lucky I am around people who are there and have been there who have been teaching me.  It will be nice to continue to grow. I am not into the whole game of the industry. I want to make my art and work and create and use what I have to do all I can to help others. I have an amazing team in place and also it would be nice to be able to hire a few people to help out.
- If that happens people will become very interested in your life, do you plan to keep the journal online?
Yes, because I want people to know the truth and that includes the good and bad. The journal is my way of keeping my own press.  People can say what they want but my journals go back till I was a kid and it's all there. I will continue because it is my way of keeping in control. The public can read it and form their own opinons.
The Journal
- When and why did the journal started?
When I was a kid, no one understood me so I wrote in a journal. Then my friends would read them and it helped them because they didn't feel alone.
- Do you consider yourself an exhibitionist?
I think people are afraid of themselves and there is no need to be. There is no such thing as a secret, so why hide? Why cover up? Why be anything you're not?
- Has keeping an online journal, a public doorway to your life, caused you any problem?
No, it has helped me because it keeps away those who lie and are two-faced and brings to me those who are real or want to be and who seek truth.  Agencies and managers sometimes have problems with it, but that is a part of my art and if they can't dig it, then I move on. I am at a point where I will not compromise my creation to please others or the public.  The journal also helps a lot of people.  People write me everyd ay to say that it inspires or helps them with their own lives.
- You've has an online journal for years now, why do you think they have became so popular lately?
Because I am all over the place -- magazines, the net, music, radio and so on. Because I talk about everything I am not supposed to from sex, religion, drugs, love, God, politics, art, healing and so on. Because it's real, and there is so little of that.
Because people want to see inside, so why hide it?
Technology and communication
- I your journal you advice people to "unplug their kids", but most of the work you do has to do with sitting in fron of the computer all day. Do you consider you have a love/hate relationship with technology?
I hate computers, but I use them. Again I use them.  They don't use me.  Ccomputers can be very productive, but trust me -- I wish I didn't have to sit in front of them. Unplugging children is about what I consider to be the weapon of mass destruction in America.  At least which is the tv.  Poor children are brainwashed into materialism and co-dependent behavior before they get a chance to know themselves.
- Even though some of your music is available to be downloaded or streamed in your web site, I have do ask this. What's your position in the whole The Industry Vs Digital music controversy? What about your label's position.
- Did the Internet, your web site, and having your songs available on line helped you get a record deal?
I will be adding a very large amount of music soon to be streamed. Let's talk truth. The major labels are raping artists. Because they spend far to much money and have to.  Then they rape the public by charging 16 dollars for a cd.  Here is how it works -- a major label wants you so they give you an advance (loan). Then you make a record and use all that money which you owe back to them.  If the record doesn't sell half a million nowadays, you often get canned. So lets see.  You make a record and then you owe them money? Sounds a bit messed up.  Now, I don't think it is fair for them to take all the artists' money, so my attitude is let them learn not to be so greedy and change the old ways. It's outdated and there is a better way.
As far as piracy goes, my perspective is that if you could download a track for 50-99 cents, I think this is fair.  If all or most of the money went to the artists, I think it would be fair. This reality will soon be the new way.  It is happening now.  Soon the p2p will be full of music, some free and some you need to pay the artist for. I think it is fair to pay the artist as well as the person who funded the music in this way. I don't think it's fair for artists to make records, sell thousands and be starving while the CEOs are driving limos. I have sat in the rooms with the RIAA, the FBI and the people who are the kings of P2P.  The reality is that no one is happy and we all want something that is fair for the public, for the artists and for the labels. But we all have to play nice which, when money is involved, isn't always easy. I got my record deal because of the Internet.  The head of my label (www.emperorpenguinrecordings.com)  is amazing.  He is not normal and the label is all about supporting artists and not raping them. He found me because of mp3.com which is now gone thanks to Universal buying them and then shutting it down, which is sad.  My label is all about the artists, and its head, Wyatt Perko, is supportive of anything that helps me. He is amazing and so is his label. They are very open and supportive.
Music
- I've been reading a lot about the music industry and the deals they give to artist and it doesn't seem fair, no wonder the whole industry is crumbling. What's your take on that?
I feel change has to come and it is coming and no it isn't fair and now the artists don't need to deal with it or need it.
How's your record deal? Can you discuss that?
Amazing. My label is amazing.  They are so cool and nice and care so much and let me have complete creative freedom and are not abandoning me:)  I am working on my second record.
- Do you think what's happening with the music industry is good or bad for small record labels? Is it a good time to be independent?
It is the perfect time for a small label and it is a great time to be independent.  It is the perfect time to be small because there is a new wave coming and if you catch it now, you can fly.
- Do you download music?
I am onto next level stuff so no I don't.
- Why didn't you audition for American Idol?
Because I am an artist, not a singer.  And I refuse to be packaged by a bunch of people who only care about if I sell a million records. Not to mention the fact that I don't qualify because I did release a CD.
- What do you think of the whole American Idol phenomenon? Do you like pop music?
I like Depeche Mode and U2. I don't like a lot of the stuff out there at the moment.  It's not real.
- Do you have formal musical education?
Some piano and voice lessons and that is all. I am learning more now than ever.
- Do you perform live? Do you have a band?
I will be with the next album. The band will be me, Sage and a bunch of computers.
- Tell us about Neverland and your pre nomination to the Grammies
Neverland was my debut solo album. I learned how to make music, making it so it is like me being in musical kindergarten. It got really good reviews and is becoming a cult classic. It is a bit off, a bit quirky, but it is real and from the soul. It has done well on the radio and in reviews as well as out of thousands, it got in the top few hundred CDs chosen by the Grammy people. Neverland is precious because it is my first creation. It is a very chill, mellow and emotional record.
- What equipment did you use to make Neverland?
Coffee, keyboards, a voice, Sonar, and several plug ins out of hundreds as well as Reason and Absynth.
- Who would you like to remix one of your tracks?
Paul Okenfold, Nick Warren, Goldie, Tricky
- Who would you like to direct one of your videos?
The person who does Bjork's. I cant remember his name. He also did stuff for Aphex Twins.
Thats it
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