Photo: Courtesy of Fresh and Clean Media
Alternative. Unconventional. Different. These are the words Olivia Jean uses
to describe herself. "I hope I inspire other female artists who have similar
tastes to not be afraid to be themselves. Not everyone fits the cookie cutter
mold of what popular music has become these days," says Jack White's protégé
whose debut album, Bathtub Love Killings, was released last month.Having cut her teeth playing in bands for White, Karen Elson, and Wanda Jackson, the no-frills brunette has finally struck out on her own. Her debut LP is dashed with bluesy licks, spooky organs, and girl-group harmonies. "It’s helped me in a lot of ways," the multi-instrumentalist says of touring and recording with such acclaimed talents. "They’ve given me advice when it comes to songwriting, live performance, basically everything that it takes to be in the public eye." While Jean (whose new music video for "Merry Widow" premieres exclusively below) is decidedly in control of her image ("I don't have a wardrobe stylist or anything like that. I do all my own hair and makeup") and draws inspiration from vintage design and '60s makeup," she’s the first to admit her onstage persona is still a work in progress.
"I’m still kind of getting the hang of it even though I’ve been doing it for a long time," Jean, who is diagnosed with social phobia, explains of performing. "I’m very shy so it’s difficult for me to perform. But I really enjoy doing it. Having social anxiety makes it a lot different than for the majority of musicians out there. So every show is an accomplishment."
Signed to White’s Third Man Records label, Jean, who previously played in the girl group Black Belles, received particular motivation and support from her label boss. "Jack really allowed me to take the reins and have full creative control of how everything turned out," she says. "He’s very encouraging to whoever is working in his studio to just create how they would create anywhere else."
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