• Jill Sobule & Julia Sweeney- A night with Jill & Julia W Justin Trawick
• 9:00pm

Jill Sobule is a long-time big fan of Julia Sweeney. Julia Sweeney is a long-time big fan of Jill Sobule. They met at a conference in Monterey a few years ago. They jumped up and down when they met. Giggles and gushing occurred. Jill invited Julia to perform with her the next time she had a show in L.A. Julia agreed. Jill sang songs. Julia told stories. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. But the audience laughed and clapped and smiled and sometimes even cried. Mostly, they seemed to want more. More of Jill & Julia! So, now it's... like, a real show.

ABOUT JILL SOBULE

Jill Sobule belongs to a rare breed of artists. Her work is at once deeply personal and socially conscious, seriously funny and derisively tragic. Over five albums and a decade of recording, the Denver-born songwriter/guitarist/singer has tackled such topics as the death penalty, anorexia, shoplifting, reproduction, the French resistance movement, adolescence, and the Christian right. Did we mention love? Love found, love lost, love wished for and love taken away.

While her songs cover a huge amount of ground, they all have benefit greatly from Jill's subtle intelligence and skillful light-handedness. No sloganeering flag-and-fist waving here, but rather story songs about human beings, real and imagined, which allow us to step back from the issue, be it personal or social, and relate to it as we would a close friend.

To see Jill live and in concert is a rare treat. It is on stage that she is most comfortable, most powerful, and where the delicacy and range of her work can be best appreciated. She entertains, amuses, provokes, and more often then not, takes her audiences on an emotional roller coaster, from comedy to pathos in a few bars of music.

Jill began playing guitar when she joined the Junior High School band. She never learned to read music, though, and faked her way through rehearsals and performances by playing by ear. As she began writing songs, it was very clear to Jill this was becoming more than a teenage hobby. Music was serious stuff. She played in a variety of funk and rock bands in Colorado, and eventually made her first, Todd Rundgren-produced, album for MCA, Things Here Are Different.

But success did not knock on her door until three years later, when Atlantic Records released her MTV staple and national top 20 hit, I Kissed A Girl. "That song was a double-edged sword for me," Jill Says. "It was perceived as a novelty hit, but on the other hand it was the first song with an overtly gay topic to be aired on Top 40 radio. I am quite proud of that." The self-titled album also yielded another hit song, Supermodel, included in the Clueless soundtrack.

The song also jumpstarted her live music career in a big way, and since then she's had the honor to induct Neil Diamond in the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, to share the stage with the likes of Neil Young (at his yearly Bridge School benefit concerts), fellow activists Billy Bragg & Steve Earle, and Waren Zevon. Quite the serious guitar player, she even toured the world as lead guitarist in Lloyd Cole's band a few years back.

Since then, she has made four more critically acclaimed albums, "Happy Town", "Pink Pearl", "Underdog Victorious", and 2009's "California Years", which Jill released on her own record label, Pinko Records, after collecting over $85,000 from fans who funded the project.

A veritable gypsy, Jill divides her time between a busy touring schedule and a variety of other projects. She has played the role of political troubadour for NPR stations across the country and for Air America Radio. She also served as songwriter/composer for the hit Nickelodeon network show Unfabulous during that show's three-season run. She composed the music for the off-Broadway show Prozak and the Platypus and co-starred in the Eric Schaeffer film Mind the Gap.

In the words of New York Times pop music critic Jon Pareles - "Jill Sobule can claim her place among the stellar New York singer-songwriters of the last decade. Topical, funny and more than a little poignant ... grown-up music for an adolescent age."

ABOUT JULIA SWEENEY

Julia Sweeney is best known for her four hit seasons on "Saturday Night Live" and her most popular character while on that show: "Pat," as well as her critically acclaimed one-person-shows, "God Said Ha!," "In The Family Way," and "Letting Go of God." "God Said Ha!" played on Broadway at the Lyceum theater in 1996 and was released as a Miramax film, produced by Quentin Tarantino, in 1998. "Letting Go of God" was filmed by Julia's own production company, Indefatigable, Inc.

Julia started her acting career out in Los Angeles at The Groundlings Theater, a well known improvisational and sketch comedy company. It was there that she met fellow SNL cast members Phil Hartman and Jon Lovitz, and where "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels tapped her for the late-night show. Sweeney spun one of her most popular characters into the feature film "It's Pat," and after leaving Saturday Night Live, she moved back to Los Angeles. The film was a flop at the box office, but still has some fans that like it nonetheless.

After moving back to L.A. in 1994, Julia's brother Michael was diagnosed with cancer, and so was she. Her experiences led her to write and star in "God Said, 'Ha!'" Produced by Quentin Tarantino and released theatrically by Miramax, the film version of the play earned the Golden Space Needle Award for best directing, while Sweeney's recording earned her a Grammy nomination for best comedy album.

Sweeney's second monologue, "In The Family Way" chronicles the adoption of her daughter from China. This show played in New York City at the Ars Nova Theater as well as in Los Angeles at the Groundlings Theater. In the summer of 2006, Julia was asked by the Hollywood Bowl to perform "In The Family Way" with a new original score written especially for her show by Anthony Marinelli, and this was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Sweeney's third monologue, "Letting Go of God" ran for ten months to sold out crowds at the Hudson Backstage Theater in Los Angeles, and then also played in New York City at the Ars Nova Theater. This show has earned her the best reviews she has ever gotten for her stage work. This monologue has also been made into a film, but this time by Julia's own production company, Indefatigable, Inc.

In the meantime, and along the way, Julia has worked as a producing consultant on "Desperate Housewives" and she was a consultant for three seasons on "Sex & the City." She has also worked as an actress in film, in Pulp Fiction, Clockstoppers, Stuart Little, Beethoven 3 & 4, Stuart Saves his Family, Coneheads, among others. In television she has been a series regular on "George and Leo," and "Maybe It's Me" as well as making guest starring appearances on "3rd Rock From The Sun," "Frasier," "Mad About You" and "Sex and the City," among others.

Julia is originally from Spokane, Washington and she attended the University of Washington in Seattle. Julia married in 2008 and currently lives near Chicago with her husband and daughter.

ABOUT JUSTIN TRAWICK

Justin Trawick is not just another man with a guitar. He’s a multi-talented performer, expertly balancing between roles as a solo singer/songwriter and band front man. His self-described brand of “Urban Folk Rock” inspires comparisons with troubadours such as Bob Schneider, Ryan Adams, and G. Love. The 27 year old from Arlington, Virginia, invokes on stage a deep sense of raw emotional energy stemming from his incredibly personable lyrics and captivating delivery. Seamlessly balancing between the musical loner persona of a singer-songwriter and as the front man of his collective, The Justin Trawick Group, this versatility allows Trawick to rock out in clubs with his band to performances in intimate acoustic venues with just his guitar and upright bassist.

As a result Trawick has performed at such notable venues as the world-famous Kennedy Center, DC’s own 9:30 Club, Antone’s in Austin, The Knitting Factory in New York City, Philly’s World Cafe Live, and Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles. Along the way, he has shared the stage with artists such as Bob Schneider, Blues Traveler, Sara Bareilles, Brett Dennen, Pat Green, Edwin McCain, KC & the Sunshine Band, and the Ying Yang Twins.

Trawick’s versatility also translates into his recordings. His latest EP ‘Starting Over’ is his finest work yet. Written against a backdrop of losing his job and relationships ending, the record ranges from the upbeat folkiness of the title track, to the deeply personal down tempo soulfulness of “Untitled”. This record builds upon the success of Trawick’s two prior releases, his 2007 debut ‘How To Build a Life with a Lemonade Stand’ and his 2008 followup ‘Live at IOTA’. Trawick also writes literate and lushly orchestrated songs like “Kool Kids” from ‘How To Build Life With a Lemonade Stand’, and “Bring by Brick” from ‘Live at IOTA’. These tracks contrast Trawick’s staccato delivery with upright bass, cello and horns to craft a rich sonic tapestry around his experiential lyrics.

Justin Trawick’s love affair with music began when he found his father’s classical guitar
 under the steps of the family home in Leesburg, Virginia. While attending college at Longwood University, a cousin in Austin, Texas fanned the flames of this passion by sending him recordings of KGSR’s live in-studio performances for Christmas each year. One of the KGSR albums introduced him to the Bob Schneider song “Big Blue Sea”, which inspired Trawick to branch out into performing. After graduating college, Trawick started out balancing the demands of his burgeoning musical efforts with a 9 to 5 job, until the loss of that job provided the catalyst in turning his life-long passion into a full time career.

A savvy businessman in addition to being a talented musician, Trawick works tirelessly to promote not only his work, but also the music of many other aspiring singer/songwriters. He created and manages ‘The 9’, a successful nine-person East Coast singer-songwriter series. He also has various residencies in key venues across the region, and is lauded by media and fans alike. Whether as a songwriter, performer, band frontman or promoter, it’s no wonder why Justin Trawick is known as the “Hardest Working Musician in DC”.