Jillian Johnson: Working to Make Cajun and Creole Music Look Cool
By Kristi Guillory
Remember when Cajun Music albums covers were a simple photograph of the band, holding instruments on the front porch of an old house…or simply the instruments themselves; guitar, accordion, fiddle t-fer leaned up on a wall of the front porch of an old house? Often, the album cover was a studio portrait of the accordion player in front of a blue back ground or…sitting on the front porch of an old house. All of those great classic Cajun and Creole album covers are well and good. Many are classics and most are our favorites. Music packaging was different then as were audiences buying music products.
Jillian on stage with the Figs
As Cajun and Creole music pushes further and further into the National folk music scene, it is imperative that artists have a design package that represents them honestly and allows them to compete with the rest of the world. Jillian Johnson of Work Agencies has been the graphic go-to girl for much of the start of the decade and apart from playing with the widely popular all-gal group, The Figs and country jazz styled Ginger Lee, she has created some amazing promotional materials for local artists. This month I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with the design goddess.
Your involvement in the Cajun and Creole music scene happened rather suddenly and serendipitously. You mentioned hearing the Red Stick Ramblers play the Balfa Waltz from your studio in Fletcher Hall and was drawn to the music. Describe that experience in your own words.
Well, I spent the first 7 years of my life in Lafayette until my folks moved us to Nashville. During those years, every Sunday morning, my dad would drive us over to my grandparent’s house in his 1969 Dodge Comet with the windows rolled down listening to Cajun Music on KRVS. My dad is also an avid record collector, so music has always been present in my home life, and growing up in Nashville, it’s hard to escape it, but I never really played music or was involved with it in any other way than just loving it. When I moved back to Louisiana in 2002 to finish my college studies at UL, I was drawn out of my art studio adjacent to Girard Park during Festivals Acadians by the sound of this music I’d heard my whole life, but never witnessed live.
The band I was hearing was the Red Stick Ramblers, playing under the heritage tent. I was really struck by how young they were at the time, and just how differently they played Cajun music, and how they mixed this French music with Country and Western Swing. What really got me hooked though, was Linzay young singing the Balfa Waltz. I went the very next day to Racoon Records and bought their album, tore the wrapper off in the car and prayed the song I’d heard, that unforgettable melody was on that album. And it was.
What was it exactly about the Red Stick Ramblers style of music that drew you in?
They were young people playing music in a completely unselfconscious way. They liked Bob Wills, so they played Bob Wills songs, Memphis Minnie, Balfa Brothers, Django Reinhardt, and it all just worked together because they believed in it. They were people my age with heart. That was quite striking to me, as all of the young folks I’d met growing up in Nashville were so hip or concerned with being hip anyway…these guy wore sandals with socks, and nobody seemed to mind. That is truly hip.
Besides design, you’ve become quite an important person in the local music scene here as a musician and singer. Has Cajun and Creole music influenced your sound at all?
It has perhaps served most to intimidate me in context to actually playing music. All of these bands make people dance, so when you have a heavy jazzy voice like mine, it’s hard not to write slow, dragging songs, which I think people do enjoy, but it just makes you that much more aware of your audience when people have such a physical reaction to Cajun Music. It makes you wonder first what’s wrong with the rest of the country, that just go to shows and fold their arms, rather than feeling and expressing the music with dance, but secondly “Golly. I’d better pick this up and make these people dance”.
What is your all-time favorite music album cover and why?
Wow. This question opens the door for so many wonderful jokes. There are many that I like for different reasons. These two came to mind first, and are both great albums as well.
Flying Burrito Borthers, Burrito Deluxe (it’s a jewel encrusted burrito. nuff said.)
Louvin Brothers, Satan Is Real (I think this one is consistently voted one of the top 10 worst album covers of all time, but I really like the history of it. The photo was taken in a rock quarry in front of a pile of tires that were soaked in kerosene and set on fire. Big brother Ira Louvin designed the cover, and built the 12 ft. tall satan out of plywood. During the shoot, the rocks in the quarry got so hot, they started to explode. Awesome)
Are there any artists, designers that you admire. Mentors?
The designers and artists that I admire most are those who are completely different from myself in terms of execution and aesthetics. I love to look at a piece and say, “Gosh, that is awesome. I NEVER would have thought of that.” Admiring someone who works in your own style is kind of like patting yourself on the back, don’t you think? There are a few really talented designers in Lafayette that consistently do fantastic work.
If the world were your oyster, and you could land a gig designing for ANY artist, who would it be?
Well, the real question is, “Living or dead?” Fats Waller is my ultimate hero, and the complete embodiment of an artist and entertainer. In today’s terms, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. There are so many folks that I admire, and so many that already have fantastic album art. Why? Can you hook me up?
Jillian Johnson disc design discography:
