Jessica Christ (Gilli Moon)

Performer – LA Music Awards Showcase 2000

The quintessential Renaissance woman, GILLI MOON is an award-winning international recording artist, singer, songwriter, pianist, entrepreneur, actor, author, TV host, motivational speaker, coach, visual artist, all round creative expressionist. Plus, she recently became a mother to twin babies.

Her restless creativity and rebellious nature continually urge the Artist to push the envelope – on stage or camera performing, writing a song, recording in the studio, painting a canvas, motivating audiences, or with whatever she touches.

Australian raised, GILLI (pronounced as with a “J”) delivers conscious creativity and a brave sense of self-expression in her energetic and expressive performances, media and prose. Her artistic work has touched the arts world’ lovers worldwide garnering high praise from the most jaded of critics.

GILLI a unique, evocative and energetic artist that has created multifaceted music albums, music videos, and dynamic live shows that are fresh, rebellious and passionate. ITunes has been unable to classify her. She stands alone.

Quite simply, GILLI MOON is a self-made brand – the ultimate Artist Entrepreneur.

BILLBOARD Magazine, states she “beat the odds,” at making it in the music industry after moving from the Australian wilderness to Los Angeles, and Artists for a Better World called GILLI MOON “a female Elton John.”

GILLI is not only a unique, and energetic chanteuse with six album releases to her name, but she also has become a beacon for others inspired by her story, motivated by her passion, her ‘can do’ attitude, and her creativity. She has received numerous press for her courage, power and dynamic energy as an Artist and inspiration for others: a true pioneer of the “independent music movement”. She is constantly creating projects for her own music and arts passions, as well as for others, with a ceaseless contribution to the creative and business communities at large.

With her own #1 independent record label and creative arts company, Warrior Girl Music, dedicated to unique artistic creations, GILLI has released 6 albums for herself, and released over 100 songs and albums for other artists. She has worked with other highly respected prominent artists including Simple Minds, Placido Domingo and Eric Idle (Monty Python).
GILLI MOON’s music albums include “Girl In The MOON” (1998), “temperamental angel” (2001), “Woman” (2003), “extraOrdinary life” (2005) “Skillz” (2009), the latter dedicated to empowering at-risk youth (released with L.A’s celebrity spoken word/hip hop artist J.Walker), and “the stillness” (2010). She is wrapping up recording of her 7th album, due for release in 2015.
MAKING HER OWN BREAKS: FOR ARTISTS LIKE GILLI MOON, PENNING PENSIVE BALLADS IN HER LIVING ROOM USING NOTHING MORE THAN HIGH-TECH TOOLS AND GOOD BUSINESS SENSE, THEY ALSO REPRESENT A VIABLE PATH TO SUCCESS.
– NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE
Born in Milano Italy, and raised in Australia, GILLI MOON was brought up in a pioneering lifestyle on an isolated mountain property on the edge of wilderness. There she taught herself music and art under candle light, playing classical piano from the age of four and hungry for music from around the world: mostly soul, funk, disco, indigenous Aboriginal didgeridoo rhythms, working class rock, world beats and folk. She also played lead roles in musical theatre throughout her schooling. Her artistry is inspired by the isolating “Aussie bush” living a self-sufficient, alternative and pioneering life in a home built by her parents from the trees and stone on their land, solar power and natural resources.

By 18, she left for Rome, Italy to seek her family roots and experience the world, then on to New York City and the bright lights of Broadway. “I felt like there was nowhere for me to go in Australia. I kind of felt that there was an inner music industry circle and I was left standing on the outside. So I left. But I have missed Australia every day.” New York was a huge inspiration for GILLI as she began to truly capture the colors and energies of emotion in her own music, jump into contemporary commercial sounds and even begin to write her first musical. Constantly adventurous, she then returned to Rome, Italy again and had the fortuitous opportunity to work in Opera with Placido Domingo and Maestro Zubin Mehta. All before she was 22.

For the last 15 years, Los Angeles California has been GILLI’s homebase, and she has forged a successful independent path before anyone knew what “indie” was. In her first year in L.A, picked from an R&B/Hip Hop showcase, GILLI made a guest artist appearance on Nubar-Brooks’ album, Lust (Drama! Music), singing “You Belong To Me”, a funky trip hop/electronica hit that landed in several TV and Film projects, landed No.1 on Belgium’s Planete Indie radio station and nominated for Belgium’s Album of the Year. In that same year she headlined LA’s Australian-American Chamber of Commerce’s Ball (the following year was Olivia Newton John). That same year, GILLI was recognized as one of the “Top 100 Unsigned Artists of Southern California” by L.A’s Music Connection Magazine.

Soon after, her first limited edition solo album Girl In The MOON (1998) established her as a promising girl to watch, making a significant dent in the Hollywood and Internet music machines, accumulating a fan base as far as Japan, Russia, Turkey and The Netherlands. She was featured on MP3.com as ‘Woman of the Week’ as well as in the hottest Internet Radio Station on the Net, MP3’s ‘Battle of the Babes’. The internet has played a powerful role in her promotion. Quite frankly, GILLI was one of the very first artists to be on the Internet. She is a pioneer of the “DIY (Do It Yourself)” movement, and has often been termed the “Queen of Indie”.

In 1999 she was featured on MTV’s “The Cut” as newly discovered talent and simultaneously hit the Global Internet Music Charts through FirewallUk.com. This brought about an opportunity to be guest artist on the album, Perfect Wordz (2000 /tribe Records) with the band Jessica Christ. Her time with Jessica Christ encouraged her to truly experiment with her stage persona, using costumes, theatrics and unique song arrangements to create a spectacular live performance, pushing the envelope on issues such as gender, relationships and Hollywood politics.

Rather than waiting for a Major to sign her, GILLI started her own record label in 2000, called Warrior Girl Music. Under her company, GILLI MOON has produced around 20 albums for several artists including all of her own, and is home to other artists & songwriters from as far away as France and Finland who are as unique, rebellious and undefined as GILLI is.

“I began by looking for someone else, “them, they, the others” to come along and make it happen for me. Most young artists live in this illusion. I thought “ok, I have talent, they will come.” The reality is, we can’t wait around for others to make it happen for us. I began doing demos with producers but after spending thousands at a time I was still never satisfied with the end result. I also was signed to a label for a few years. Still… I became frustrated because I could not follow my true creative path and what my soul was telling me. It was only when I formed Warrior Girl Music and began producing my music (some tracks with co-producers I trusted but most just me) that I came into my own. I began to trust my own musical instincts and it has proven to be the right path for me.”

GILLI MOON developed Warrior Girl Music as a creative arts company that is dedicated to unique artistic creations with a diverse blend of music, art and language – focusing on music and artistic development, a music production house, a record label, a music publishing and supervision arm and a Promotions division. Her mission is to create, produce and promote unique artistic creations that are guided by the artist’s vision and under the artist’s direction; creations that transcend race, age or gender and that embrace passion, love for music and life, personal excellence and global consciousness.

Through her own record label, Warrior Girl Music, GILLI took on the music industry on her own terms and has traversed the “wilderness” of the Indie world, where only the brave dare to go, and has conquered with unparalleled drive.

She cooked up her own online music ploy and released the temperamental angel CD (2001), her 2nd solo album. This rebellious album, of which she wrote all the songs, sends powerful messages about self-empowerment, embracing the full range of human passions and emotions that our personalities express, through a uniquely alternative, edgy sound. temperamental angel is an expression of personality, of raw and sensitive emotions, and how we relate to the people in our lives through the various love-hate disguises of our personas. Keeping with her vision, much of the production was spontaneous following a very organic approach, with all recording using live instruments. She purposefully recorded it and mixed it to sound like a low-fi garage production, with the mastering fidelity and musicianship matching any major artist. The Star Newspapers, Chicago put her album at no. 9, in their top 25 records of the year.

TheGlobalMusic.com writes, “by her creation, GILLI has allowed the listeners of her music to paint worlds of imagery with their minds. …The lyrics are unlike any that I’ve heard from a pop artist, and tell me that GILLI MOON is more about art and presenting her passions than creating die cut pop songs.”

In a Buzz Communications interview, GILLI expressed, “My music is quite eclectic. It used to be a curse for me, as record companies couldn’t pigeon-hole me; I’m influenced by many artists and styles of music. Now, my eclectic style has become my advantage; I love crossing the boundaries and testing new waters by juxtaposing sounds and sonic textures. Maybe I was ahead of my time when I was shopping to those labels? I should have told them if I had had the gumption…!”

After extensive touring across the United States and Australia, GILLI MOON released her third album Woman (2003), encompassing the emotions, passions and experiences of a young woman growing up, dealing with relationships and becoming self-empowered as an individual. “The songwriting is still intimate and drawing from personal anecdotes about my own life living around the world,” GILLI says. “The last record (temperamental angel) was dealing with a lot of angst, some anger and frustrations, a bit like a rebellious teenager, whereas Woman is like a coming-of-age piece, showing strength and convictions about life and love.”

She is very much into making “concept albums”. While Woman is organic in approach, keeping the raw rock band style in recording, it also includes her playing the well-oiled piano and some electronic drum ‘n bass and loops. More self-penned pop songs than ever, Woman is alternative, yet more radio friendly, and includes her own sultry version of the INXS track “Need You Tonight”, plus several music videos of her album’s singles got some MTV, VHI and Rage (Australia) TV attention. She even rallied her local theatre company in Australia, Wollombi Valley Artist, to participate in the main single’s music video.

“I’d hope that listeners connect in their own personal way, whether that is a mood created by the music, or perhaps assimilate with the lyrics. My songs are autobiographical, but my aim is to move the listener in a way that makes them think, change, grow, and see their own world in a new perspective. I don’t share my music for personal glory. I get my own buzz playing it and writing it. What I love is the reaction from the audience showing me they assimilate and feel something. Too many people’s senses are dull these days. I hope I can awaken them”.

GILLI MOON’s first three albums received outstanding reviews and set her course as one of most intriguing and dynamic artists to watch out for in the music business. Then in 2006, GILLI released extraOrdinary life, (album No.4), an adventurous journey of autobiographical songs and stories, and intimate music conversations about GILLI MOON’s inner truths, emotions and passions, anecdotes about falling in love, and out of it, about living in Hollywood, and about freedom, humour, simplicity and a life long journey of discovery. extraOrdinary life was a groove oriented self-produced album, mixing sensuous basslines, emotional piano and GILLI MOON’s lilting melodic voice, with self-penned songs. With an emphasis on organic, raw musical textures, GILLI’s trademark “edge” is present, combining a cool rebelliousness of eclectic guitars, techno loops, live drums and world-beat percussion. extraOrdinary life celebrates 13 brand new self-penned songs, a spoken word track and an Italian song, true to her family roots. It was also an enhanced CD (remember them?), which featured a 10 min “making of” video, and a 20 photo slide show, photography which has come to visual life by Hollywood’s celebrity photographer Jim Steinfeldt (Tina Turner, Madonna, Miles Davis, Willie Nelson). extraOrdinary life was finalist in the USA Independent Music Awards (judges included Melissa Ethridge, Norah Jones and Jonatha Brooke to name a few)

“extraOrdinary life is about a global harmony that starts with the tiniest one-on-one interactions. If we are able to have a harmonious relationship with another person then we’re able to understand that dynamic on a global scale”, GILLI MOON says. “This album certainly has more emphasis on social perspectives and world harmony. If we can heal ourselves, and be more connected with our inner self and our community, then the world pretty much takes care of itself.”

In 2009, GILLI released an album called Skillz, a powerful and positive Hip-Pop CD for kids, working with her just married to husband, celebrity spoken word artist J.Walker. The mission of the Skillz CD is to use the power of hip-hop lyrics to help young people express, discover and create themselves in positive ways. Through working in the streets, the dynamic hip-pop duo quickly realized the necessity and importance of their work, and created the album with positive messages and motivating music.

Then late 2010, along came the stillness, GILLI’s 6th album, which truly and richly captures her essence, her passions, her lifelong yearning and mountain climbing (metaphorically speaking) and arriving, finally, at a place of serenity. This album shows the strength of her songwriting, her dynamic vocal range, and her joy for the piano. Plus, like all album covers before, her visual art. Lyrically the songs speak of arriving at a place of inner-ease and personal strength, of self-knowing and understanding. Ultimately, the stillness album takes the listener on a journey through GILLI’s love stories, life lessons and observations of the world.

With much ado about GILLI MOON’s music writing and recordings, it’s not until you witness her live performance that you discover not only her true passion, but her power. Her shows are highly energetic and powerful and she combines music, art, dance and little theatre into her show. GILLI is truly a multi-dimensional experience. Her performance is full of action, her voice a tapestry of emotion and sensuality and her music an expression of pure raw emotion.

MOON describes her live show as an “emotional ride”. “It’s full of energy,” GILLI explains. “It’s a combination of full-on rock: energy, action, and vibrant. Then it sort-of cuts to a complete silence: quiet ballads where I’m on the piano. Then it peaks again. It’s very emotional and dynamic, but with a quirky and ironic sense of humour at the same time.”

Sometimes GILLI incorporates her artwork in her live shows. She calls this “SensuArt”, her creative process bringing as many senses together in the one moment to create a spontaneous happening that takes the performance to a higher level beyond just one sense. “For example, on stage I often paint a large clear Plexiglas canvas while singing and moving with my band. This allows the audience to interact visually rather than just sonically. So many band singers just stand there front of stage and just sing. It’s boring as hell; others dance or whatever. I do that too. But paint, the colors of paint, and the movement of the brush in my hands creates a new dimension to the performance. I first saw Picasso paint on glass on TV (a show from the ‘60s) and it gave me this idea. He painted like he was painting on the TV screen itself, on me. It was invigorating to be the subject of his art.

“I don’t believe there’s another act, anything else I do in life when all my senses are revving so simultaneously out of control (well perhaps one other act…) the feel of the paint, the ivory keys, the canvas texture, the heat off the amps and the lights, the pounding stage beneath my feet, what I see coming through me from deep inside me to surround me, the scent of the oils, the taste in the air, the power of my music and the greater power of the inner voices demanding me – enabling my soul’s expression – I can’t help it – it’s when I’m most alive through these little deaths.”

GILLI has received numerous press for her courage, power and dynamic energy as an artist and inspiration for other artists, and has worked with other highly respected prominent artists including Simple Minds, Placido Domingo and Eric Idle (Monty Python). She was interviewed in Newsweek Magazine as a pioneer and leader in the independent music business; been featured alongside Aimee Mann in discussing their mutual success in the indie music scene in Music Connection Magazine; and has had music at No. 1 on many internet and traditional radio stations. She is constantly featured in the media, online, and radio with her music and outstanding achievements.

GILLI MOON’s songwriting has proved strong for her career, being an international award winner. Some of her award credits include Song of the Year by the Benelux International Song & Culture Festival (The Netherlands); Best Popular Song by Johnny Dennis Light Music Awards (Australian Guild of Screen Composers), Twice Best Solo Artist at L.A’s Rock City Music Awards (winning over Aly McBeal’s Vonda Shephard); nominated Best Female Singer/Songwriter by Los Angeles Music Awards; and, honored as Outstanding Contribution as an Artist by Hollywood’s Artist For A Better World organization.

A diverse discography, her songs have been featured in independent films and network U.S television programs worldwide, including Nickelodeon’s “South Of Nowhere”, the WB’s “Charmed”, the Disney Film “Rip Girls,” CBS’ “That’s Life” as well as many independent films and recorded by other artists including Dutch artist, Erikah Karst (Mercury/Universal), produced by David Kershenbaum (Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”).

With her own creative and recording company, Warrior Girl Music, GILLI has achieved a phenomenal amount of success for not just herself, but for many artists around her. She has produced artists’ albums, created tours and rock concerts, developed compilations, and a Festival, which is simply the natural progression for the international community she has created. On August 25, 2007, GILLI launched and produced, (with her partners at Gaia Rocks) the Females On Fire – The Los Angeles Women’s Music Festival, at Woodley Park, Encino CA, which attracted over 3000 people. Celebrating women in music and the men and women who love them, the festival featured more than 100 artists (including headliner Sophie B Hawkins) from around the world, including an eclectic array of female singer/songwriters and female-fronted bands representing all styles and genres of music. Proceeds of the festival benefited animal rescue organizations.

Also, in the last 12 years, GILLI has been rising up the ranks as one of Los Angeles sought after female music producers. GILLI has a talent for taking a song from an idea to a fully produced, radio-ready song, and loves to produce full concept albums, not only for herself but for any artist of any music genre. She also created the compilation series Females On Fire and the Art Of Men, which provide a platform for independent artists to be showcased to the world, and celebrate over 150 female and male artists from around the world.

Warrior Girl Music, was awarded “Indie Label of the Year” by Philadelphia’s Independent Music Awards..)

Self-produced records and career are startling accomplishments in the continued age of corporate rock, and MOON isn’t shy about discussing her start in the business and evolvement into an indie artist of note. She is often asked to speak at music conferences about her self-made career, inspiring artists all around the world who follow in her footsteps. A perpetual philanthropist, GILLI has created opportunities and avenues for artists worldwide through her non-profit songwriters organization, Songsalive!, plus has written two books about artistic entrepreneurial excellence, called “I AM A Professional Artist” and “Just Get Out There” which are motivational handbooks for up and coming artists.

GILLI is never separated from her “art”. She has dedicated her entire life to the pursuit of excellence as an artist, both in music, visual arts and multimedia. She explores every aspect of the arts, as creator, writer, performer, and making it all come to life, as producer. Most recently she has fallen in love again (first passion) with acting, in particular comedic acting and is developing her own tv show for youth as a tvhost.

In 2013, GILLI gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. This has certainly been her most creative and fulfilling “project” yet! But 2015 will be even more empowering with a new solo album, a joint album with husband spoken word artist J.Walker, and a lullaby album for newborns.

A perpetual creative fire in her belly to purge her life stories and quest for truth through her music and art, witness GILLI MOON’s panache for self-empowerment and self-expression and get a taste for yourself.

“My message is simple: be passionate about what you do. I believe passion is the key ingredient to life. I also send messages about relating with each other. Men and women often have communication issues where they don’t understand each other. Relationships are so important and how we communicate to each other is integral to understanding and respecting each other for who we are. I, like all of us, have had my fair share of relationship problems and I search for love, like all of us. By being open and honest, with direct communication and understanding, can we truly create deep and meaningful relationships. By acknowledging we have various guises and personalities (masks we wear), knowing that all of them are “who we are”, then we can be accepted among others.” – gilli