Okay children, gather around, it's storytime. Today, I'm going to tell you about Alice in Wonderland. Once upon a time, little Alice followed the white rabbit into a Wonderland of her imagination and record sales, where she encountered a Mad Hatter, a Chesire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts. Alice was known for her affinity with the guitar and songwriting, and even lived in her van for a few years before striking gold. The Queen of Hearts in her monarchy of the business couldn't fathom the thought of such a brilliant singer writing her own lyrics; you must dance and wear little clothes, she said. And while the Chesire Cat barraded poor Alice with innane and personal questions like "What is the relationship status with your boyfriend Ty Murray?" and blasts falsities in the press, the Mad Hatter still looks on as a fan with pride and loyalty.

     Alright, we'll admit it. Lewis Carroll didn't quite picture it that way. But if the music industry were a fairytale, one could imagine how closely relatable the old fable is. And with Jewel, it is no exception. In a society where habitants are more likely to have read an issue of US Weekly than a collection by Anais Nin, Jewel stands out -- and stands for something. She ditched the prosthetics of Hollywood Boulevard for the serenity of small-town life, opting instead to share a ranch with Murray in Stephensville, Texas. "'Goodbye Alice in Wonderland' refers to a willingness to let go of the fairy tales that were told growing up," Jewel disclosed to us from the aforementioned ranch.

     However, now is not the time to discount dear Alice...er, we mean, Jewel. With what could be one of her most powerful albums to date, "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland," set to be released next month, is already leaving an impression on both critics and fans alike. In this exclusive gt magazine interview, Jewel discusses the book that may never hit the shelves, shares where-oh-where did the infamous van go, and tells us why to look forward to her upcoming tour with Rob Thomas (as if we didn't already)...

gt.com: We hear you're heading out on tour with Rob Thomas this summer. can we look forward to an on-stage collaboration?

JEWEL: Yes! I just e-mailed to him the other night that we need to work on song together. One of my favorite things about singing live is that it’s actually live music, so I was excited to tour with him. I think it will be a show that fans will like, because I do a different set list every night, and Rob is great live, and then we’ll also sing together.

gt.com: can't wait for that! now, for this tour, you're taking a semi-departure away from the usual "girl and guitar" that we've seen in the past. why did you decide to bring along the band for this go-around?

JEWEL: I love having a band! I try and do a live show, which is the kind of live show I like to go see. I like it to feel spontaneous. I don’t really like to do set lists. I don’t like to do the same version of the same song every night. If somebody’s doing a great solo, I want them to continue and make the song longer. You know, kind of old school, like a real band. I don’t like seeing live shows with a band where you just go and it’s like the record and it feels boring and rehearsed and not special. So, I have a great band that’s really flexible and I get to call out audibles and they follow me and it should be fun.

gt.com: definitely! you can't help but notice that next month's release of "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" seems to be autobiographical. was that on purpose?

JEWEL: I really see this record as a bookend to my first record, “Pieces of You.” I think it’s because it was a really similar time in my life in a completely different way, meaning that I was turning 20 during my first record. Those decade birthdays always kind of cause me to reflect, look back, and then look forward. I just was closing this period of my life where I was living in a car and just scrambling my whole life to now signing a six-record deal with Atlantic and looking forward to this crazy road that I was going to embark on. On this record I was turning 30. My life has changed so utterly, completely, and thoroughly. I was able to come full circle and I lived my life in a way that I did in the beginning, where I live on a ranch and have a really simple life. I make records, I go out and promote them, and then I go back to my really simple, normal life.

gt.com: so, would you say that you are kind of going back to your roots?

JEWEL: Not particularly as going back to my roots. It parallels my first record in a way, but everything has changed. My life’s changed a lot. I feel like I’m finally comfortable in the studio. This is the first time on a record I felt like I made the record I wanted to make, and the studio didn’t get in my way. I avoided the studio on my first record, because I couldn’t sing good in the studio, so I just did a live record. Every record since then has been a real struggle for me to get my chops up in the studio, but on this one, I cut the record live. But, I don’t really see it as going back to my roots necessarily. It just seems a relevant way to do a record.

gt.com: absolutely! how would you describe "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" to someone who hasn't yet heard it? do you feel that your life parallels Alice's at all?

JEWEL: "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" refers to a willingness to let go of the fairy tales that were told growing up. The fairy tales that we start to then tell ourselves, the lies that we start to tell ourselves, the little fictions we create, and a willingness to look at the truth. I don’t consider myself Alice in Wonderland. Certainly, my life has been a fantastical ride, but I’m more talking about the little fantasies that we kid ourselves with. Like when we’re children we’re told love is going to be great. Just fall in love, the rest will take care of itself, and then we fall in love and we realize okay, this is actually really, really hard work. This guy doesn’t just tell me I’m great every day, you know? And it takes work. So, you either become disillusioned, because you want that fairy tale and you think real love is disappointing, or you find a way to find romance within the truth. You can find poetry in the struggle and enjoy it, and that’s what the record is about on different themes. It deals with the fairy tales I’ve told myself that I’ve been told from fame to love to career to all sorts of things.

gt.com: speaking of fame, it does seem as though you are unlike your singing peers, avoiding the spotlight rather than doing everything in a publicist's power to catapult yourself into it. is that something you've intended all along?

JEWEL: Well, I really love this record and I believe in my records, and I always feel lucky for the chance. But I do take time between records. I like to get really rested and really available, because I don't want to be bitter and not really liking it and wishing I was somewhere else. So, I'm able to put all of my energy into it and enjoy it. But, I don't know if I'll always want to try and compete in the pop charts. I don't know if I'll always want to try and put out big records with big record sales. I can really see myself just wanting to write songs for other people and maybe having a family. I'm just enjoying this while I can.

gt.com: how difficult has the journey to stardom been as a whole for you? did you see yourself at this position ten years ago?

JEWEL: I certainly didn't make a record, because I thought I was going to be some big sensation. But it's funny, the more people told me I couldn't do it, the more I just worked so hard, and I wanted to try and have a long career. I knew how hard it was. You see either one of two things happen. You see people that are famous trying to hang onto their fame, and they just really start prostituting their guts out and they stop writing well. Or you see people that just live a lifestyle that makes them complacent in some emotional way and so they stop writing well. I've always know that there was no guarantee that I'd ever be successful, and I knew it was an even weaker prospect that I would be able to write well over a long period of time. That's pretty much where I've put my goal is to constantly try and remove myself from the distractions of my job to be able to try and hear myself enough and stay open and curious enough that I can still write well.

gt.com: how about the first single, "Again and Again." how would you describe the message within the lyrics?

JEWEL: I see "Again and Again" as a sequel to "You Were Meant for Me." I was probably 19 or so when I wrote "You Were Meant for Me," and it was this naive, sweet longing, and then you grow up and you actually fall in love and you realize how hard it is and how much work it is. You start to realize the difference between lust and love is that you actually stick around when it's hard when you're in love. You find that you can't leave and the hard things seem worthwhile and you're actually able to find poetry in the daily struggle of building a relationship. I began to find that romantic, instead of just looking for it to be constantly easy and have simplistic notions of things being meant for each. So, for me, I feel like the song is like a grown-up version of "You Were Meant for Me."

gt.com: interesting! now, we feel this is such a strong album, and "Again and Again" will prove to be a steady lead single. was it difficult to choose it as your first single, or did you always consider it a contender when recording the album?

JEWEL: I always felt like it was going to be "Again and Again". I was a little uncomfortable with "Again and Again" coming out without "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" preceding it to my fans, because I think the depth and the diversity on the record. It's so hard to pick one song to be the mascot, because there are rock songs on this record, and there's really intimate folk songs on this record and you might not get the depth of it. You might not get that there's a whole rock set on this record. When people say it's back to her roots, they might be shocked if there's a rock set on the record! So, it's kind of hard to sum up any song with one single. I felt really good about "Again and Again" leading it off.

gt.com: as do we! so, when you complete the writing of a song, especially with a new album, do you test the waters, and you ask your family, friends, and producers, or is it kind of set in stone by the time you finish?

JEWEL: Not really. I’ve been doing this for a while now and I have a feel for what a song is really like, because I’m sure they’re alive and they'll develop. Some songs on this record I wrote while I was in the studio, like "Words Get in the Way," because I felt like that sense of whimsy was missing. I guess I play songs for Ty more than anybody. He’s a pretty good radar just because he’s a pretty high authenticity meter. He can tell if a song is ringing true or not, which is pretty useful.

gt.com: that is useful. like you mentioned, writing can be an emotional process. which song on the new album do you feel describes you on an emotional level?

JEWEL: I think the title track “Goodbye Alice in Wonderland." That's actually why I released it about six months ahead of the rest of my record. I had photographer friend shoot a video of me at the ranch singing it, and I released it to my fan site. It just sort of virally spread across the Internet over several months. I did that just because I really feel like, even though it’s a six minute song, it sums up the record best. I thought fans would like it, even though it probably would never make it as a radio single.

gt.com: do you feel the difference in emotion on "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" as compared to your last album "0304?" it seems as though the new album exhudes more pain, more biographical even.

JEWEL: My last record is every bit as autobiographical, but it was just talking about where I was at then. Songs like "Run to You," "Haunted," and "Sweet Temptation," I feel like were heartbreakingly honest. It's just that the production I wanted to layer it where it was also fun and wouldn't bring you down, because as we were headed into wartime, I didn't want to get depressed. So, there was a lot of rhythm and dance. It was like my interpretation of modern dancehall music, but with a really strong narrative, but still talked a lot about my life and what I was trying to escape from, what I was trying to run towards. It was kind of like serve yourself music. I've never found it difficult to be autobiographical in a song. It seems to be I always thought writing should tell the truth. You shouldn't use your art to try and make yourself sound more perfect or more smart or anything other than what you were to show your weakness as well as your strengths, and it's a commitment I made when I was really young. I was eight or so when I first started really writing, enjoying writing prose and short stories and things. I've never really had to think about it. It's just been a real natural process, and I don't feel like I've ever said anything I wished I didn't, and I'm certainly able to be quite cryptic, so I've never revealed or betrayed a confidence I don't feel like.

gt.com: it seemed as though a lot of your homebase was between San Diego, California and Homer, Alaska. so, why the stay in Texas?

JEWEL: Love. A guy made me do it. ::laughs:: Ty’s ranch is in Texas, and it was sure easier for me to move to him than him to move to me. We couldn’t afford a big cattle ranch right in the middle of San Diego.

gt.com: hehe, understandable! okay, we've read that your six-record deal with Atlantic Records is coming to a completion with this new release. what are your plans for future recording?

JEWEL: I'm not sure. I'll either re-sign and continue to make records for a major label, or I might also go out on my own and try and make my own records. I've never really found singing to be the most fun part of my job. That's why I stay out of the spotlight.

gt.com: besides your music, people are enthralled by the story of how you lived in your van for quite some time in the beginning of your career. do you still own that van, and if so, have you ever considered taking it on tour?

JEWEL: I do have it. It’s at my friend's house down in San Diego still. As a surprise, he fixed it up for me, so it looks pretty fancy. You know, the last I heard it doesn’t have any healing properties, so I doubt I’ll take it on a road show!

gt.com: how funny! so, not only are you known as a gifted singer, but your writing has encouraged many fans to pick up the pen. can we expect anymore poetry books to be released in the future?

JEWEL: I did do a book of love poems I wrote just for Ty, but my boyfriend's mom lives at the ranch, and I've been afraid to publish it, because I don't want her to read it. So, I'll put it on hold for now!

gt.com: ah, we see! now, it can be difficult in the industry to find something real, something solid in the music, but you manage to do that well. how do you view music and touring at this point in your career?

JEWEL: For me, music really is an intimate art form. I really believe in music. I believe in the power of music, because I've experienced it as a fan and there's still something very special and unquantifiable that takes place between the listener and the singer. As much as the music industry can fabricate it or distract you from that very special exchange that takes place, it still can't be denied how it bonds a musician and a listener. So, I've tried to really focus my career based on that. I feel like one of my strong points has been singing live. It hasn't been about being imaged or cool or any of those things. That's why I've toured so extensively, because I really still believe that when I get on stage and the light comes on and there's real living, breathing humans in front of me. They're going to hear my heart and they're going to hear my hurt and they're going to hear my hope and there's no shortcut to that and there's no way of fabricating it and I still believe in it. I still think it's really special.

gt.com: agreed! what about now, what do you think about the state of top forty music and scene, and how does it affect you?

JEWEL: I've always tried to concentrate on good work, and I think good work is rewarded. So is pop sensation. Pop sensation is very well rewarded. Going to the right parties and being followed around by Paparazzi, getting in a magazine and helping people sell records that isn't necessarily about music, but that's okay too. I don't feel like it affects my job, or my living. I've had unbelievable success on every record, and it's been thrilling for me, and my whole goal is just to ride all of it out. I just keep my little blinders on and keep my eyes focused on what I think good writing is and what I think good art is. I hope that in forty years, that will pay off.

gt.com: we have no doubts that it will pay off for you, Jewel. thanks for the interview!

Hurry, grab your copy of Jewel's latest "Goodbye
Alice in Wonderland" at www.amazon.com!