THIS IS 40: Julie the Bruce

THIS IS 40: Julie the Bruce (Photo Credit: Valle Tiberti)

THIS IS 40. Time tested proof that life is not over at forty. The forties come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Find the one that's right for you. 

This one comes with an accordion,  a well loved vintage dress, a scuffed up pair of boots, and a whiskey soaked voice box that brings the carnival to you.

Name: Julie the Bruce
Age: 40

Describe your style in less than 140 characters: 

Julie the Bruce: A dumpster diving, boot wearin' punk rock executive gypsy. A broad with Brass, Sass, Class, and Crass!

Who inspires you?

Julie the Bruce: I'm inspired by anyone who can focus on pulling off their creative visions in this complicated tedious world we've created to live in.

I'm inspired by whatever it is in myself, that creates this drive that I have, whose purpose eludes me, but it demands I pursue my creativity.  If I'm not able to do so, I feel like I'm out of step, so it must be something important -to follow the inspiration to create, and follow through.

I'm also inspired by my Grandmother, who at one time looked just like me.

She made a point to have art and music in my life at a young age, making sure my parents took me to concerts, and that I heard music. I didn't know until a couple of years ago that she played harmonium in church. I've played accordion for 5 years.  Sometimes I'm pretty sure she's still looking out for me, making sure the world doesn't break my spirit. She looked out for me as a kid, back then music was magic to me; it gave me hope throughout a rough childhood. Maybe she's still driving me to pursue my dreams from somewhere; helping me be inspired - to keep going. My grams was the only one who didn't judge me for having orange hair in my 20's.  I used to love to wear her costume jewelry, but it got stolen a couple of years ago; I miss the red drum brooch the most. She also had a silver thimble holder necklace shaped like the shell of a walnut.

What do you do for a living?

Julie the Bruce: I work at a musical instruments shop where I use my many years of singing and playing bass, guitar, drums, accordion, and uke to help other musicians make good choices. 

What do you live to do?

Julie the Bruce: Music. Music is the constant. If I take a moment to listen, there's a constant stream of music playing in the back of my head just waiting to enter the bloodstream. It itches to be squeezed out into my fingers or my vocal chords. I'd love to be able to dedicate all my time to music!

If I got a tattoo, it'd be of a design I made from the art of a strange old child's Bible 20 years ago that read "Destroy, Be Good, Do Good." There's truth to that, you know? Creating sometimes takes breaking things. Accordions and guitars are both instruments I work on, and sometimes you have to take parts from one to fix the other. Even working on songs means that you sometimes have to give up something for something else that also works - you have to break the song and remake it to be better. 

Any good quotes? 

Julie the Bruce: Don't fuck with the Bruce. 

You can check out Julie's music blog HERE

and stay up to date on her upcoming shows on Fandalizm HERE