Meet Jessica Ashley Gill of The Pink Noise Podcast in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Ashley Gill.

Jessica Ashley, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in South Brunswick, New Jersey, a populated suburb sandwiched between two college towns — Rutgers and Princeton. During my angsty teenage years, I always dreamt of big city living. The suburbs weren’t for me.

I went to film school at Penn State in hopes of pursuing my Hollywood dreams. Upon graduating, the recycled trajectory story of “how to break in” was move to LA and work in the mailroom at one of the big talent agencies– notoriously known for fraternity-like hazing and grueling hours in exchange for the right to work on a desk and maybe, someday, become an assistant at a production company. Once there — you’re told — you’ll move up through that company and eventually start to utilize that artistic vision you paid $100,000 to refine in college. This didn’t sit well with me. Being the stubborn individual I am, I moved to New York hoping to bypass this whole agency mess. I interned at a management firm for a quick stint before getting hired at a production company. Due to the nature of the small team and my determination to move up as quickly as possible, I went from Executive Assistant to Casting Associate to Head of Casting to Producer in under three years.

I was proud of this feat, as many of my LA-bound film school friends were still duking it out at an agency. Something just grinds my gears when people say, “This is just how it is.” There is ALWAYS another way and most of the time it means paving your own.

Eventually, it felt like I was hitting a ceiling in New York. At the time, most of the content being made was unscripted and I longed for scripted narrative– the ability to create worlds and comment on society and the human condition. I wanted out. I also wanted to move to Los Angeles. Using the connections I’d made in New York, I moved to LA and started to land freelance jobs as a producer and writer. While most of the gigs were still for unscripted shows, I did start to land a few scripted gigs, though those were normally weekend gigs with friends for very low pay.

This was right about the time that my quarter-life crisis descended upon me. I was trying to figure out the route to working on films or shows that inspired me while peeling back the onion layers of who I was. The conclusion I kept coming to was to create something myself.

I began learning all I could about writers who had taken untraditional paths like Issa Rae (Insecure, HBO), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The CW), Paul Rust (Love, Netflix), Brit Marling (The OA, Netflix), Ilana Glazer & Abbi Jacobson (Broad City, Comedy Central), etc. Here were people who took their story and created their own series from the ground up, pouring their hearts and souls into it along the way. None were huge household names at the start, making their journies even the more inspiring. They became my greatest source of inspiration, paving the way for what was possible. I knew then that I wanted to create my own show.

I started saying “no” to freelance gigs in lieu of spending time developing my own writing and creative process. This left me rather financially ill-equipped. Yet, in the words of Michael Scott’s would-be autobiography, “Somehow I Manage”.

During this time the clarity came that I wanted to hold all my creative endeavors under one brand name. This became Pink Noise Collective. This also spawned the beginning of the Podcast, which is something I am soulfully proud of. I host, produce, edit, sound mix and create social media assets myself. It allows me the autonomy to tell the stories that I’ve always craved to share, while also working on writing & producing on the side.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Wait, do people actually have smooth roads? Is that a real thing? I don’t believe anyone is immune to struggle — it’s a natural part of the human experience. One of my greatest struggles has been navigating the transition from one phase of my life to another, both internal and external. I am able to see the big picture at large but, as I move towards that goal, there are so many rungs, so many things to unpack and learn. It is hard not to get lost along the way.

I felt like starting in unscripted would help guide me towards scripted. That just wasn’t the case. When you are known for doing a very specific style or type of work, the need to pivot becomes your biggest lesson. It became even more necessary to say “NO” to the jobs that weren’t aligned with the work I wanted because I would get stuck there if I didn’t. Not to say that you shouldn’t try and even master a new section of the industry or skill set, but once you know what you are doing, get out unless it is your ultimate dream to work on that specific type of show.

Industry members are “typecast” in the same way that actors are. Oh, you’re the one who produces live format comedy, or game shows, or docu-series dramas. And that’s great if those are the types of shows you dream of doing but, if you want dark comedy-dramas, you pivot and find a way to overlap your existing skillset and/or build the additional skills required for that new space.

Unfortunately, when you turn jobs down, you also miss out on paychecks, funny how that works. The biggest hurdle has been turning down the higher-paying jobs in pursuit of more creatively-fulfilling work. This may not be the best financial advice but you’ll learn so much in doing so, including how to live on a SERIOUS budget and surrender your ego.

These transitional phases are also mentally-taxing, pulling out insecurity, fear, shadow and imposter syndrome. Who am I to make my own show? Who cares what I have to say? Am I wasting my time? Is my work even close to good enough as those out there?

There is a certain mindset you need to adopt in order to believe your creative work can succeed and that turning those other jobs down wasn’t a mistake. Adopting a growth and abundance mindset vs lack becomes a process. Eventually, you start to believe in your work again, squashing the fears that were seeping up in the process — you just have to keep creating.

Please tell us about The Pink Noise Podcast.
I’ve spent the past year diving into a fantasy world, writing & creating a television series concept for pitch. As the layers of that unfolded, I found solace in the creation, in the symbolism of the story. I began reading and writing a lot more, not just for the script, but for pleasure. I started allowing things to flow in ways I hadn’t in years. As cliche as it sounds, I was unblocking my inner artist.

This inspired the launch of my brand, Pink Noise Collective, and podcast, The Pink Noise Podcast. Pink Noise is nature’s ambient sound frequency, waves crashing on the shore, leaves rustling in the wind. It is the sweet spot between chaos and control, stability and collapse. The podcast was born in an exploration of this space, interviewing fascinating people in this phase of their lives. The lows and the highs and what tools and techniques they employed during the transition. I’ve hosted successful musicians, fashion designers, yoga therapists, TV & Film Producers, Angel Readers, etc. While their journies to success in their respective fields have a ton of insights and takeaways, sometimes, the even more worthy part is in hearing the journey of the soul–a human being trying to define themselves, to find love, purpose, and worthiness amidst the chaos and unknown.

Those are the stories I believe need to be told and have become the core for the brand, the podcast and future TV series. Pink Noise Collective is ever-growing, adding in writing pieces, photography, a newsletter and, soon, the television series will be launched through the company as well. Honoring those stories becomes a remedy for others dealing with their own transitions of life, making them feel alive, inspired, and a lot less alone. At least, they sure as hell do that for me.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I think of my childhood often, sometimes in an attempt to interpret the memories through an adult brain, processing them differently, reflecting, remembering.

One that always generates a beaming smile is summer Fridays at the beach with my Mom. She had off work, so the night before we would pack our snacks, sand toys, boogie boards, towels, and suntan lotions. At the first sight of sun, we would take off in an attempt to beat traffic and arrive in under an hour. We went to Spring Lake Beach in NJ, where the homes we grander than any in our neighborhood. Three-car garages, backyard pools, and guest homes, all within walking distance of the beach. It was a dream. We would stay all day ‘till sunset, giving us a taste of what it would be like to live at the beach. Sometimes, we’d stop for ice cream if it was an exceptionally hot day. On the ride home, our skin tight from the sun and covered in hard sand, we’d blast our favorite music with the windows down. We reveled in anticipation of the warm shower, cool aloe and delicious take-out pizza that lied ahead. I hope to continue the tradition with my family one day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pinknoisecollective.com/
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepinknoisepodcast/ AND https://www.instagram.com/pinknoisecollective/ AND https://www.instagram.com/gillythekid04/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Pink-Noise-Podcast-308181136746492/
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pink-noise-podcast/id1467155570 AND https://open.spotify.com/show/1gboXgcdj683IPV9eWmeyx?si=r7MKMDPtS6ucRqKXMaUOeQ

Image Credit:
Daniel Witcoff

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