Meet Jill deRusch | Lead singer of Comfort the Dead and Actress

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jill deRusch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jill, why did you pursue a creative career?
I pursued a artistic/creative career because it’s truly what is the most fulfilling to me. Wether it’s writing the songs or performing them , it’s where I’m comfortable and happy. Time spent on music has never felt like a waste and there’s always something to learn from it. (Both about yourself and the music). I have so many ideas for songs, visuals , music videos, ECT.. and it’s been really cool to have the resources to turn those ideas into actual art.

I could say the same thing as to why I started seriously pursuing acting as well. Other than it simply making me happy, I’m a really curious person. I find it really fascinating to dive into a character and figure out all the experiences that could’ve made them who they are. I feel like you get to try out so many different lives and you learn how to step outside yourself and be someone totally new with a different perspective.

So, all in all, this career path has endless things to teach me and I love it. So here I am pursuing it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
For starters, my name is Jill. I moved to LA by myself when I was 18. Naturally that comes with a lot of ups and downs. I had to grow in a lot of ways to get where I am now. I had to shed things that were holding me back and let go of what kind of person I thought I should be. I tried so many different ways of trying to fit in and be comfortable and none of them really worked. Eventually I realized that if you just find a way to like who you are, the right people and experiences are gonna make their way to you.

As for what I do, I am the lead singer of the band , Comfort the Dead, and an actress.

Comfort the Dead is a punk/metal fusion band that I had been working on for years until I found the perfect people to join me. I had been writing songs from the time I was about 5 and I was making acoustic songs on YouTube for a while. That was nice and I still love those songs, but what I really wanted to do was punk/metal and I was too shy to figure out how to go about it for a while. Then one day I was like…alright I’m just gonna do it. Then I met Abraham Torres and we would just kinda jam until I told him my idea for Comfort the Dead. (We found our guitarist, Benny, much later )

I write songs that express all the feelings and things we wish we could hide about ourselves. When we try really hard to push down these feelings, we’re not really living. As soon as you start covering up your emotions or who you really are for the sake of not being judged or feeling self conscious, you’re killing a part of yourself off. (Hence the name Comfort the Dead). I don’t want to do that, I want to feel and write about everything as honestly as possible.

As a band I feel like we’ve already accomplished a lot together.
We put out our single, “Ugly” , in late 2023 and it did really well. Shortly after, we got asked to interview for, “I want you to know”, a radio show on kpcrfm 101.9 Santa Cruz (hosted by Nero Nava) and both of our singles were played on the radio!
In February we played our first show in LA at the Whiskey a Go Go, which of course is such an iconic venue. I’m still so proud of us for being able to do that.
Two weeks ago we put out our first music video for the song “Ugly”. It’s a true story about a very angry birthday clown (me).
(You’ll have to watch it to find out why!)

I have to say, I think acting has been really important for me to even get the confidence to start jamming with other people. It really pushed me out of a shell that I felt stuck in for a really long time. Sure I could want to act, I could want to play shows, but I never knew how to stop being too nervous to just do it. The more my acting teachers threw me up on stage, the more I was like…wait…I’m actually good at this…I just have to actually have faith in my self that I can be good at it. You know, I would get in my own way so much that I thought I failed before I even tried. After three lead roles in plays and various other scenes, I have to say, I’m much more comfortable in my own skin.

I’m really proud of how I’ve learned to trust myself to put the work into characters and songs and to let go of my head holding me back.

I’m also really proud that I’ve stopped trying to navigate what other people are thinking about the work I’m doing on stage and just doing it for myself. It’s much more genuine that way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my friend was visiting the area, I would have to take them to Little Tokyo at least once. There’s a lot of really good food and treats there (I’m big on treats). Also a lot of cute stuff in general, it’s a fun little outing.

I would also stop by Amoeba Records of course because all of my friends from out of town love music and collect records of some kind. I think each friend has specifically told me to take them there when they come visit. Not a problem with me !

There’s also a lot of cool flea markets I like to stop by, like the one in Silverlake.

I’m also pretty close to the Pantages so if there just so happened to be a show we wanted to see, that could be cool. Or the Chinese Theatre.

I also love Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It’s full of history and character and I’d definitely add that to the list.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely want to thank my band. Abraham Torres and Benny. Both of you make the best melodies for all the lyrics I think up in my head and I love that we’ve created a safe space to share our ideas and not feel hesitant about it.

I also want to thank my manager, Matt Chassin. Matt always pushes me to try out new auditions and has always been very encouraging. He’s given me the opportunity to make really important connections and also get some really good roles I have coming up. I’m very appreciative and excited to see what happens next!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comfort_the_dead?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jillderuijsscher9517?si=eKJaFWnFHuKBCxA5

Image Credits
Wdkproductions
tay_roo_photography
Hana Jensen
JJ.Lens
Stella Adler