lifeblood: listlogs: 2003v06n138-news

ig-news-digest sunday, december 28 2003 volume 06 : number 138

today's subjects:
-----------------
  [ig-news] music and spirit in harmony     ["diane" <dweiden@ix.netcom.com>]
  [ig-news] ig on kfog (sf bay area and online) tomorrow morning (?)  ["kare]
  [ig-news] x-to: indigo-girls@lists.netspace.org  ["mark donajkowski" <mado]
  [ig-news] all that we let in biography  ["amy m." <indigrrl1200@hotmail.co]
  [ig-news] new official ig site  ["barbara bordner" <ritesofpassage9@webtv.]

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date: sat, 27 dec 2003 21:31:03 -0600
from: "diane" <dweiden@ix.netcom.com>
subject: [ig-news] music and spirit in harmony

[sherlyn's note: this message was originally sent to the indigo
girls mailing list at netspace.org.]

"...melissa etheridge husky..."???

from www.dallasnews.com

music and spirit in harmony

secular and sacred: indigo girls' emily saliers and her dad explore
similar social justice themes

04:02 pm cst on friday, december 26, 2003

by susan hogan/albach / the dallas morning news

atlanta don saliers directs emory university's graduate program in
sacred music. his daughter, emily, is co-founder of indigo girls, the
folk pop duo.

he sings in church halls, she's heard in concert halls.

on a recent night, father and daughter were making their first
presentation together on music and spirituality, a passion they
share.
the location was a packed conference room in a downtown hotel.

their audience: hundreds of theologians and religion scholars a
tweed
jacket, crepe-sole crowd whose usual idea of a fun night out might be
a
trip to the library.

"among other things tonight, he's well-known as emily's father," the
emcee said when introducing dr. saliers.

but for many in this heady crowd, the professor was the bigger name.

"this is great," ms. saliers said as she strapped on an acoustic
guitar.
she sang "hammer and a nail," a song about putting beliefs into
actions,
one of the many indigo girls hits with a social justice theme:

gotta get out of bed get a hammer and a nail

learn how to use my hands, not just my head

dr. saliers, a united methodist minister, told the audience his
daughter's music may not be written for church, but that it touches
many
listeners every bit as much spiritually as hymns do for churchgoers.

"are you aware of the power your music evokes?" he asked her.

ms. saliers, who sung in church choirs growing up, said her songs
often
appeal to people who feel excluded by the church. as a lesbian, it's
a
feeling that she, too, has experienced.

"these are pop songs, but maybe they can have the same effect as
sacred
music," ms. saliers said. "we're all human beings yearning for
community. some people can't find it in the church."

although the lyrics to her songs are often spiritual, she said she's
conflicted about how to identify her own spirituality. she draws on
her
christian upbringing, but from other traditions, too.

dr. saliers, 66, the son of a jazz musician, is a distinguished
liturgical scholar, author, keyboardist and choirmaster. students say
he
keeps them attentive by sometimes singing parts of his lectures.
colleagues describe him as caring and witty.

"theologians know his work, but so do lay audiences he has that
touch," said stephen marini, a religion professor at wellesley
college
near boston. "he's a great personality and intellect. everybody
responds
to him."

ms. saliers, 40, and her music partner amy ray, have been crafting
songs
together for more than two decades. but the grammy-winning duo didn't
become well known until 1989, with the release of their best known
hit,
"closer to fine."

their eighth project, moment of forgiveness, comes out in january.

"they exist almost in a parallel universe to mainstream commercial
music, ignored by radio and mtv, defiantly untrendy, appealing to a
passionately committed core audience ...," wrote their hometown
newspaper, the atlanta journal-constitution.

indigo girls haven't topped the charts in years, but their concerts
are
sellouts. the stage is a platform for the duo's social and political
activism. they oppose nuclear weapons and the war in iraq. they
champion
native american rights.

women's rights, too. ms. saliers said she shudders that the music
industry pressures women to sell records by wearing skimpy clothing.

"i object to that because i find it inherently sexist," she said. "i
wear flannel shirts on stages. there's not much a marketer can do
with
that. we can only sell records based on our music."

the saliers recently teamed for a book that's due out in july: a song
to
sing, a life to live. "we explore particular themes music and
grief,
music and justice, music and the search for god but always from the
standpoint of crossing over between so-called sacred and secular
standpoints," dr. saliers said.

social justice themes are prevalent in many church hymns, too, he
said.

harmonies are a hallmark of indigo girls' music. on this night, ms.
saliers' singing partner was her father.

her voice was melissa etheridge husky, his was mel torme smooth.

as he played an electronic keyboard, she sang the words of psalm 138
to
one of his musical compositions.

"search me o god and know my heart," she sang, her hand outstretched,
as
if toward heaven.

listeners found the moment more prayerful than performance. ms.
saliers,
too, was visibly moved.

"it makes you a lot more nervous to be singing for the lord than
singing
in a bar," she said. then, turning to her father, she added:

"thanks, dad."

e-mail shogan@dallasnews.com

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------------------------------

date: sat, 27 dec 2003 20:56:57 est
from: "karen r." <indigokare@aol.com>
subject: [ig-news] ig on kfog (sf bay area and online) tomorrow morning (?)

[sherlyn's note: this message was originally sent to the indigo
girls mailing list at netspace.org.]

hey,

i was listening to kfog, the only half decent sf area radio station, and
there was an ad for tomorrow's acoustic sunrise program (6am pst).  anyway, the dj
announced that there'd be a new year's something or the other from ig.  i'm
wondering if it was something they recorded at the fillmore in nov.  i am going
to *try* to record it (no gurantees since the program starts at 6am!), but
you can listen online at http://www.kfog.com .  (or if you are in the area,
104.5)  again, i'm not sure what this is -- i just heard a two second
advertisment.

xoxoxo

karen

------------------------------

date: sat, 27 dec 2003 17:36:37 -0500
from: "mark donajkowski" <madonajk@alpha.delta.edu>
subject: [ig-news] x-to: indigo-girls@lists.netspace.org

[sherlyn's note: this is an excerpt of a message which was originally sent to
the indigo girls mailing list at netspace.org.]

hi there,

you had asked to be notified when i had any new concert
posters/artifacts in stock or special sales. if you are on both my
general list and a particular artist list you may receive a few of
these notices. supplies are limited...

[...]

indigo girls:
http://www.concertposters.com/artifact.asp?postfile=indigo2

[...]

------------------------------

date: sat, 27 dec 2003 13:49:52 -0700
from: "amy m." <indigrrl1200@hotmail.com>
subject: [ig-news] all that we let in biography

[sherlyn's note: this message was originally sent to the indigo
girls mailing list at netspace.org.]

who knew that albums had biographies? this is from the newly revamped
indigogirls.com (there's a mention of the rarities album too!)

amy m.

indigo girls - all that we let in

after over two decades and eight studio albums together, amy ray and emily
saliers, known to their legion of fans as indigo girls, have played
thousands of shows. they've operated within the music industry, without ever
being a product of that industry, gaining the respect of their peers, not to
mention an extremely loyal fanbase. it's an audience that most artists would
envy: one that eagerly awaits new music from the duo, and greets older songs
like old friends. fans often go to multiple shows per tour, and never leave
the gig until the final note rings out, and the house lights go on.
regardless of which way the pop culture breezes are blowing, who is topping
the pop charts, who is dominating fashion magazine covers, or who is getting
played on the radio, indigo girls' concert experience remains a constant.
catch a show in any given city in america and you will understand the
meaning of an enduring artist-audience bond and it has been developed
without marketing gurus, corporate tie-ins or spin doctors. indigo girls
have thrived through flirtations with the mainstream as well as when the
media spotlight was pointed elsewhere. but one recent show - on august 14,
2003 at the central park summerstage in new york city - truly revealed
volumes about the duo and their relationship with their fans.

you may recognize the date: it was the day that manhattan, along with much
of the northeastern united states and canada, lost all electrical power.
it's safe to say that the scheduled concerts in the affected areas did not
go on as planned. acts were either unwilling, or unable, to perform without
power.

not so for indigo girls: all that they required to play as scheduled was a
small generator and a request for everyone to get a bit closer to the stage.
even that might cause problems for other artists: asking fans to cram even
closer together, on a muggy evening. but indigo girls fans respect each
other, just as they respect amy and emily .

so the show went on, at least until sundown. (neither indigo girls nor
security wanted the fans to try to make their way through a pitch-dark
central park at night). other than the brevity of the set and the temporary
power source, it was an indigo girls show, "as usual," meaning an
unpredictable set list with old favorites and songs yet to be recorded.
alongside some of their better known songs ("become you," "galileo," "closer
to fine"), they introduced some tunes from their next album, "fill it up
again" and "dairy queen." most artists with a two-decade plus history have a
hard time keeping audience interest when they play new songs; few would even
dare to play as-yet-unreleased material, for fear of a mass-restroom exodus.
again, not so with the girls. while the rest of the city was wondering when
the power would go on, the temporary denizens of central park were wondering
how long they'd have to wait before the release of the new indigo girls
album.

the wait is over with all that we let in. the credits on the new album are
similar to those of 2002's become you. the indigo girls returned to tree
sound studios in georgia, and, again, used producer peter collins and the
core band of keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist carol issacs, bass player
clare kenny and drummer brady blade. not that the girls don't embrace
change: for the first time, amy - who up to this point, played strictly
rhythm guitar - started taking some solos. "i'm learning to play lead," she
says. "when i hear something in my head, i want to play it the way i hear
it," adding, inaccurately, "i'm not a very good guitar player."

meanwhile, saliers, who has played dobro, banjo, bouzouki, classical guitar,
piano and hurdy gurdy and guitar on prior albums, made her mandolin and
high-string guitar debuts on the). she points out, with typical humility, "i
have an aptitude for stringed instruments."

of the eleven songs on all that we let in, six were written by emily, five
by amy. emily's "fill it up again" kicks off the album. an empowering and
upbeat song, saliers explains "it's about a relationship gone sour, and one
person says, 'i'm out of here!' it's about someone taking your strength and
power from you, and then you say 'i'm not going to do this anymore.'"
combining matters of the heart with her innate environmental concerns, she
compares her partner to "the hole in my sky, my shrinking water supply," to
which she comments, "it's fun to take something like the ozone layer and
compare it to a relationship!" but she muses, "i guess it's appropriate
sometimes."

amy's "heartache for everyone" has a two-tone ska feel and was originally
intended for her second solo album. "i was thinking of the clash, i listen
to them a lot. they way i would have done it with one of my punk backing
bands would have been similar, but maybe a bit more raw." the yearning in
the lyrics are raw enough: "i'll give you six more weeks, just in case, you
can change your mind, you won't be replaced/ are we looking at a lifetime of
regret, or just one little moment that we'll never forget."

emily follows that up with a much happier relationship song, "free in you."
"it's just a straight up love song. it takes into account all our
insecurities. and how someone can love you even through those. and how when
you find the right person, it's just like breathing. it's just a
straight-ahead love song."

on first single "perfect world," amy balances concern as a global citizen
with having fun in her personal life. "it's about having a good time, and
not paying attention to what's going on in the world. and then realizing
that you can't do that. you have a responsibility to be accountable."

the title track, written by emily, had a tragic beginning: "i started that
song after losing an activist friend in a car accident and being devastated.
and dealing with that loss. it's a positive song in the end; i am optimistic
by nature."

"tether," by amy, would be a staple on classic rock radio if the format
played new music, that is. featuring the aforementioned duel guitar leads by
amy and emily, it also features vocals by joan osborne. joan, one of the
most distinctive and powerful vocalists alive, currently splits her time
between her solo career and singing in the dead, but she made time to lay
down vocals on this song as well as "rise up" and "heartache for everyone."
she also sang on four songs on 1999's come on now social. as emily points
out, "she blends my and amy's voices together in a way that's unique to the
three of us."

emily's "come on home" is unusually dark. "it involves betrayal, a person
who runs, a person who 'enables'. there is nothing positive about that song
at all!" amy follows that with "dairy queen," an unusually upbeat breakup
song: "the love you gave was not for free, but the price was truly fair." it
concludes with ray admitting, "i love you, more and more."

"something real" sees emily in a nostalgic mood. "it took me ten years to
call you back, but here we are today," she tells her friend. "so life has
brought you this, two marriages and three kids/you're as sweet as you ever
were, the slight sickness of regret, washes over me and in the end that's
all i get." it may well stand as emily's most poignant moment as a lyricist.

amy's "cordova" is even more melancholy, and has been about five years in
the making. about a few of amy's fellow activists in the native american
community, by the time the song was completed, three of them had,
tragically, passed away. "it seems revolution and relationships go hand in
hand," she says. "you're working so closely together and then you fall in
love, but you don't know if you're falling in love with the person or the
revolution. the human dynamics of the revolution fascinate me. there's lots
of human frailty. it's not perfect."

emily's "rise up" ends the album on a very upbeat note, fueled by carol
isaacs's rollicking elton-esque piano ("i had elton in mind," emily says).
the girls sing, in unison, "rise up your dead, there's life in the old girl
yet." to apply the song to the not-very-old indigo girls, if this album is
any indication, there's lots of life yet, and lots of ground still to cover.

they plan to hit the road this spring, doing a string of dates in their
acoustic duo format (although anyone who attends their shows knows that
guests, both famous and otherwise, frequently grace the stage at indigo
girls concerts - there are usually at least three vocal mikes set up on
their stage, just in case). after that, they'll pack up the band and do a
larger scale tour in the summer. expect to see voter registration booths and
tabling on issues such as environmental justice at the venues. and, after
that, they plan on releasing their long-talked about album of rarities - the
track list will be made largely based on suggestions from fans. then, amy
may release her second solo album, and emily is considering doing her first.
after that, another indigo girls record and tour. it'll be "business as
usual," so to speak - more songs to augment their already-packed catalog,
and more concert dates to reconnect with the older fans and to meet new
ones. they've been going that way for about two decades, and they've got a
few more left in them.

a post-script to the story that began this bio: despite the fact that they
performed during the blackout, the indigo girls returned to central park to
"make-up" their abbreviated show on october 1st. this time, the autumn chill
replaced the heat, humidity, and blackout-caused stress. the crowd was
treated to a 20-plus song set, including nearly half of all that we let in,
as well as songs spanning the duo's career, and a cover of bob dylan's "the
times they are a-changin'." it's true, the times do change, pop culture is
always evolving, music tastes ebb and flow, but one of the few constants in
rock and roll is that when the indigo girls play a show, or put out a
record, their fans will still be there - regardless of trends in the
industry, weather conditions, or yes, even power outages.

------------------------------

date: sat, 27 dec 2003 10:01:09 -0600
from: "barbara bordner" <ritesofpassage9@webtv.net>
subject: [ig-news] new official ig site

[sherlyn's note: this message was originally sent to the indigo
girls mailing list at netspace.org.]

view the new official ig site at www.indigogirls.com !

i like it, it's so much brighter looking than the beige color it was
before.

other than that not much is different but just thought i'd share.

peace
barb

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end of ig-news-digest v6 #138
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