lifeblood: listlogs: 2005v08n071-news

ig-news-digest saturday, june 18 2005 volume 08 : number 071

today's subjects:
-----------------
  [ig-news] binghamton press & sun-bulletin article  [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@p]
  [ig-news] ig interview in seven days vt  (some interesting revelations in it.....)  ["deb odonoghue" <debigogr]
  [ig-news] richmond times-dispatch article  [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopol]
  [ig-news] emily on new jennifer berezan album  [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixel]

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date: fri, 17 jun 2005 08:23:41 +1000
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: [ig-news] binghamton press & sun-bulletin article

hey folks,

here's an article from the binghamton press & sun-bulletin in ny...
you can read it online at:
http://www.pressconnects.com/entertainment/stories/061605s173100.shtml

cheers,
sherlyn

- ---begin forwarded article---
indigo girls tell their fans: 'this one's for you'
jc-bound duo solicits suggestions for new cd
by sarah d'esti miller
press & sun-bulletin

rarities, the latest release from the indigo girls, targets one group
in particular: the duo's fans. it is a luxury amy ray and emily
saliers can indulge in, since their eight studio cds have sold
multiple millions of copies.

"it's not for people who haven't heard us before, because they're
going to be like, who cares about this, but someone who likes us
already might go, 'oh, i see why they did this later'," ray said of
the cd, the indigo girls' last for epic records.

"it was sort of like an idea where epic said to us, 'will you do one
more record that's kind of your choosing but a collection of bootlegs
or b sides or whatever?' and so we were like, let's do something
that's oriented to our fans, to people who already know our music."

"we sent out an e-mail and said, 'do you all have any ideas and what
would you like to see on this?' we took those ideas ... and considered
the things we thought were cool, and we just put together this
collection of collaborations that we have done and different benefit
records or tribute albums we have done, live recordings and previously
unreleased songs. it's just supposed to be fun."

well, it wasn't exactly all fun. ray and saliers, both 41, have been
making music since the early '80s. their self-titled epic release in
1989 was in time to enjoy the success and popularity of other folk
rock artists such as tracy chapman and 10,000 maniacs. the duo amassed
a vast catalog of material.

"it was a lot of work. what we whittled it down to seems really easy
to pick, but we actually went through all of our early recordings and
stuff and practice tapes and live tapes and so went through a lot of
hours of music to come to the conclusion that a lot of stuff from
early on we didn't want to use," ray said.

like cleaning out your musical junk drawer?

"yeah, exactly. but it's definitely not a full-on album project where
we write and everything for it. putting a record like this out is an
odd feeling because it's something you have already done. it's hard to
figure out how you promote it."

ray said she enjoys performing covers of songs she really likes.
favorites on rarities include the clash's clampdown ("the arrangement
is a little odd but i love that song so much.") and the grateful
dead's uncle john's band. of the latter, ray said: "we recorded it
with this amazing harmony folk rock group from l.a. called show of
hands, which sort of came and went. but they were amazing and they
really influenced us ... and this recording is the thing i have to
remember it by so it's really special to me."

saliers and ray are fortunate to count many fellow musicians among
their fans. over the years, guest musicians on indigo girls albums
have included rem's michael stipe, the band's garth hudson, luscious
jackson's kate schellenbach, ani difranco, david crosby, jackson
brown, sheryl crow, joan osborne, me'shell ndegeocello and others. but
however much they admire other musicians and their work, the indigo
girls are all about the songs -- their songs.

"we write separately. it's either one or the other," ray said of the
technique which often results in two distinguishable styles. (ray's
songs are harder edged; saliers' are more lyrical.)

"we may give suggestions to each other if we are asked, but pretty
much the person writes the song and we get together to practice and
then the duo stuff happens. the collaboration is on the arrangement.
it becomes a different song after we fiddle with it."

the indigo girls are now at a turning point. with their epic contract
about to expire, the question is what will they do next?

"we don't know. we probably should know, but we don't," ray said with
a laugh. "we're planning to record in the winter, and we are shooting
for that regardless of where we stand business-wise. so we'll record a
record. whether or not we are on a label or put it out ourselves or
whatever happens, we don't really know.

"but we know that we have to write songs, and that's what we do. it's
a great job."

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date: thu, 16 jun 2005 20:16:33 -0400
from: "deb odonoghue" <debigogrl1@msn.com>
subject: [ig-news] ig interview in seven days vt (some interesting revelations in it.....)

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

hey everyone,

i picked up a copy of seven days while i was in vt for the show on tuesday.
low and behold there was an interview with emily, which had quite a bit of
interesting info. sounds like the pitter-patter of a baby indigo might be
in the future. :)

take care and peace!

deb

mood indigo
music preview: the indigo girls

by eesha williams
(06.08.05)

who says you can't make a big noise with acoustic guitars? definitely not
the indigo girls. the folk-rock duo has delivered socially conscious,
spiritually minded tunes since taking the singer-songwriter scene by storm
back in '89. featuring the very different yet highly compatible songwriting
styles of emily saliers and amy ray, the grammy-winning group has sold more
than two million records. but it isn't fame or money that motivates them; at
heart, they're still humble folkies. on june 14 -- which is also the release
date of their latest cd, rarities -- the indigo girls perform on the flynn
mainstage in burlington.

while the indigo girls' music boasts beautiful harmonies and subtle nuances,
they still know how to rock. and so do their die-hard fans: the band's
concerts often become sing-alongs, with audiences vibing off the duo's
catchy hooks as well as their message. and they definitely have plenty to
say -- lyrics from one of their most popular songs relates to the abenaki
tribe's struggles to gain government recognition. "i left my anger in a
river, running highway 5 / new hampshire, vermont borderline ... i used to
search for reservations and native lands / before i realized everywhere i
stand there have been tribal feet running wild as fire," they passionately
sing.

over the years, saliers and ray have experimented with their sound,
occasionally employing a drummer and bass player. but they're capable of
putting on a riveting performance with or without a backing band. on this
tour, they get back to their acoustic roots.

saliers and ray both make their homes in georgia. but during a recent
conversation with saliers, seven days discovered that she spends most
christmases at her family's home near white river junction.

seven days: nuclear power and vermont yankee have been in the news a lot
lately. i know you have worked with native american activist wynona laduke
on nuclear waste issues.
emily saliers: the nuclear power industry needs to be shut down. all the
proposals for nuclear waste dumps are on native lands. amy and i have been
intimately involved with that issue for a long time. proponents of nuclear
power like to promote it as clean energy. it's beyond my comprehension how
anyone can buy that. nuclear waste can't be contained; it's deadly and it
lives for 250,000 years. the government needs to spend much more money on
solar and wind power.

sd: according to the national priorities project, the u.s. now spends almost
a trillion dollars a year, or half the entire federal budget, on the
military. if you were president, how much would you spend on the military?
es: i can't break it down in terms of numbers for you. but i certainly would
not be going to war in iraq. our government spends a ridiculous amount of
money on the military to protect our access to fossil fuels. when a country
tries to dominate the world, it can't last. that's history.

sd: why do you think there's never been a female president?
es: because we live in a sexist society, and a largely sexist world, that
doubts the power and effectiveness of women in leadership roles. there are
many men who want to keep the power structure the way it is. i don't think
there will be [a female president] in 2008. maybe in 2012.

sd: speaking of effective ... do you write your lyrics sitting down at a
table with pen and paper, or do they just pop into your head at random
moments?
es: sometimes a thought will come to my mind and i go and write down just a
sentence or an image that strikes me. that's sort of new for me. i used to
just be inspired all the time and write a gazillion songs. now, for whatever
reason, it's more difficult. it's become more of a discipline. i spend time
practically every day in a little studio room at home, working on songs.
typically, i pick up an acoustic guitar and work out a chord progression.
then i spit out some words, a lot of it gibberish. i try to get a feel for
it as the music and lyrics marry. then i edit the lyrics. the lyrics are the
hardest part for me.

sd: have you ever had a song's lyrics appear as "whole cloth," and end up
that way on the record?
es: "power of two" was kind of written like that.

sd: your new album, rarities, is your last for sony, your record company
since 1988. what's next?
es: it was a long relationship. it's time for something different. it seemed
like there wasn't the same interest in promoting our music as there was
before. now it's corporate controlled -- nasty. we're planning on making a
new record early next year. it's just a matter of deciding, do we want to do
it completely on our own? or do we want to sign with a small label?

sd: what advice would you give to a young band that has an offer from a
major label?
es: it depends on the contract. there's a lot of major-label deals that
don't do anything for artists. there are others that do. the band has to be
savvy. but for the most part, major-label deals do not benefit a band.

sd: tell me what a typical day on tour is like for you.
es: every day is pretty similar. after we play the show, we get on the bus
and we drive through the night to the next town. we get to the hotel in the
morning. everybody stumbles into their room and goes to sleep. when we wake
up, it's time to work out in the gym. that's important for me and amy. we
dedicate two hours every day for exercise. then we do interviews, or catch
up with our email. then we do a sound check for that night's show. we
practice some songs. then we eat dinner together and write a set list [of
the songs we will play] every night. then we have some quiet time apart from
each other, just to chill. then the opening act -- who we handpick -- plays.
typically, we'll play a song with them. then we play the show. we do that
three, four or five nights a week.

sd: are you going to keep doing that indefinitely?
es: i don't know about indefinitely. but there's no end in sight. amy would
like to have kids. she'll have to set aside some time for that. but as long
as we're still welcome out there, we'll be touring. we don't want to
overstay our welcome.

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

date: sat, 18 jun 2005 09:36:10 +1000
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: [ig-news] richmond times-dispatch article

hey folks,

here's an article from the richmond times-dispatch - you can read it
online at (long url, needs to be all on one line):
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/satellite?pagename=rtd/mgarticle/rtd_basicarticle&c=mgarticle&cid=1031783338038

in their music section they've also got an interview with sonia of
disappear fear from last week, if you want to check that out.

cheers,
sherlyn

- ---begin forwarded article---

indigo girls still about good music
by melissa ruggieri
times-dispatch staff writer
friday, june 17, 2005

in concert
who: indigo girls with arts and sciences at: innsbrook after hours, 6
p.m. wednesday tickets: $10 and $35 info: (804) 794-6700 or www.
innsbrookafterhours.com

things like extensive radio play and multi-platinum albums have never
been mandatory for the indigo girls to survive.

theirs isn't fashionable music in the splashed-all-over-vh1 sense -
assuming it's the day that vh1 is playing videos - and the biggest hit
they've had came in 1989 with the smart, hummable "closer to fine."
and even that one didn't crack the top 40.

still, for 18 years, the georgia-based duo of amy ray (the
rugged-voiced one) and emily saliers (the honey-toned one) have
cobbled together a career built on gorgeous folk-pop songs - "power of
two," "galileo," "least complicated," "kid fears," "ghost," just a
sampling of their prolific output.

the girls' activism, particularly within the american indian
community, is another selling point to their fans, who tend toward the
passionate.

but it's always their music - laden with the struggles, realities and
fears of love, but just as often inspired by their anger at various
injustices - that has maintained their viable presence in an industry
usually concerned with only the bottom line.

on the eve of their summer tour, which finds the twosome performing
acoustic without a band, saliers phoned in from her home in atlanta
for some updates.

up for discussion: the girls' "rarities" album, which arrived this
week. it offers a two-decade glimpse into their favorite covers and
their songwriting, including a 1986 version of "never stop," their
1991 version of "uncle john's band," previously found on a grateful
dead tribute album, and the michael stipe collaboration "i'll give you
my skin."

the sweet and chatty saliers also talked about the book she wrote with
her father last year, her impending solo album and the future of the
indigo girls, now that they've released their final record for epic,
their recording home since 1987.

q. why now for a rarities album?

a. it was our last contractual thing for epic, and they wanted us to
do it. once we agreed to it, we put our heart and thought into it and
tried to decide what would be cool to include and asked fans for their
picks. it was challenging, picking through stuff. thankfully, amy and
i had a meeting of the minds on what we chose.

q. what happened with epic?

a. we felt like it was really time for a change. we realized we were
at a juncture in our career, and the label isn't the same place it was
in 1988.

q. so what is the immediate plan? are you looking for a new label or
think you might go the independent route?

a. we might totally do it on our own or sign with a smaller label. our
manager is in the process of putting feelers out. we'll look at it all
and see what is the most creative option.

q. what do you think still drives the two of you after being in this
business for 20 years? do you think it has something to do with
splintering off to do other things every now and then?

a. absolutely. it's like a good marriage. amy just finished a second
[solo] record; i'm going to do a solo album. when we come together, it
feels fresh.

q. do you hang out often when your careers aren't involved?

a. she also lives in georgia - in the woods - and we have some mutual
friends and will see each other at mutual gatherings, but otherwise
not really. but when we're on the road, we see so much of each other.

q. on this "rarities" album, you have a version of elton john's "mona
lisas and mad hatters." interesting choice.

a. it was the no. 1 fan request for rarities. we had been playing it
in the bars years and years ago, so it was a no-brainer. but we had to
find a performance that we liked, and we didn't, so we started playing
it live the past year and took the recording from one of those nights.

q. what prompted you to write a book last year? [saliers and her
minister father, don, released "a song to sing, a life to live:
reflections on music as spiritual practice" in november.]

a. my dad is a professor of theology and asked me to participate in
this book about spiritual paths, honoring the body and music. we
worked on that with teenage writers, a book called 'way to live,' a
christian thing for teens, which was cool. and out of that came this
book.

q. how difficult a process was it for you? i would think you and your
dad disagree on certain topics.

a. i was very clear about my ambivalence about the church with my dad
and was able to get to that other side, about a father/daughter
relationship. it started out easy - some conversations over coffee.
after that, trying to hone the ideas and write in two voices was a
challenge. i would write certain sections and they were inserted. . .
. amazon.com has it, and other big chains can order it. we've done
several book signings and programs where he and i play music together.
it's time spent with my father, which is great. we come from different
worlds and perspectives, but that's ok.

q. has your dad always been supportive of your desire to pursue music?

a. both my mom and my dad. my grandfather was a professional touring
musician in the big-band era, and i was always banging away on a snare
drum or something.

q. what activist things have you and amy been involved in recently?

a. we're still working with honor the earth, and typically do at least
one show a year for them. this year we're going to do a few shows
highlighting solar and wind power - specifically, putting wind power
on native land because so much indian land has been desecrated in the
search for fossil fuel.

q. tell me about this solo album you're working on.

a. i've been working on the timing based on our schedule. i want it to
be more beat-oriented, to have a groove to it, sort of organic
instruments with a groove.

q. so not as loud as amy's solo stuff?

a. i wish i could write as rocking as amy does!

q. so what's next for the girls? are you just waiting to see how the
record label situation pans out?

a. we do have a plan, and it's to find a way to get the music out
there. i feel so blessed with our fans, but people still have to know
that your stuff is out there. we plan to start a new record at the
beginning of the year, probably february. amy is going to tour behind
her record in the fall, but we will continue.

contact melissa ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or
mruggieri@timesdispatch.com

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

date: sat, 18 jun 2005 09:31:11 +1000
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: [ig-news] emily on new jennifer berezan album

hey folks,

i don't really know anything about jennifer berezan, but apparently
emily appears on her new album "end of desire". bruce cockburn and a
bunch of others also appear.

here's where i found the info:
http://buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=53&upc=eow18cd0000

cheers,
sherlyn
- --
sherlyn koo | sherlyn@pixelopolis.com | sydney, australia

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end of ig-news-digest v8 #71
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