lifeblood: listlogs: 2007v10n009-news

ig-news-digest        friday, february 9 2007        volume 10 : number 009

today's subjects:
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  [ig-news] cambridge evening news article  [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopoli]

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date: fri, 9 feb 2007 13:19:50 +1100
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: [ig-news] cambridge evening news article

hi folks,

here's an article from the cambridge evening news.  you can read it online at:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/lifestyle/arts_music/news/2007/02/08/05639a34-14
9e-4f5a-9cc2-ac69f79126bf.lpf

cheers,
sherlyn

- ---begin forwarded article---
activism is at the core of what we do

if there's one thing the indigo girls can always rely on it's their fans. the
acoustic duo from georgia, usa, have been performing together for more than 20
years and discovered early on that their supporters were going to make them work
hard.

starting out at the same time as other female folk-infused pop acts like tracey
chapman, michelle shocked and suzanne vega, they soon made a name for themselves
as politically outspoken and musically independent.

they've performed across the world since, safe in the knowledge there'll be a -
largely female - contingent of fans eager to meet them wherever they go.

"it's a small but dedicated following," says amy ray, 50 per cent of the grammy
awardwinning duo, alongside emily saliers. "i don't know why that is, it's
always been the same.

we built a following that had this core loyalty to it and really moved with us.

"it's almost like a community that's bigger than just some people listening to
the indigo girls. when we started we were so young and our songwriting needed a
lot of development.

we were lucky to get a break when we did because i don't think we were really
there yet.

but we did have this one voice and a connection with the audience.

"some people are great when they start and they don't get any better but luckily
we had a long way to go and hit our stride a bit later."

but while they may have widened their musical horizons since they first emerged
from the athens, georgia, college rock scene that also birthed rem and the
b-52s, some things have never changed.

the deeply-held political and social views that infect their music have made
them icons in liberal america, especially within the lesbian and gay community.

"we are activists and we always have been, it's just what we do," says amy.
"it's completely tied to our career because often we use our status and our
resources to amplify what communities are doing.

"not everybody can be bono but there are certain artists like joan baez or
emmylou harris who come from activist backgrounds and i like that.

"we do a lot of domestic environmental work and we have a group called honor the
earth which is specifically related to native american environmental activism -
we fund people and groups and we go into areas to try to raise awareness."

although the two women have found a special musical chemistry together, they
write their own songs separately and each have lowkey solo careers on the side.
performing together for so long can put strains on things but as the name of
their new album despite our differences suggests, they know the importance of
working as a team.

"we discovered a process really early on for how to deal with our differences,"
says amy.

"we have a certain belief in what we do and we put everything aside for that.

"we totally disagree with each other sometimes and we do live totally separate
lives but we are like sisters because we know each other so well. we just
respect the indigo girls as a group."

the indigo girls will be at the junction on wednesday. tickets are #20. to book
call (01223) 511511.

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end of ig-news-digest v10 #9
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