lifeblood: listlogs: 2007v10n022-news

ig-news-digest         sunday, march 25 2007         volume 10 : number 022

today's subjects:
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  [ig-news] livedaily amy interview   [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>]

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date: sat, 24 mar 2007 18:55:40 +1100
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: [ig-news] livedaily amy interview

hi everyone,

here's an interview with amy from livedaily.com.  you can see it online at:
http://www.livedaily.com/interviews/livedaily_interview_indigo_girls-11783.html?
t=98

cheers,
sherlyn

- ---begin forwarded article---
livedaily interview: indigo girls
march 22, 2007 10:35 am
by john voket
livedaily contributor

as amy ray of indigo girls (tickets | music) tells it, back in the mid-'80s,
when she was jamming around athens, ga, with her musical cohort emily saliers,
the pair had a few luxurious gigs where they could settle into a club for a few
days.

ray said in a recent interview that those back-to-back shows, sometimes for five
or six days at a stretch, gave the indigo girls a chance to really explore songs
they hadn't played in a long time, just to keep the set list from getting
stagnant over the course of the run.

some 22 years later, amy and emily got another chance to dig deep into their
repertoire when they kicked off their spring tour in connecticut last week with
a five-show run at the mohegan sun casino's intimate cabaret.

saliers and ray are hitting more intimate rooms playing in duo format, possibly
sprinkling in a new song or two among their hits and a good dose of material
from indigo girls' latest release, "despite our differences." dates are
currently confirmed well into the summer; details are in the itinerary below.

before playing the mohegan sun shows, ray and saliers chatted with livedaily
about music, politics and the whole band-versus-duo dynamic.

livedaily: it's been almost two years since you started working out material
that became "despite our differences," and since its release, you've been
touring on and off with a full band. do you find yourself performing the
material differently than when it's just you two?

amy ray: with the new record, we had to sit down on a couple of songs to make
sure we [were] approaching them the right way without the band. it's pretty easy
for us to go back and adjust. i have all the songs on my ipod for practicing.
there's a new song, "money made you mean," that we decided to do more of an
extended version--and on the song "dairy queen," from the previous record, where
i played electric guitar but i wanted to also have an acoustic version of it for
when it's just the two of us.

emily saliers: my approach to the songs doesn't really change. you know, when we
went back out as a duo after playing with a band, i really missed the drums, or
when the bass used to kick in. there's a certain amount of energy and focus you
have to put out when it's just the duo. we haven't been doing "rock and roll
heaven's gate" and "all the way," because those songs just seem to click better
with a band than with a duo. you sort of get used to having the band carry you
along. it has a certain spontaneity--it has an energy of its own. but i don't
sing the songs very differently without the band. sonically, it's stripped down.
there's a huge safety net with the band, and there's something really focused
and intense when we're playing as a duo that's very different from with the
band.

since the beginning, amy, you've been characterized as the more edgy, hard
rocker, while emily has been cast more as the lyrical lighter touch between the
two of you. but your songs on the latest record and some of the solo material
you've generated recently is pretty deep--some might even say intense. i mean,
it almost hurts to hear you sing "dirt and dead ends."

ar: i'm changing my songwriting approach all the time because i'm just trying to
get better at it. about eight years ago, i consciously started practicing more,
and i had a few conversations with a few songwriters and asked them about their
writing style. then i read a stephen king book, "on writing," and started being
really deliberate about it. i labor over songs a lot, and it worked for me to
sit down for three hours and work on stuff. i started trying to tell specific
stories about people, and trying to be more specific with my images, which opens
you up more as a writer. basically, it got to the point where i just felt i was
lagging so far behind emily, and i didn't feel it was right to do that.

es: i don't totally agree. i mean, her earlier stuff--there are some great songs
there, too. i know there was a period of time when she made the switch to focus
on the craft of her songs, but amy's always been a great songwriter. i think,
for both of us, we inspire and motivate each other in ways that can't be
articulated all the time. i know amy is always pushing me--not overtly, but just
because she is so great and inspiring to work with. it makes me want to be
better too, and that's just something that happens between us. we're fortunate
for that; instead of us being threatened by each other's gifts, we're inspired
by them.

so the tour will bring you around the north and east coast before you're off to
long beach for the pride festival. but this opening run of five days at mohegan
sun is something of a historical event for indigo girls, isn't it?

es: the last time we played mohegan sun, we did two dates there. and the room
was so nice and small and intimate with such nice crowds, and it was such a nice
experience. the tours are less orthodox than they used to be--it's more
challenging now to string dates together. so, when an offer like this comes in,
knowing the venue, it was appealing, so we just went for it. we talked about how
fun it will be to just dig out some obscure things and just try and do something
different with the set list, since we'll be there so many nights.

ar: i think this is the longest run of shows since we used to play bars. when we
were younger, we had a couple of standing gigs where we played every night of
the week for awhile. when [the mohegan sun] asked us, we said, "why not?" it's a
really fun room and we really liked the casino. some don't have a great vibe and
some do, so, basically, if we play one where the vibe is good and it feels good
to be there, we'll come back and play again. every time we play a native-run
casino, we're sort of happier, i guess. it's probably the connection we have
from working on all the native american community stuff we've done. it just
feels good.

[note: the following tour itinerary has been provided by artist and/or tour
sources, who verify its accuracy as of the publication time of this story.
changes may occur before tickets go on sale. check with official artist
websites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.]
indigo girls tour dates and tickets

march 2007
22 - verona, ny - turning stone resort & casino showroom
23 - atlantic city, ny - borgata resort & spa
24 - wilmington, de - grand opera house
26 - baltimore, md - rams head live!
27 - norfolk, va - the norva

april 2007
2 - cleveland, oh - tower city amphitheatre
21 - glen allen, va - innsbrook pavilion

may 2007
3 - scranton, pa - scranton cultural center at the masonic temple
5 - new brunswick, nj - coexistence festival
17 - santa fe, nm - santa fe opera house (world peace conference)
19 - long beach, ca - long beach pride
20 - tucson, az - rialto theatre
21 - shiprock, nm - phil l. thomas performing arts center (honor the earth: w/
winona laduke)
22 - flagstaff, az - pine mountain amphitheater (honor the earth: w/ winona
laduke)

june 2007
3 - temecula, ca - pechanga resort and casino
4 - san diego, ca - humphrey's
6 - saratoga, ca - the mountain winery
8 - las vegas, nv - mgm grand (special guest appearance @ "true colors tour")
15 - jacksonville, or - britt pavilion
17 - seattle, wa - woodland park zoo amphitheatre
19 - salt lake city, ut - red butte garden amphitheatre
21 - boulder, co - chautauqua auditorium
23 - toronto, ontario - toronto pride week
24 - apple valley, mn - music in the zoo: outdoor amphitheater
25 - highland park, il - ravinia festival

july 2007
5 - winnipeg, manitoba - winnipeg folk festival
7 - sparks, nv - john ascuaga's nugget

august 2007
17 - lowell, ma - boarding house park
18 - freeport, me - discovery park
19, 20 - brownfield, me - stone mountain arts center
23 - hyannis, ma - cape cod melody tent
24 - cohasset, ma - south shore music circus
26 - vienna, va - wolf trap filene center

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