----------------------------------------------------------------------
date: sat, 20 sep 2008 16:28:12 +1000
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: times herald record emily interview
hey folks,
here's an emily interview from the times herald record in middletown ny. =
you can read it online at=
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=3d/20080919/entertain/8=
09190319.
cheers,
sherlyn
---begin forwarded article---
the indigo girls play kingston on wednesday
girls' performance leaves listener 'closer to fine'
by sandy tomcho
times herald-record
september 19, 2008 6:00 am
the indigo girls are just as well known for being outspoken as they are for=
their music.
so it comes as no surprise that emily saliers is quite vocal about this=
year's election when the duo's involvement with project vote is mentioned.
"i think it's important for citizens of this country to participate in any=
election, and this is a particularly critical election because we feel like=
eight years of the bush administration has wreaked havoc not only on the=
nation, but on the world," saliers says. "it's an important time for=
change, and i believe it could be a close election, so the only way for=
change to happen is to really participate and get out and vote."
wait. she's just getting started.
"things politically are so insane in this country with the media coverage=
and hopping on every little iota of this-and-that, to try to make sense of=
it all, you almost have to turn the tv off for a while and just study the=
candidates' issues and where they stand on them and then vote that way,"=
saliers continues. "but the public's minds are so easily swayed by the=
things that happen in the press that i think it's impossible to say who's=
gonna win until you actually have people go the polls. ever since smearing=
other politicians has become a successful way to win an election, you just=
never know what's gonna happen. i'm an obama supporter and i feel he's=
gonna win, but the only way he's gonna win is if people actually get out=
there and vote."
saliers and amy ray were in the area back in july when they played=
peekskill, and they're coming back wednesday to play a show at the ulster=
performing arts center in kingston.
"we do like the hudson valley. peekskill was such a sweet little town,"=
saliers says. "when you play big, major cities that you've been to time and=
time again, it's very interesting to go to smaller communities and play=
shows there and walk around and get to experience different parts of the=
country. typically, amy will bring her bike and she'll ride around, and we=
have maybe a window of a couple of hours a day when we can go out and walk=
around or get coffee or grab lunch. through touring, i've gotten to know=
this country very well."
ray and saliers cruised into the spotlight in the late '80s and the=
folk-rock duo instantly made a name for itself. both playing guitar, ray=
and saliers produced the hit,"closer to fine" in 1989, and it won a grammy=
award for best contemporary folk recording the next year. other hits=
include "hammer and a nail" and "galileo." fans of pop star pink may know=
the indigo girls because they sang on her song "dear mr. president."
even though they played here two months ago, don't expect the same show.=
saliers says if you enjoyed their last area performance, it will be a=
little bit of the same with a little something different.
"we have kathleen edwards opening the show. she's a fantastic canadian=
artist, and that'll be something new. we'll have julie wolf with us again.=
she's sort of a new addition," saliers says. "we've played with her before,=
but this year is the first time we've done full-time touring with her, so=
she's going to be playing keyboards and accordion and singing harmony, so=
she's a very nice textural and spiritual addition to the show."
ray may also play a song off her solo album, "prom and stag," but saliers=
says, "it's never planned; it's always pretty spontaneous."
if you go!
what: the indigo girls
where: ulster performing arts center, 601 broadway, kingston
when: 7:30 p.m. wednesday
tickets: $35 and $40
call: 339-6088
--
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indigo girls faq and indigo girls mailing list faq:
http://www.pixelopolis.com/ig
------------------------------
date: sat, 20 sep 2008 16:30:54 +1000
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: daily freeman amy interview
hey folks,
here's an article from the daily freeman in kingston ny. you can read it=
online at=
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3d20128204&brd=3d1769&pag=3d461&=
dept_id=3d81976&rfi=3d6.
cheers,
sherlyn
---begin forwarded article---
09/19/2008
indigo girls bring tunes, thoughts to kingston
by bonnie langston , freeman staff
the indigo girls, a folk-rock duo with a decidedly activist bent, will pour=
that passion into the kingston-based ulster performing arts center=
wednesday when the site reopens after a summer of roof repairs and other=
structural improvements.
the twosome, amy ray and emily saliers, are longtime environmental and=
social-justice activists who have taken on numerous causes, including the=
struggle for justice in the niger delta, indigenous issues, gay rights and=
voter empowerment.
ray said the career she and saliers share provides opportunities for them to=
promote programs for which they feel deeply.
"we have access to audience, we have access to other activists, we have=
infrastructure at our office, a web site, things that can really amplify=
the voices of people who are doing work in the trenches," ray said in a=
telephone interview. "emily and i grew up believing in being engaged in=
your community on some level, so we would be doing it anyway, but we just=
use our work for that.
"sometimes it gets into our song-writing, and i think our song-writing is=
informed socially in some way. sometimes we write songs about specific=
things, but i think more than anything, it just energizes us and makes us=
feel a sense of being in the world and a sense of mission beyond just=
music. that sort of unites us as a group, i think, and as friends."
keyboard and accordion player julie wolf will join the two women as they=
play a "smattering of tunes" from each of their albums, including their=
current "despite our differences." canadian singer-songwriter kathleen=
edwards will open the evening that also will include new tunes from the=
indigo girls' upcoming album planned for february of next year.
the girls will fund the record themselves.
"we got dropped from our major label - which is good," ray said, laughing.
"we finished our contract with epic, then we signed to a label called=
hollywood - sort of in a place of not total commitment, where we felt like=
this may be a good idea or it might not be. i didn't want to do it=
necessarily, but i also felt like it's worth trying. but they just weren't=
right for us, and i think major labels in general really aren't right for=
us now."
mitchell froom, producer of "despite our differences," the girls' 10th=
studio album, not only took on that role for their next recording, he also=
played keyboards for it. because the project was finished with three days=
to spare, and because they are now their own bosses, the women chose to do=
something "special." they put together a double album.
"we went back and we did the whole record again as an acoustic duo," ray=
said, "live, just in a room."
unlike most artists in the music business, the twosome has remained intact=
for years, nearly three decades. in fact, they were a musical item at their=
high school in georgia. since then, their friendship has grown, but ray=
said it was not exceptional interpersonal skills on her part that nurtured=
their longevity.
"emily's pretty patient," ray said. "we give each other a lot of space.=
(although lesbians,) we've never been girlfriends, lovers," she said. "i=
think that's part of it, because we're more like family, and we operate=
like that. when we're home, we don't really see each other very much. we=
have separate lives. we do separate projects, and then we come together in=
our music, and it's refreshing."
ray, for instance, put out her fourth solo release in august on the=
independent label daemon. saliers, who owns a restaurant in atlanta, has=
written a book with her father. she does solo concerts now and then and=
writes music with other people. as the indigo girls, though, saliers and=
her partner write music separately, which provides creative space, ray=
said.
the duo generally performs up to 150 concerts yearly.
"it's what we do for a living," ray said, "so it doesn't drop below that=
usually. ... "we probably would just quit if we didn't like it anymore.=
that's sort of our agreement."
ray said the two love their life, and the mid-hudson area has been a part of=
it. for instance, she and saliers recorded their classic "rights of=
passage" album not only in nashville, but also in bearsville. ray even=
remembers going to the ymca in kingston during their stay.
seven years later, in 1999, the indigo girls album "come on now social" came=
out, including vocals by the late rick danko and instrumentals by garth=
hudson, both of the band, the former woodstock-based back-up band for bob=
dylan. other woodstock connections include drummer jerry marotta and=
bassist sara lee, who both were part of the girls' band for a few years.
more recently, ray and saliers have performed at poughkeepsie-based bardavon=
opera house, which operates in partnership with ulster performing arts=
center.
in addition to wednesday evening's concert, attendees can expect to see=
voter registration forms made available through an organization called=
headcount. "vote" tee-shirts will likely be available, too, with a portion=
of proceeds going to "project vote," an organization that works to ensure=
disenfranchised communities the right to vote.
"i think that it's subtle some of the things that you see that are=
legislatively voted in: voter ids, drivers licenses," ray said. "a lot of=
them are just little ways to kind of chip away at access."
it was during the interview for this story in late august that she learned=
of the republican vice-presidential pick, sarah palin.
"whoa. that's out of the blue," ray said, mimicking untold numbers of=
responses from others. "wow. that's maybe gonna give barack a run for his=
money - uh-oh. did you see barack speak last night? he was amazing....
"i was split between obama and hillary. i really like hillary, and i miss=
her. i miss her presence. i think she's a profound thinker. i love the way=
she thinks about how to solve problems. she's really cool - a brilliant=
lady. but ever since i saw obama speak at the democratic national=
convention in 2004, i've just been thinking about him. that speech was so=
perfect - and beautiful, and i cried. i was just moved. it inspired me ....=
i thought this is the man; this is the person who is going to be a=
visionary for us in some capacity, and low and behold he is."
ray also is not reticent about gay issues, including marriage between=
members of the same sex, an important step, she said, but only one of=
several.
"i think there's a lot of issues beyond gay marriage that need to be worked=
on in gay communities, queer communities," she said, "a lot around=
socio-economic issues and race issues and trans-gender issues, and youth -=
issues around suicide rates."
ray and saliers keep fighting for causes in which they believe. and they=
keep writing and performing, often combining the two. their promotional=
material declares they have "politely declined the opportunity to mellow=
with age."
"i think most activist women tend to get stronger with age rather than=
mellower," ray said. " i think that's kind of a basic thing that i see, and=
i think that's the case with me and emily. i think what's happened is we=
get more confident as time goes on. our song-writing evolves. our=
performance evolves. we get more and more involved in activism and become=
closer to the activists we work with and gain strength from that, and just=
grow up a little bit."
if you go
who: indigo girls
when: wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
where: ulster performing arts center, 601 broadway, kingston
how much: $40, $35 for members
call: box offices at upac (845) 339-6088, or bardavon (845) 473-2072; or=
ticketmaster, (845) 454-3388
online: www.bardavon.org, www.ticketmaster.com
--
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------------------------------
date: sat, 20 sep 2008 07:21:19 -0600
from: carolyn <underdog@earthlink.net>
subject: new songs
hi there,
here is a collection of fan recordings of the songs that presumably will
make up part of the new record (fleet of hope, ghost of the gang, second
time around, and sugar tongue) (~16mb):
http://www.lifeblood.net/newsongs.zip
and my best shot at the lyrics can be found here (i welcome any revisions
anyone has):
http://www.lifeblood.net/songs.html
enjoy : )
carolyn
--
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this command to majordomo@smoe.org: info ig-news
indigo girls faq and indigo girls mailing list faq:
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------------------------------
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