lifeblood: listlogs: 2009v11n018-news

ig-news-digest         sunday, march 29 2009         volume 11 : number 018

today's subjects:
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  [ig-news] bay area reporter amy interview  [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopol]

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date: sun, 29 mar 2009 10:33:42 +1100
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: [ig-news] bay area reporter amy interview

hey folks,

here's an amy interview from the bay area reporter.  you can read it online at
http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=music&article=595

cheers,
sherlyn

- ---begin forwarded article---
bay area reporter
copyright ) 2006 bay area reporter, a division of benro enterprises, inc.

interview with an indigo girl
by gregg shapiro

indigo girls fans who have been waiting longer than usual from the out duo of amy ray and emily saliers will find their patience rewarded with not one but two cds on the band's latest, poseidon and the bitter bug (ig recordings/vanguard). the first release on their very own imprint, poseidon and the bitter bug consists of a band disc and an acoustic disc, with the song order different on each. as usual, ray and saliers both wrote songs for album, and they alternate performing each other's compositions. i spoke with emily shortly before the release of the album.

gregg shapiro: do you think there is any significance that this new disc is being released 20 years after your epic debut?

emily saliers: i think that's just the timing, really. our careers have had a sort of mysterious bent. amy and i have known each other since elementary school. we ended up in high school chorus together as pals, then began playing together. then we both transferred back to the same university in atlanta without telling the other one. it's kind of like we were destined to share some sort of path. it's come full circle to independence at a time when independence is the best way to get your music out there.   i think the 20 years is cool, but you couldn't have traced it and made it happen if you'd planned it out.

poseidon and the bitter bug is a double-disc set, with band and acoustic discs. was that always the intention?

it was an idea that the producer, mitchell froom, had that struck us as a very good idea from the beginning. first of all, we're a bar band, an acoustic duo. we travel and tour acoustically a lot. a good number of our fans like it that way. also, i think it's interesting for people who want to hear the music both with a rhythm section or produced with other instruments and arrangements, or just the way it is when amy and i first learn the songs in rehearsal.

how did you come up with the title?

again, all credit goes to mitchell froom. we were sitting around in my house one day, jamming on the songs together. he said, "you should call the record poseidon and the bitter bug, and he looked like he was making a joke. and we all laughed. but then as time went on, the title stuck. it's got a certain whimsy to it that you can't exactly put your finger on, that best expressed what was going on with the record.

but there's also a sadness to it.

my songs are a bit world-weary on this record, i think. it was my state of mind when i was writing. we were still in the throes of the bush administration. i mean, how fucking depressing is that? it was hard to have hope politically. all my friends broke up. i came out of a long-term relationship, so there was a lot of sadness. life is great, but the longer you live, the more painful things you have to experience.

another out performer, missy higgins, can be heard on a couple of tracks. how did that come about?

mitchell froom again! he produced her latest record. he was like, "missy's in town, wouldn't it be great if she came out?" we hadn't even heard her before, to be honest. he brought in her cd and played us some tracks, and we were like, "oh my god!" she has an incredible voice and a great sensibility. then we ended up touring with her in the states. she came over from australia, where she's massive, and with all the humility in the world opened some shows for us, and blew everybody away. so that's a really good connection to have made.

03/26/2009

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