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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/838
MacDirectory 141
INTERVIEW
more like the piano bars in New York. It
wasn't about being cool or famous, but an
open forum, a community scene.
MD >
You and Emily began collaborating
as teens. How did that begin?
AR > We met as children, but didn't
become friends until I was about 15 and
we were both singing in the school choir.
That sort of cemented it.
MD >
Did you experience an "a-ha!"
moment when you realized music would
be your career?
AR > There was a moment, but it's
mostly based on my relationship with
Emily and the way we sing in harmony,
and how much fun it was and what we
created together.
In college, your friends come and watch
you play, and you hang out and have a
beer afterwards. It was a social thing. The
audience response didn't really matter as
much to me as the communal
environment. We still have that, even in
the larger venues we play because we
take our friends along. The opening band,
or whomever we're performing with, is
usually people we know. It's how we're
wired and what makes us feel good.
MD >
Do you enjoy touring?
AR > Playing the music is great, but it's
tough sleeping on the bus. The older I get
the more I want to be home. Actually, I've
always been that way. I should be a
Gemini because I'm completely split down
the middle. Part of me wants to be a
gypsy and live on the road while the other
half just wants to go plant a garden.
MD >
Tell us about the new CD.
AR > Our producer, Mitchell Froom, who
worked on our last CD,
Despite Our
Differences,
came back and we recorded
this, real quick over three weeks in Atlanta.
A lot of it's live and so exciting. After
recording the band record, we set up a
room with mics and went in as a duo,
rearranged everything for acoustics and did
all the songs live. It's the first time we've
done that, mirroring the record in two
ways, and we're going to release that, too.
There are 10 songs on the new CD and the
acoustic recording will have a few more.
We just played "Fleet of Hope", one of
new songs, on tour and it went well.
MD >
Is it true that you and Emily write
your songs separately?
AR > Yes, and we work out what we want
in the studio. The melody and lyrics are
done, and chord changes, but there
might be a thing where the harmonies
work better if we switch the melody, or if
we decide to add a chorus, an
instrumental or a bridge. It's pretty much
finished, but the arrangement is what
makes it ours. We have a system with
Mitchell now, who fine-tunes what we've
come up with. It's good to have someone
like that—a mentor of sorts.
MD >
How has the Indigo Girls' musical
style changed over the years?
AR > Some things have changed for the
better. Early on everything had to be done
in such a duo way that we might sacrifice
something about the song to have more
harmony in it. Now, the first purpose is
the song. So if it needs less harmony or if
Emily should sing it alone, we try to do
what's best for the song. There's maturity
in musicality now by working with people
who challenge us to keep from falling
back into old ways and habits.
MD >
Have advances in technology
affected your music?
AR > With Pro Tools you can get a record
together really fast and still have the
opportunity to try different ideas. You
don't have to worry about "Do we have
enough tape or enough tracks?" Tape can
take a lot of time. Having said that, tape is
pretty sweet, too. When I work solo, I tend
to work with tape combined with Pro
Tools. It's the best of both worlds.
We used to sit in front of a little cassette
machine, push a button and hope for the
best. They sounded fine. I love old and
new technology. Now, we use Emily's little
Pro Tools rig, adding extra harmonies and
try things first, even drum loops. We can
make demos to give the producer a repre-
sentation of how we're hearing a song
without spending a lot of money or time.
For my solo stuff, I use GarageBand to
arrange the harmonies and it saves time.
Technology is not just about saving time;
I'm not trying to rush. It frees me up to be
more creative without worrying about the
cost of the studio. I can refine the ideas
and they're audible. I'm a fan of the old
analog records and believe you can use
that idea with new technology. Our
producer, Mitchell, believes you just use
your ears and what sounds best. Use a
blend of all the new technologies, without
worrying about what's cool.
MD >
Do you enjoy using any other
Apple products?
AR > Just call us iLife fans. Emily wrote a
song called "Get Out the Map", and I sing
it, "Get Out the Mac." On tour, everyone's
got the Apple thing. We don't talk —
we're on our computers. I've got an iPod
and an iPhone. We used to pull over to a
truck stop to make a phone call, even for
interviews, spilling change into a pay
phone. It's night and day now.
MD >
What's on your iPod?
AR > I listen to everything. I just listened
to 'Z' by My Morning Jacket. I'm going to
buy Regina Spektor's record.
MD >
The Indigo Girls support several
important causes. What are you currently
focusing on?
AR > Our political person is on tour with
us and we're raising money by selling T-
shirts to support Head Count and Project
Vote. We're also working with
disenfranchised people, lower socio-
economic groups and minorities to make
sure they're getting out to vote. Plus,
we've organized with the League of
Women Voters, not only to get people
registered, but also to make sure voting is
fair and accessible.
MD >
Is there a particular touring
experience you remember?
AR > We were in Europe once and I was in
a really bad mood. The monitor board blew
up and all these bad technical things
happened within the same 10 minutes. I
was so mad, and a lot younger with a
temper, and I kicked in the dressing room
door. I had to go to the emergency room
and spend the rest of the tour on crutches.
It was embarrassing and Emily was pissed
at me for being such an impetuous rock
star type. I learned my lesson.
For more on Amy Ray and the Indigo
Girls, including upcoming appearances
and CD releases, please visit: