 The folk rock duo discusses the unlikely role of church in its music and mission
Emily Saliers and Amy Ray, the two singer/songwriters of The Indigo Girls, have devoted their careers to making great folk rock music and speaking out for social, economic, and environmental justice. They began making music together in high school and recently released their 10th studio album, Despite our Differences. Saliers’ sweet melodies have always made a wonderful contrast to Amy Ray’s punk rock edge and gravelly voice. In 2004, Saliers and her father Don co-authored the book “A Song to Sing, A Life to Live: Reflections on Music as Spiritual Practice,” about the sacred and truth-revealing qualities present in music. In 1990, Ray established Daemon Records, a nonprofit label that promotes independently-minded, socially-critical artists like Utah Phillips, John Trudell, and Holland’s punk band, BambixI am curious how you have merged your musical careers with social change work. Emily Saliers: I grew up in a family where my parents were very concerned with social justice issues. I think my parents early on instilled in me a sense that we are part of a larger human community and that we need to alleviate suffering where we can. Amy and I were simpatico from the very beginning. We wanted to do benefits very early on, way before we got signed to a record label. We were just members of our community seeing where we could possibly make change and also play music. Amy Ray: I was brought up in the Methodist Church and, although that’s not really my faith anymore, in the South there was this real tradition of tithing in the community, as part of a faith-based activism. My parents are into the idea of giving back to the community, but they are very conservative. So, I took my activism in a different direction than they maybe would have chosen, although they respect me for it. But, something just appealed to me and I was very involved throughout school in student government and the idea of making change seemed a good thing, at any given moment in my life. Do you feel connected to any particular spiritual tradition? AR: I have a very strong faith in the creator. I am sort of Christian because I was raised so heavily in a Christian environment in the South. It is hard to get Jesus out of your brain and your heart after that long. (Laughter) I embrace a lot of different traditions, it is kind of a mishmash inside of my head. The closest thing to spirituality for me would be more like paganism. I have a really firm belief in a creator and in positive change through activism and humanity. Prayer is important to me, it just has a different form than it did when I was young. The patriarchy of the church is hard for me to deal with and I didn’t have the patience to try to stay in it and change it.
ES: I am still somewhat tied to the Christian tradition I grew up with. My father is a professor of theology and he is a minister and so we grew up in the church. But we were always encouraged to think our own thoughts, even if they wandered away from mom or dad’s beliefs. I was brought up in the tradition, but I also have a very, very hard time with the institution of the church and I think that people getting together and trying to politicize or make it be an organization for their own special interests, or for the sake of power, has perverted the true message of the faith. I believe in a benevolent spirit, a creator, whatever you want to call it. This spirit is all around and in and through us. I believe that this is not our only life, that there is a life of the soul that came before us and carries on after us. As with nature, nothing ever dies, the energy just changes.
Some people involved in politics see religion as patriarchal or hierarchical. And some people who are very involved in spirituality see politics as very corrupt. Of course, there are people who are doing both. AR: I don’t think that the Civil Rights movement would have happened without a spiritual base. I wouldn’t really have an activism without a belief in the creator. It is part and parcel of the same thing. Sometimes you need to be able to reach down into a kind of well for the courage to do all of the things that you are doing. I know some indigenous people who have done work where their life is on the line. They have to have prayer or they wouldn’t have the strength that they need to take those risks. ES: Spiritual communities and activist communities need not be separate. There is much to be learned from both sides. It is really hard to be a lesbian and try to participate in the church. It has been a very personal struggle of mine for a long time. I am very open and vocal about it. Luckily for me, I have mentors within a worship community who are all on my side and who want to see the church change. The music that comes down through the centuries of worship deepens people’s lives. I think it is important to have religious institutions, but the church, or the synagogue, or the mosque, or the temple has to be something that is ever evolving, that continues to question itself and that continues to ask its place in the world. That includes interpreting and reinterpreting scripture so that it is as far away from fundamentalism as you can get. How much faith do you have in making change through the political structure that we have? ES: I believe in the political process, but it is not the only process. There is also the spiritual process. In the Zuni community of the Southwest for example, they wanted to fight this company that was going to come and do mining near their sacred salt lake. This was a huge, very, very rich corporation coming in to encroach on sacred life. And the Zuni won that battle. The mining is not going to happen. It was just a small community of people who were fighting for the right thing, and they are winning. I believe that there is a spiritual hand in those victories. You have to take action and be involved in the political process. And you have to believe in grassroots activism. I have seen the importance of both with my own eyes. The above interview was excerpted from Sounds of Freedom: Musicians on Spirituality and Social Change (2005) by John Malkin with permission of Parallax Press, Berkeley, California, parallax.org . Hear the Indigo Girls interview on The Great Leap Forward on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Free Radio Santa Cruz, 101.1 FM, www.freakradio.org . The Indigo Girls perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 25 at The Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $32/adv, $36/door. 423-1338.
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