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Here's the interview raco posted and extra text by Hanky Panky
Here's the interview raco posted and extra text by Hanky Panky
April 2004 w Vol. 6 w Issue 3
by: amy carol webb
by: amy carol webb
From the beginning, there was that voice, that fathomless outpouring of nuance and light that permeates the very cells of the body. Behind that voice
we found a woman who gleefully pushes every boundary we know-in music, sensuality, career choices-and lives her life breaking down the fences our society
erects around us. Be still a moment, let her voice take you where she wants you to go, and you awaken wondering if there were ever any fences at all.
It's not that k.d. lang set out to shake things up, rattling the Nashville hierarchy, winning Grammys with her unorthodox personal and musical style, coming out as a lesbian in perhaps the most homophobic branch of the music world and long before it was fashionable (she's a founding sister of lesbian chic); then offering us the brilliant kaleidoscope of her voice through genre after genre, each rendering as exquisitely inspired and extraordinarily forthright as the one before. It's that she understands her responsibility to her gifts, to her fans and to herself, and respects that "sacred bond" too much to bring anything but the truth in her music.
In lang's recordings there is a sense of steadiness, a foundation from which her incomparable voice can thrust and fly. Speaking with her, you encounter a woman who knows who she is and yet is ready to explore, who knows what she wants, and still is prepared to embrace the unknown. lang is centered and focused, and for all the intensity of wrapping a new album and launching a new tour, seems glad to sit and talk for a moment. Her thoughts are as clear as her voice, and while I expected a sincere conversation, I was surprised by her affable humor. There is as much melody in her laughter as in her songs. And that feeling you get that she's singing only for you? It's no illusion.
Amy Carol Webb: First, let me thank you. "A Wonderful World," the Tony Bennett album, gave me quite a trip. I'd listened to it as a musician, but last night I put it on to listen as a journalist, then half-way through, my beloved came home and we spent the rest of the evening dancing on the rug. So thanks for a great evening!
k.d. lang: [Laughing] That's what I'm here for!
It's not that k.d. lang set out to shake things up, rattling the Nashville hierarchy, winning Grammys with her unorthodox personal and musical style, coming out as a lesbian in perhaps the most homophobic branch of the music world and long before it was fashionable (she's a founding sister of lesbian chic); then offering us the brilliant kaleidoscope of her voice through genre after genre, each rendering as exquisitely inspired and extraordinarily forthright as the one before. It's that she understands her responsibility to her gifts, to her fans and to herself, and respects that "sacred bond" too much to bring anything but the truth in her music.
In lang's recordings there is a sense of steadiness, a foundation from which her incomparable voice can thrust and fly. Speaking with her, you encounter a woman who knows who she is and yet is ready to explore, who knows what she wants, and still is prepared to embrace the unknown. lang is centered and focused, and for all the intensity of wrapping a new album and launching a new tour, seems glad to sit and talk for a moment. Her thoughts are as clear as her voice, and while I expected a sincere conversation, I was surprised by her affable humor. There is as much melody in her laughter as in her songs. And that feeling you get that she's singing only for you? It's no illusion.
Amy Carol Webb: First, let me thank you. "A Wonderful World," the Tony Bennett album, gave me quite a trip. I'd listened to it as a musician, but last night I put it on to listen as a journalist, then half-way through, my beloved came home and we spent the rest of the evening dancing on the rug. So thanks for a great evening!
k.d. lang: [Laughing] That's what I'm here for!
You're about to sing for an Olivia Cruise?
Yes!
Yes!
This is their first official "Wedding Cruise," with ceremonies in Massachusetts. Where are you on the whole marriage issue?
Wow-my thoughts are quite complex. Of course, whoever wants to get married should get married and of course, I'm for civil rights. I think as a personal point of view, marriage is a religious concept and I don't really feel it's totally necessary. I think it's really an individual choice. But of course in terms of rights, legal rights and tax benefits and everything, I'm all for that. I think it's good, good that it's pushing the envelope of what society recognizes as a union, but I don't think it's going to make or break the gay movement.
Wow-my thoughts are quite complex. Of course, whoever wants to get married should get married and of course, I'm for civil rights. I think as a personal point of view, marriage is a religious concept and I don't really feel it's totally necessary. I think it's really an individual choice. But of course in terms of rights, legal rights and tax benefits and everything, I'm all for that. I think it's good, good that it's pushing the envelope of what society recognizes as a union, but I don't think it's going to make or break the gay movement.
We will continue to be with whom we want to, and you set that example back when it was an extremely unpopular and more dangerous thing to do ...
Well, you've got to do what you can do.
Well, you've got to do what you can do.
What motivated you to come out in 1992? We've heard on E! True Hollywood Story and such that there was sort of a gang of you-you and Melissa and
Ellen and Rosie-who sat and talked about coming out and then you did. One by one, all of you have. We know how it was then. How is it now? Is it easier?
It was always easy for me basically because I grew up in a family with three out of four being gay, so it was never like a personal difficulty for me. What difficulty I had was convincing the record company and everyone else that it was going to be fine. And to tell you the truth, the "Meat Stinks" controversy was far more difficult to bear than coming out as a lesbian for me. [In 1990, lang appeared in an anti-meat-eating ad sponsored by P.E.T.A.] But that's just me and I realize it's not that way for everyone. Coming out [had] a wonderful result because there's an openness about it and there's no false pretense. No one is guessing whether I'm gay. I mean, it takes away the whole song and dance around it, you know? Which some people like, and that's fine, but for me it's just easier to live straight out in the open.
It was always easy for me basically because I grew up in a family with three out of four being gay, so it was never like a personal difficulty for me. What difficulty I had was convincing the record company and everyone else that it was going to be fine. And to tell you the truth, the "Meat Stinks" controversy was far more difficult to bear than coming out as a lesbian for me. [In 1990, lang appeared in an anti-meat-eating ad sponsored by P.E.T.A.] But that's just me and I realize it's not that way for everyone. Coming out [had] a wonderful result because there's an openness about it and there's no false pretense. No one is guessing whether I'm gay. I mean, it takes away the whole song and dance around it, you know? Which some people like, and that's fine, but for me it's just easier to live straight out in the open.
It brings it back to the music, puts the light back on your work.
Yes, exactly.
Yes, exactly.
I suppose you know there's a whole troupe of women performers in your wake who are out and started their careers out, and took you as an example to
do that. You've done a lot for women in music, not just women's music, but women in music. There are out lesbians playing in rural festivals all over
the country largely because they had your example to start out with.
That's nice to hear, wonderful.
That's nice to hear, wonderful.
Your work continues even when you don't see it. Have you and the gang had the chance to get together again and talk about how it's been since
you've each come out?
No, not really, we haven't. Occasionally we'll see Ellen or Melissa somewhere at a function, but no, we haven't actually had a tea party or anything like that. [We both laugh]
No, not really, we haven't. Occasionally we'll see Ellen or Melissa somewhere at a function, but no, we haven't actually had a tea party or anything like that. [We both laugh]
Well, now you could have a wedding reception for Rosie and Kelly.
Exactly!
Exactly!
What draws you to a song? What makes you want to make it part of your life, part of your repertoire?
I'm not sure I'm 100 percent conscious of the answer. I think it's a real emotional response. I think it's something that represents me emotionally somehow or expresses some emotion I want to express. I think the melody has be something I can feel like a wave that I can surf, so to speak. There has to be some connection between my character and my personality.
I'm not sure I'm 100 percent conscious of the answer. I think it's a real emotional response. I think it's something that represents me emotionally somehow or expresses some emotion I want to express. I think the melody has be something I can feel like a wave that I can surf, so to speak. There has to be some connection between my character and my personality.
Putting it that way, how much difference is there between how you live on stage and you live outside the spotlight? How much theater is involved in your
performance?
As I get older, less and less. There never was that much of a difference, although I think that on stage you're putting your most extroverted self out there in terms of the interaction with the audience. But I think as I get older and I'm more aware of who I am and more comfortable with who I am in my music. I try to narrow the gap between the stage and my life.
As I get older, less and less. There never was that much of a difference, although I think that on stage you're putting your most extroverted self out there in terms of the interaction with the audience. But I think as I get older and I'm more aware of who I am and more comfortable with who I am in my music. I try to narrow the gap between the stage and my life.
You create quite a relationship with your audience. How do you get that intimacy in so large a venue?
It's the foundation of my spiritual beliefs. I have a sense of equanimity and I really feel like it's inseparable-everyone is inseparable as all one living-breathing organism. It's an openness and a desire to make a connection with everyone in the audience, regardless of why they're there. [Chuckles] One time there was this 16-year-old boy sitting right in the front row, and he was just so pissed off. [We laugh] I could tell he was there because his parents had drug him to the show, and I just joked with him. You know, it's really important to me that you look for the commonalties between people and find something to connect with people rather than look for the differences.
It's the foundation of my spiritual beliefs. I have a sense of equanimity and I really feel like it's inseparable-everyone is inseparable as all one living-breathing organism. It's an openness and a desire to make a connection with everyone in the audience, regardless of why they're there. [Chuckles] One time there was this 16-year-old boy sitting right in the front row, and he was just so pissed off. [We laugh] I could tell he was there because his parents had drug him to the show, and I just joked with him. You know, it's really important to me that you look for the commonalties between people and find something to connect with people rather than look for the differences.
There's something that happens in a room with people and music that is very difficult to duplicate in the studio. How do you get that intimacy in
that sterile environment?
Well, I think that I'm learning how to do that by treating the studio as live performance and not counting on overdubs, not counting on several takes, but just setting the studio up as a performance space and getting the performance. Technology has taken away the actual meaning of music, which is communication, and made it more like a craft. You know the Tony record, for example, is all live. It's done on stage with microphones. That's why it sounds so intimate because that's what it is. It's us playing. And the new record I just made is made the same way. That's why live is so good for me, because it's relying on the moment and not relying on the mind to make it better. It's relying on your instincts, trusting the moment. It's about being totally present; it's not about thinking about what can make it better.
And what's you new record called?
Well, I think that I'm learning how to do that by treating the studio as live performance and not counting on overdubs, not counting on several takes, but just setting the studio up as a performance space and getting the performance. Technology has taken away the actual meaning of music, which is communication, and made it more like a craft. You know the Tony record, for example, is all live. It's done on stage with microphones. That's why it sounds so intimate because that's what it is. It's us playing. And the new record I just made is made the same way. That's why live is so good for me, because it's relying on the moment and not relying on the mind to make it better. It's relying on your instincts, trusting the moment. It's about being totally present; it's not about thinking about what can make it better.
And what's you new record called?
"I can't tell you yet!"
Oh shoot! [k.d. laughs] Thought I might get away with it? When's it coming out?
"I don't know yet! [We both laugh] I really don't know yet. I'd be happy to tell you because I'd like to promote it, but I don't
know. Sometime before the end of the year."
We can't wait!
"It's good! It's really really, really good!"
Well no doubt!
"I really think it's one of the best I've done."
Is there any more you can tell us about it, or is that sacred ground we must not tread upon just yet?
"It's kind of sacred ground. Everything's up in the air with it in terms of its release date, so I really want to wait "til we've
figured everything out."
Owen Bradley said that as a singer, you are anything you want to be.
"Yeah, and that's kind of a detriment sometimes."
How so?
"Well, because I'm kind of a nomad. Kind of un non-monogamous when it comes to genre. {laughs}"
That's a great way to put it!
"Yeah, so some work for me and some don't work for me. I think the problem is I try so many different styles all the time which I love, and I love
having the freedom to do that, but I think it's made my career difficult; it's certainly made marketing me difficult. But in the same breath, it has
kept me alive and kept me inspired and it's honest. It's what I do and who I am."
That's one think I'd say is a real source of power in your work. Whatever you're signing, whatever genre you're singing in, it is honest.
It's authentic. You do embody all of those things. Is there something you haven't tried yet that you want to do?
"Oh yes, there's probably handfuls of stuff I haven't tried that I want to do. But I'm not necessarily even aware of what they are because I
really just react to the flow of my life. All of a sudden I'll get fixated or obsessed with a certain style and I'll have to do that. It's really
just a reaction to life."
We'll wait for the new record and see, now won't we! Do you have a favorite song to play live? Being a musician, I know there are some you get weary
of, and then there's one that comes around you're never ever tired of it.
"Actually, it happens every tour. One sort of sifts to the top and it could be one that you've played for 20 years. So, it changes all the time,
tour by tour. I would say Wash Me Clean is definately one."
That's one of my favorites. Who were your teachers?
"Oh man, everyone is my teacher! All my enemies, all my fears, my mother, my dog, my cat, my fish, my birds, my lovers, my exlovers. [laughs] Really,
they're all teachers. My ego, my lack of self-confidence, my grey hair. Yep, even that's a teacher!"
Lack of self confidence? Hard to imagine.
"Oh, yeah I know it is, isn't it? But we all suffer."
Blake Edwards just thanked his foes when he won his lifetime achievement Oscar...
"Oh, that's beautiful!"
...saying it was resistance that made him as much who he is, if not more so.
"Exactly, that is beautiful."
Whose work outside of music has affected you - a historical figure in art, in history, in social consciousness, a philosophy that you have followed-that you
try to live by?
"I'm a Buddhist, so definitely Buddha. And anyone with compassion and benefiting the world. It wouldn't be Donald Trump or Ashcroft."
You're Fired!
[We both laugh heartily]
Do you have a biggest fear?
"My biggest fear is that I would wast my life, that I wouldn't make any inroads to benefiting anyone, whether through my music or my personal life.
Just squandering your life, your precious life, away. That would be a regret."
I think you can go ahead and dismiss that one.
"Oh, but I've still got at least 40 years to go, touch wood! So, I could get very lazy. I have a tendency to be very lazy."
What do you see yourself doing or being in 40 years?
"Pretty much the same, I think. Probably a bit more of a practitioner in terms of my Buddhist practice. Keep singing."
How long have you been Buddhist?
"I've been Buddhist all my life. I've been practicing with a particular teacher for three years."
Were you reared that way?
"No, reared Christian."
And in a family where three out of four were gay, how did that work?
"It worked well. I was the first one out. I'm the youngest, so, my siblings, I don't know how happy there were about that, but it was great!
I'm very close to my sister who is five years older than me. It's wondeful that I grew up in a very supportive very natural gay environment. My
mother is extremely supportive now. I think what they did was they raised us with the confidence to be ourselves which is the absolute most precious gift a
parent can give you."
The closes thing to unconditional love.
"Yep, definitely."
Have you heard about the website dearmary.com?
[laughing] "Oh about Mary Cheney!"
What's up with that? What do you think about it?
"Who knows what Mary Cheney feels about gay marriage? Maybe she doesn;'t believe in it. The thing is it's a very very very gray line between
spirituality and politics, you know. And I really believe the thing that would serve the gay community the best is to celebrate who you are, to not really
expect to change the world in a day, but to be completely confident and happy with who you are. That is the deepest weapon. I mean, when you have
contentment, no one can change that. NO one can threaten it. When you're content in who you are, no one can take that. When we're so concerned with
what's outside and how they view us, it weakens us."
You keep doing great things for our community just by being who you are. And now you're going to go sing for a whole boatload of blissed out women!
"[We laugh loudly] A boatload of weddin'- bell lesbians! I'm excited! It's gonna be great! I want everyone to dress up really, really nice,
have martinis and we're gonna have a great, great night!"
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