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Amy Ray,
Songwriting, 
Identifying &
Her Music Path

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When I was in college, a friend of mine turned me onto listening to the Indigo Girls and from their first hit song, "Closer to Fine," I was hooked. The songs were a catchy blend of Americana/Folk. The lyrics hit me over the head, and holy harmonies! These women knew how to tell a story. I listened to their songs voraciously. "Hammer & Nail," "Southland in the Springtime," and then some. I had a long-distance relationship with someone, so whenever we'd part I'd go listen to "Ghost" in my car. These two had me traveling in my head. Then came "Galileo," and "Power of Two," always eclectic, thought-provoking songs. This was multidimensional music.

I also dug the live version of "Land of Canaan," written by Amy, and performed by the Indigo Girls. It was so fiery, and could easily have been considered Rock. Yet that is how Amy's writing is. From her six albums and three live albums, you easily come to appreciate her various influences, and how she is unafraid to intersperse multiple genres into an album.

Amy Ray began her music journey in High School in Atlanta, Georgia, where she and Emily Saliers formed the duo that would become the Indigo Girls. It all started in 1981 with a basement tape called “Tuesday's Children” which garnered them a deal with Epic Records in 1988, a Grammy in 1990. The Indigo Girls are one of the most successful folk duos in history. Over a thirty-five-year career, sixteen studio albums (seven gold, four platinum, one double platinum) they've sold over 15 million records, and built a dedicated  following.

As activists, the Indigo Girls have supported LGBTQ+ rights to voter registration, and co-found an environmental justice organization, Honor the Earth with Winona LaDuke in 1993. The mission is to create awareness and the support of Native American environmental issues, and the tools are: Music, the Arts, and the wisdom of those communities, along with the Media.

Amy's own activism spans various societal and environmental causes like: gay rights, low-powered broadcasting, women's rights, indigenous struggles, gun control, environmental protection, the anti-death penalty, and then some. She is not just playing to an audience, she is a part of us. Amy understands the legacy she will leave behind for her daughter and how healthy collective consciousness is essential for our world.

 

She has created 6 solo albums, and 3 live albums. They are: the 2001 Southern/Punk Rock styled album (featuring the Butchies, and Joan Jett) called Stag.  Her second album was Prom in 2005. Both Stag and Prom addressed homophobia. By 2006, she released Live From NashvilleHer fourth solo album was Didn't It Feel Kinder, utilizing her melodic depth. In 2010 she recorded MVP LiveBy 2012 Lung of Love was an Indie Rock approach. There's a great version of her performing "Let It Ring" live in 2013, as she plays mandolin and belts it out, inspiring and soulful. 

Amy rested in her Country roots by 2014, Justin Vernon appearing on her album, Goodnight Tender. The album fused Folk, Bluegrass, Gospel, and Southern Rock together. Amy's Americana roots re-emerged on Holler in 2018.

Her recent singles are, "Muscadine," and "Chuck Will's Widow."

Currently the Indigo Girls are on tour, following their latest album, Look Long, with introspective songs about how our past can play on us in the here and now. The album was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, a state-of-the-art recording studio tucked into the English countryside outside the city of Bath.

Amy Ray lives in a small town in Georgia with her longtime partner, Carrie, and their daughter, Ozzilyne. It was great being able to catch some time with her.

By: Abbe Davis, August, 2021

AD: How's the tour going?

AR: It's going well. We had a show cancelled cause there was a fire out here in Utah and Colorado. It's bad out here. Bad

in different places for different reasons. But other than that, it's good. We're having a good time playing and everybody's wearing masks. We're just trying to keep the audience safe.

 

AD: Everybody either stays in and we don't do anything at all, or we do it safely to be together. 

AR:  I did three solo shows right before I went out to do these shows with the Indigo Girls, and they were more outdoor, club sort of environments. And that's easier cause it's outside, smaller crowds, so that was pretty fun. It's almost like, if you're doing smaller stuff it's easier now than the bigger stuff, ya know?

 

AD: Yeah. Are you able to even do Meet 'n Greets for now?

AR: No, we just can't, but ya know, normally, we say hey to people after the show, or we get to talk to them when we're loading up the van and stuff, and ya start talking. It's for everybody, cause if we can keep it safe and not have anything weird happen, we can keep doing the shows.

AD: I love  your latest single, "Muscadine," I 've been listening to that.  And I love the dogs in the video, are those your rescue dogs? 

 

AR: That was S.O.Z.O. They live in my town in Dahlonega, and they do a lot of videos for me. They just did "Chuck Will's Widow." My partner, Carrie, taught them. 

AD: That's why I ask, 'cause I know she does that."

 

AR: We don't do a lot of stuff together, 'cause it kind of keeps everything better. But she was their professor, 'cause she started the film program at a school in the town where we live. Now she just writes scripts. But she started the film program, and they were two of her students. Then they went on to form that company. Their camera work is really good.

AD: OMG, I love it! feel like I'm right there in the woods with you, it's a great piece. The camera angles are great. Is that a day in the life for you, when you write?

 

AR: That was a day in the life for sure. They asked me, "What do usually do?" So, I feed the dogs, we go on a walk or two, and then I write for part of the day. Yet, when my child is there, it is also interrupted. But I didn't want her to be in it though, so we just did a day like, if I was by myself, what would I do? I spend a lot of time outside. I cook.

AD: Oh, you enjoy cooking! That's cool.

 

AR: I'm not good at it.

 

AD: Who said that to you, anyone?

 

AR: I know I'm not. (laughing

AD: I'm with someone who thinks he's amazing at it, and ya know. Sometimes I have to say, "Yeah, no, it's eh, not good."

AR: (laughing) 

AD: (laughing) I don't wanna hurt his pride, but..

AR: Well, yeah, if someone's feeding you, ya don't wanna complain no matter what. (laughing

 

AD: (laughing) So do you get breaks on the tour? Do you write in between or? I hear you are weeks on, weeks off.

AR: Yeah, ya know, on the breaks I'm trying to spend time with Ozi and Carrie. I write at home, but it's more in hour long increments late at night, or two hours. I'll stay up til 2, I'll just kind of do my thing, I'll work out, I'll write, whatever. But on the road I write a lot. My solo band is gonna record in December. We got our little week set up in Nashville and we have some Air BnBs ready. So I'm working on writing for that. On my breaks I spend out with with Ozi and Carrie. 

 

AD: Does Ozi like being on the tour?

AR: She does but, cause she's not vaccinated, and she's seven, she can't go out much yet.

AD: I hear ya, our twins aren't either.

AR:. I know, isn't that a bummer? I'm definitely gonna take her.

AD: Who knows when they will do it.

AR: I've heard they may be ready in Jan. Yet they are redoing a study. My sister's an infectious disease specialist, so I've gotta go check with her.

 

AD: That's good to have someone in the family right now. Or maybe not, does it freak you out to hear too much?

AR: No, no no it's great cause I can ask her, "When should the band test?" This is her wheelhouse, so it's a good thing to have.

 

AD: I wanna go back, I'm a big fan for years now, I love "History of Us," "Land of Canaan,"

 

AR: Oh, wow!

 

AD: "Southland in the Springtime," The lyrics, "When God made me born a yankee, he was teasing."

I have to ask you, so... in the video of "Closer to Fine," you're dancing some two-step, is that your dancing style?

AR: (laughing) I don't know what I'm doing.

AD: No, it's like James Taylor, you're bringing it back from someplace, it looks so natural. Like, if I put you in a Country 'n Western Bar, you were two-stepping, do you realize that?

AR: That's probably the only dancing I can do (laughing), Country and Western.

 

AD: Well you grew up around that, right?

AR: I mean, I grew up in a suburb of Georgia,  where there was a mixture of classic Rock, Country and Folk, For me, I discovered Punk Rock in college and I was like, "I like this."

 

AD: In the "Closer to Fine" video by the stairs you step down, and then you both just start cracking up, do you remember that?

AR: Yeah, I tripped.(laughing

AD: (laughing) It's awesome. (I stop laughing) First of all, were you okay, before I start laughing?

AR: I was fine. I'm just known as bein' a little bit klutzy, so Emily thought it was really funny (laughing)

AD: Yes. I agree with Emily, it's hilarious, but it's funny because you can dance. You dance so well doing some two-step, it's so natural, like someone just pulled you from anywhere, and you can just wake up out of a sleep and do some two step.

AR: (laughing)

 

AD: And it's classic, captured on film. It's so natural.

 

AR: Yeah, I'm just bein a total klutz.

AD: But it made it better as a music video. Ya know when you see the outtakes? That real, human energy. Well, the song is about going deep and that happens, so, I thought I saw that. So it did really happen!

 

AR: It's totally true. We were young and reckless, so they captured it. (laughing)

AD: Well, it's something you can look back on, that's cool. Now, you're main influences, from Country and Western, to Rock, I wanna know about that. Growing up, who grabbed you in Music, who was mesmerizing to you?

AR: The most mesmerizing artist for me when I was really young, was Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young. This was when I was super young. Also, Elton John. 

AD: I hung out listening to her with Stone Ponies, was that who you listened to a lot?

AR: Yeah, yeah, cause I had an older sister, who's five years older than me.  So I just raided her vinyl collection. We'd listen to all of her records, and it was stuff from the Woodstock Era to Country music. 'Cause Ronstadt was like that sort of movement of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Kind of like Country Folk.

 

Then, when I discovered Dire Straits and the Pretenders, and Patty Smith and the Clash, more of the left-of-center stuff, Husker Du, the songwriting of Paul Westerberg and Patty Smith, that kind of music kind of validated what was in my soul. I was kind of folky and into Southern Rock. I loved the Almann Brothers, I mean, I LOVED the Almann Brothers, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Then, when I discovered that other stuff,  I was like, "OK." Fugazzi,  the Punk movement, and sort of riot girl and all of that. That's when I kind of could connect the different parts of myself and make it all make sense.

 

Emily got into Hip Hop pretty early on, and so I started learning from her and listening to stuff that she was listening to. I had a friend, the drummer, Kate Shellenbach, who played with the Beastie Boys early on, and we played together later in life. She kind of turned me onto some stuff. You know how it is, there's so much good music from every genre.

 

AD: Did your parents have a lot of Country music?

AR: No, my parents were listening to Burt Bacharach.

 

AD: (laughing) Wow! Didn't expect that.

AR: That's still one of my favorite writers of all time.

AD: Oh yeah, what a great songwriter.

AR: I listened to Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, stuff like that. Then, when I got into college I started listening to field albums, like old albums of the Carter Family and things like that. 'Cause to me, there was a real cross pollination in that idea of Country and Folk being a community. But  really, when I started writing Country music with this band and everything, I had moved up to a town that I had lived in about thirty years before, Dahlonega. It's where I went to Summer camp as a kid. 

AD: Is that the camp that was a Bible study camp?

AR: Yeah. I had always wanted to live up there, and there are a lot of Country and Bluegrass players up there. It's kind of in the soil. More of that kind of music started coming out of me. I was probably influenced by my surroundings. A lot of the church camp stuff when I was really young, where you take your guitar and play at church camp, a lot of those songs are rooted in Country, ya know? Really simple to play, they're Camptown music. I started writing this Country stuff. It's just kind of what comes out of me. I mean, even in Indigo Girls, a lot of my stuff tends to be more of Americana. It's either in that vein, or it's more of a Rock vein. 

AD: On some of your music a while back, like on "Galilea," there are these Native American rhythms that you incorporate, that are just really beautiful. Tell me about that.

AR: That's probably the influence of our drummers. (laughing)

 

AD: (laughing

AR: We've had a lot of great drummers, honestly. We had Jerry Moratta play drums with us, we had  Matt Chamberlain, Brady Blake, Kenny Aronoff, I mean, the list is... Blair Cunningham, We've had so many good drummers. They influence our rhythms, cause after you play with them for a while. Ya know, you might write a song in one way, and then the drummer gets ahold of it and it shifts it, and gives it that slight thing that it needed to make it more special.

 

AD: It's great to stay receptive and enjoy other musicians coming in and..

AR: Well, listen, if you're playing with someone like Jerry Moratta (laughing)

AD: (laughing) Yeah, there's a trust level in what they've done, I hear what you're saying. 

 

AR: Yeah, Jerry early on, he played that "Galileo" rhythm and he made the song. He made that song. He wasn't just a drummer, he could play a Latin feel, and could play lots of different instruments. He was musical to the bone.

AD: You play piano, right?

 

AR: Emily plays better than I do, I fiddle around. She's actually a really good piano player.

AD: OK, I wanna get to "Let It Ring," I love when you do the live version of "Let It Ring," I love it! And how you sing it. It just comes flying out of you like the spirit! It's great. Love that spirit!

AR: (laughing) Well thanks.

AD: When did you first start playing mandolin?

 

AR: Ya know, the first time I played that was a song of Emily's called, "Get Out the Map," I think it came out in the 90's.

AD: Yeah, years ago. I remember it. (starts singing it) "Get out the Map!"

 

AR: Yeah, good. Good singer.

AD: I'm working on my tunes, recording, thanks.

AR: Ah there ya go. A friend of mine sold me this used mandolin. I started messing around with it and decided to play it on that song. I had hear some field recordings of  people playing little instruments. I just felt like, "This is a good instrument, I just wanna whack on it." I'm not like a Bluegrass player who can do all those really cool things and fingerings like that. I never really learned how to do that, I kind of work on it sometimes. But what I really like to do is just strum on it real hard.

AR:.(laughing) "Well, hell I can do my rhythm and it's gonna be good!" That's cool.

AR: Yeah I m gonna just play rhythm, I'm gonna make the best of it.

AD: As long as it works and the message flies out. Both of you with your solo careers, it's just great.

It's great how much both of you write, and how much you've written and how many albums you've done. It shows the fire in it all. 

You both went to Bible camp and you both went to church. Were your families alright about it when you came out?

AR: Emily's family was totally alright. Her dad is a theologian, and a progressive more towards the left, so I think it was harder for Emily as a person herself to come out, than for her family to take it. For me, it was really hard at the beginning for a long time. My family, both parents, were religious but they came around. It was hard won, they kind of went into their community, talked to their minister, read books. My mom has really focused on it as a way to make her faith align with full acceptance and stuff, and she's totally there. My dad passed about seven years ago, but before he died, he was really accepting. It probably took ten years of, I mean, I think it was hard on them, too. I have two sisters, we're all three gay, which is a lot for parents. 

AD: But did that lend you each support of one another.

AR: It does now, but at first it didn't because we were so scared as individuals, and we came out at different times. So we didn't really support each other because we were all scared about it. It was one of those things where ya don't talk about it that much.

AD: What is one of the biggest fears that you had, that you'd be shunned because of religious reasons? What were your fears?

AR: I was less worried about being shunned, and more worried about what was wrong with me. I mean, when I first fell in love with a woman in High School I did not even know what it was called. I mean, this was "81, '82, and so I was more like, "Love is pure, I love this person. " I didn't start down that path of self-hate and internalized homophobia for a couple of years. Love was just pure to me. Then,  I started realizing that it was a perversion to some people and there was a lot of trouble about it. So I kind of backtracked and was on the shame spiral like, "Something's wrong with me." 

AD: LGBTQA has come such a long way. What was the age where you could say, "I am at this stage and ya know what? Everyone's just gonna have to deal with it, I love who I am and I love where I am." When did that happen for you?

 

AR: It happened for me pretty early, probably when I was 24 or so. Yet, it's not ever settled completely. I mean, you can say that, but deep inside you there's a kernel of self-hate. 

AD: Do you think that's the religious aspect of things that were ingrained growing up maybe?

AR: You know, ingrained by society, ingrained by parents rejecting you at first. And mostly friends. I mean, my parent's friends rejected them. It was hard on them, you know? I think it's just ingrained from the church, ingrained from society, ingrained from  somthing that you don't even know. And so you work your whole life to get to that place where you are 100% OK. It takes a lot longer than you think cause you can say it. I could say it when I was 24, I could be completely outspoken about it, but still I knew inside, you can just feel it, it's like internalized racism. You know it's in there, it's like from High School or something. (laughing

 

AD: It's ironic because love is free. But the labels given are the stress and all that we put onto it. The framework is love. Society doesn't understand sometimes, that it should just be that. 

AR: Yeah, if I could have just been in a bubble in High School and could've stayed in that happy place, "this is love," but the minute that people started talking about it, her parents forbid her to see me, and there was a lot of hoopla. Then it starts dawning on you, "Wow, people have a problem with this." I think people just get scared of what they don't know.

AD: Or maybe scared about things inside of themselves that they haven't looked at with their own sexuality, possibly, too. There are so many layers to it. I'm just glad to see that people are representing themselves more and shifting the paradigm.

AR: It's very hard for people who are super Christian, super Conservative Christian that have a certain read on the Bible. Because, if one thing falls apart with that, and is different from what their cosmos is, it makes them feel like all the rest of it's gonna fall apart, too. And so you have to say to them, "You can still have the strong faith, and you can still have the things that you believe, in Jesus, and all the Christian concepts. Just because it's okay to be gay, does not mean that you can't have this other stuff." And I think that that's hard for people. I think people that have a really strong faith that is more based on a Conservative reading of the Bible, don't want the whole thing to fall apart. They're taught their whole lives that, if you take out one brick of this wall, the whole thing's gonna fall down, so they can't let anything mess with their belief system.

AD: I wish that more people were able to have the perspective that you have, where you can at least listen. That's a gift, cause it's not easy to do. It's just not easy to do.

AR: Yeah, well it's easy for me because I knew it, I was there. I was an Anti-Abortion, Right Wing Christian faith. 

AD: Oh I didn't know that. So you know the other side of it. You know where they're coming from.

AR: I was very much for the underdog and all about peace and love, but when it came to abortion, I was Pro Life all the way, cause I had had youth ministers who showed us those awful movies like,"The Silent Scream," about abortion, so I got brainwashed. I get why people hang on, I mean, it's powerful.

AD: I think everybody wants a formula,"If I do XYZ and it has been written here, then it's gonna make this happen." Then in the final hour, you find out it really is about love.

AR: That's right, that's right.

AD: When you and Emily played venues, playing your music around, give me the story you remember, where you were like, "Are you kidding me?" I imagine you had a bunch of things go on. How did you handle those instances?

AR: And people would say things ya mean?

AD: Yeah, homophobic behavior.

AR: Yeah, it was just part, jeez, it was part of the package.  (laughing)

AD: How did you handle it? Could you get through a show? Did people at least listen to the glory of your music?

AR: See, we got lucky though because, I mean,  we were in High School when we started, so we didn't really even know what was going on with ourselves, much less what the audience was thinking. We were just playing  songwriter nights, and little talent shows, and open mics. Then, we had a standing gig, where we got our parent's permission, and we'd play there once a week. We'd just play cover songs and some original stuff. But we went away to school at Emory University in Atlanta. So that was like '84 and '85 and we had an audience that was made up of a lot of people from school. They weren't thinking about that. We were in college, and we were drinking beer and playing songs. It wasn't the first thing people thought of, and so we were really lucky because our audience to start with was based in our community anyway, and then they started growing.

 

The problems that we had were more the promoters and radio people, and club owners. They would sometimes say things, and treat us badly. It actually was never our audience.  Sometimes we'd play somewhere where people didn't know who we were, and there would be remarks and comments. Yet there would usually be enough people in the audience that knew us, and they would take up for us. I mean, I had friends that would start fights, so, I'm just saying.

AD: (laughing) Yeah! Those are good friends.

AR: (laughing) I mean, we had a lot of people on our side very early on. It was our college friends who were on our side. So honestly, it was just the industry folks that were hard.

 

AD: Did you ever feel like, "Well, you know, I can't even do anything because these are the people making it happen for us." That had to be tough, no?

AR: I mean, sometimes, if you were playing at a club and a sound person was making comments, or you overheard them joking with the bar tender about gay people or something. Then, you're afraid to say something at first because they're running your sound, or whether their gonna pay you at the end of the night. Sometimes I would wait, until after we got paid, after the night was over, I would say something usually. I'd be like, "That's not cool, we're gay, and this is our audience." And I guess I knew that if I said something, we might not get a gig again, so I was careful. At first, it was hard to be outspoken, because I'd be worried about that.

 

Later on, I just didn't care anymore at some point. I guess, maybe twenty years ago, when Emily and I were already very successful. When was playing solo, if I would go in someplace, and the bar tender was making jokes, I would say something right then and there,  because I had Indigo Girls to fall back on. (laughing) so it was easier to be outspoken.

AD: One could say, well you paid your dues, and you've earned your right, and this shouldn't be happening anyway, so regardless...

AR: Yeah, you know my biggest problem was I didn't wanna start a fight, so I had to hold my temper sometimes, cause I could have a temper. I think early on we had to weigh things out, but it was really important to us to be honest about who we were, but we did have a certain amount of self-hate and homophobia, and we didn't wanna alienate parts of our audience, and we didn't wanna piss off club owners. We were probably trying to be diplomatic sometimes, just  to protect ourselves. Also, when you're in a weird city that you've never been to  before, and you're playing in front of a lot of people you don't know.... Also, the club owner is not totally on your side,  and may be a little threatening. At some point there's a survival issue, cause it's in the 80's.

 

AD: That's why I ask you, because that time period was not how it is now.

 

AR: Some of it wasn't because we were even gay, some of it was because we were women. I mean, I'll be honest with you. The sexuality part of it was the least of it.

AD: I was gonna mention that, 'cause back then it was "chick singer." I hear you. 

AR: I remember in Portland, Maine. The place is not even open anymore. Some dude was not gonna even pay us. I went to his office, and he was just being a complete jerk. And he wouldn't have done that if I was a guy. He even had like, a Billy Club and held it in his hand, and he was whacking his hand with it. It was the weirdest thing, and it scared me, but I stood my ground. It was only like $50 bucks, but we didn't have the gas money, it was like '86 or something. I was like, "We did what we were supposed to do, here's the contract, and you owe us $50,  and I'm not leaving until you pay us." But I was scared. 'Cause I was like, "He wouldn't have done this to a guy."

AD: Well I mean, the Billy Club didn't help.

AR: That's why he had it. Back in the 80's some of the promoters of clubs and stuff, they were so corrupt. There were so many drugs and cocaine. 

AD: So you were seeing a lot of that when both of you were traveling around?

AR: Oh yeah. I mean people tried to pay you in drugs.(laughing) I mean, it was like...

AD: Really?! I didn't know it was that way on the club scene, but I guess that makes sense.

AR: Yeah, in Atlanta, I had a guy try to pay me with cocaine. And I was like, "We don't do cocaine (laughing) so you have to give me the money." 

AD: (laughing

AR: I'll take the buyout but I won't take the drugs.

AD: Yeah. Now, I've heard you say in interviews, that you felt that back then your songwriting had to be more developed. Yet, do you think  that in younger years there is more of an abandonment, this fiery passion, where raw songs fly out of us? Where maybe we don't analyze the crafting so much, so It's more unabashed? Do you think there's a difference that can be good when we are younger with songwriting?

AR: I guess the way I wanna try to look at it is, I wanna have the same passion and the ability to develop the craft more, so that the passion is there and it's coming out, but it's gotta be a better song. I have the same passion. There's some stuff earlier on, where I listen and cringe, not at the passion, but that the song could have been better. 

AD: Now that you are a mom, has that changed your songwriting? Your daughter, how old is she? She's 8 now?

AR: She's 7, Emily's kid is 8.

AD: Has it changed you, not only in your songwriting, how about in your causes?

AR: It doesn't change any of our activism 'cause we were already fervent,  I don't know if I could get more intense about that. My whole life is different, but definitely I've written some songs where I've had a new perspective, like I'm looking at my kid's life compared to a kid living in Yemen. So that subject matter might come up in a song.

AD: Do you ever use that idea, when your kid is complaining, do you find yourself saying, "In other parts of the world..."Ya don't wanna go there, but I'm asking you if you ever find yourself there?

AR: Oh yeah. I will start to say something sometimes, and my partner , Carrie, will be like, "No." Cause she knows what I'm getting ready to say, and she knows that a 7 year kid, I mean they only know so much.

 

AD: (laughing)

 

AR: Honestly, my kid is so compassionate about other people that I don't even need to say anything like that. She goes to a Quaker school. They are steeped in activism by the time they can spell. It's all about activism and compassion, and the light of the world, and peace and everything . It would be overkill  for me to say anything.

 

AD: Well, that is really great to hear that she's aware.

 

AR: It's very fortunate and she's a cool kid. She brings things up where I'm like, "Oh, you're learning that, that's great." 

AD: Do you get those zinger questions, where you're like, "That's deep, how do I answer that?"  

AR: Yeah, the ones about life and death, and where they come from, and all that kind of stuff.

AD: How did you and Carrie meet?

AR: We met in Durham, North Carolina. I was playing with a group called the Butches, and they were friends with her and I met her through them. Basically, our first date was a bowling party for the drummer of the the Butchie's birthday. It was Melissa York's birthday, and Carrie and I went out on a date, and that's all she wrote. That was a long time ago.

AD: It's been what, fifteen years now?
 

AR: No eighteen.

AD: Wow, congratulations. What keeps it happening for you?

AR: Cooperation and love.

AD: Great to hear. The last leg of your tour is in Riviera Maya, Mexico, right? It's at the Hard Rock?

AR: Yeah, but we go home off and on, it's like a whole thing. We're constantly going back 'n forth, it never ends. 

AD: Well I can't wait to hear what you'll be working on. So, as an artist, I have to ask you, if there was an alien species that came to take over the planet, and you could only carry two albums out from other artists, and you only get to play three songs of yours forevermore what would those be?

AR: I wouldn't wanna take records of my music, I would wanna hear other people's songs, cause I can play my own songs. (laughing

AD: Yeah, but what I wanna get out of you is, three songs, songs you have to play. I mean there are songs that you are so sick of singing and playing at times, but the golden ones, which songs are those for you?

AR: It changes so much, that I can't even tell ya. It's week to week. So, sorry. (laughing) We make a different set list every night, and we rotate things that we are in love with playing, and other times we don't wanna play some, it's the weirdest thing. 

AD: After all these years, as music sisters, what are some quirky things that happen with you both when traveling, that you find is still funny? How are you on the road, after being together for so long? 
 

AR: Well, ya just try not to notice each others quirks. We respect each other and we respect the others privacy, it's amazing.

AD: Have you ever thought to yourself, "We get along so well." I know you aren't always together, yet this relationship is solid.

AR: Well, we're never together, we live in separate towns. We're like sisters. I often feel totally lucky about it, seriously.

AD: We are lucky you both have given us all of this music. Have you ever met someone you respected, someone you grew up listening to?

AR: Yeah, I definitely have met a lot of people, where I wanna ask them stuff, but it's so funny how it never feels like a situation where you should ask them questions. I try to wait. It's different to be friends with someone, even good friends I have who are songwriters. I love their music and we're good friends, yet, unless I had a formal situation with them where I was gonna interview them for a magazine, there are a lot of things that I won't ask them - cause you wanna just be friends, ya know? I have people that I meet, where I'll wanna ask certain questions about songs, but I never do. I'm thinking, "It's not the right time, one day it will be the right time." 

AD: Well, do you think your instincts have helped you with your career in that respect?

AR: I don't think it has to do with music, it's just friendships. You either learn boundaries or ya don't. You know what I mean? It doesn't have to just be about the careers.

AD: Yeah, being human with it. Waiting for the right time. So you'll be in the studio in December! I'm looking forward to it. When do you think you will release it?
 

AR: Probably not until April or May, cause vinyl takes so long to press now. We always do vinyl so I always just wait for when the vinyl is all done to release it.

AD: Well I wish everybody luck in the process. I've loved your music, thank you so much for being with me today.

AR: Thank s for the interview. I appreciate it. This was awesome.

 

INFO: 

https://www.indigogirls.com

Amy Ray (amy-ray.com

Abbe Davis, Editor, TRR
Singer/Songwriter

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Abbe Davis is the singer and songwriter of Rock band, Sordid Fable. She has performed alongside  legendary Blues artist, Buddy Guy, and previously with Day of Colors nationally. She also co-hosts The Tru Rock Show. Abbe and her band are currently in the studio recording for release in 2022..

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