Jamie Anderson - Out, Proud and Free
by Sue Barrett
And we belong in the street to walk without fear/
We belong in the open telling everyone we’re queer/
We belong in the hearts of our family/
We belong everywhere, out, proud and free
(Jamie Anderson — ‘No Closet’)
Chicago has been the home of many people and many things, including HOT WIRE: The Journal of Women’s Music and Culture.
In September 1992, HOT WIRE included an interview with Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon; a profile of Chicago (“our kind of town”); an article on women and their guitars; a soundsheet with recordings by Tracy Drach, Justina & Joyce, Ellyn Fleming and Galloway & Lee; and an overview of new works by black lesbian filmmakers.
HOT WIRE also included its 7th annual Readers’ Choice Awards — with favorite vocalist including Cris Williamson, kd lang, Holly Near; favorite group/band including Two Nice Girls, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Indigo Girls, Casselberry-DuPreé; favorite songwriter including Ferron, Judy Small, Cris Williamson, Sue Fink, Margie Adam; and favorite electric guitar including June Millington, Tret Fure, Nina Gerber, Nancy Vogl, Sherry Shute.
And on the cover of HOT WIRE was Jamie Anderson — singer, songwriter, parking lot attendant.
Now Jamie tells dykediva about her life as a performer, her passion for dark chocolate and her forthcoming Chicago region gigs…
Where did you grow up/what were the key influences of your family upbringing?
I grew up in Arizona and lived there until just a few years ago. My dad is also a musician so he was a big influence on my music. My mom’s support was also vital. She came to any performance I had — from ballet recitals to school talent shows.
When did you begin writing songs/performing?
I’ve always loved to perform, putting on plays and singing songs with the kids in my neighbourhood and at Girl Scout camp. One of the first songs I ever “wrote” was one I did with a bunch of childhood buddies. We were so excited about it that we went to several houses in the neighbourhood to sing it for them. I was disappointed to find out later that it sounded suspiciously like a song we’d heard on the radio.
I didn’t write seriously until I was in high school. I penned a few awkward songs with my first girlfriend. She did the lyrics while I made up melodies and performed them. I didn’t think I could write lyrics until I’d performed out for a while, around the early ’80s.
I did bars, coffeehouses and benefit concerts in the Phoenix area in the late ’70s/early ’80s. I moved to Tucson in the mid ’80s and continued performances in Arizona. I did my first national tour in 1987 so I could earn money to get to the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival and never looked back. I started touring full time in 1990.
Why did you set up Tsunami Records/Recordings?
No established label would have me. Out lesbian-feminist folk singers weren’t considered big money makers back in the ’80s. Uh, not that they are now. J Besides, I didn’t want to make recordings with some label exec hanging over my shoulder.
Tell us about your early recordings, including Heart Resort (1986)
I don’t talk about Heart Resort very much because it was just a little tape I put out. I think I sold a couple hundred (as opposed to a few thousand of each of my later releases). I had no idea what I was doing and frankly, it sounds like it. I was still co-writing a lot of my tunes so I hadn’t really found my voice. The recording was cheaply made with my friends playing the other instruments for free. The drums sound like they were recorded in another room and some of the arrangements are a bit drab.
My next release, Closer to Home, was issued in 1989. We had a real budget and I was starting to figure out how to do this recording thing. It was such a thrill for this solo performer to work with a band. It was the first time I auditioned and hired musicians. It was an LP. Lord, I remember touring with those big boxes and wondering if the heat was going to warp them all into ugly art.
I learned something with each recording. That’s the thing about being a recording artist — your learning process is so public.
How did the A Family of Friends (1993) project come about?
My girlfriend at the time, Dakota, and I wanted to profile the women’s music artists we’d been hearing at festivals. Singer/songwriter Sue Fink, a friend, said she was interested too so we started soliciting for songs. We never put out the word that we were looking for artists, we just asked our favorites. Sue thought we needed a title cut to glue it all together. She’d started a song called ‘A Family of Friends’. It had a nice piano part and most of a chorus but she didn’t know where to go from there. She and I met at IMA (Institute for Musical Arts, an organization run by Anne Hackler and June Millington), sat at this big grand piano and went to work on it. There were other women in and out that day offering feedback but really, the song is ours. We invited a bunch of women we knew in the area to record it with us. I was a little nervous working with women like Deirdre McCalla and June Millington but in the end, it was fun. Cris Williamson and Tret Fure are on the recording too but they weren’t physically there — we sent them a tape that they recorded at home.
We have lost many women’s bookstores, women’s/lesbian music festivals and women’s music magazines (e.g. Bitch: The Women’s Rock Mag with Bite; HOT WIRE) over the past decade or so. To what extent, and in what ways, has the music business changed since you started out?
The music business hasn’t changed much in some ways. They still value young performers who look good in tight pants. What’s changed is the way we promote it. We have the internet. On one hand, that’s good because it gets the music out to a large audience without Sony’s budget. On the other hand, there’s no filter so an experienced artist like me has to compete with someone who just learned to change from G to C without stopping.
While we’ve lost the majority of our bookstores and venues, there’s still an independent spirit that’s very much alive. I’m heartened by the young performers I see. They have a fan base I can’t even begin to access. And their art! Wow.
At one point in time, you had performed in 47 states. What’s your current tally?
My current tally is the same. I figure no one really wants to go to North Dakota anyway. (Kidding!)
You’ve written on some challenging topics (e.g. guns, adoption, child abuse, breast cancer, sperm donors, family secrets, body image). How do songs of this nature come about?
Because I’m really pissed off. Or moved. Or think it would make a good story. The ones about breast cancer and body image are true. Most of the others are fiction although they’re based on real stories.
I’m bored with the usual girl gets girl, girl loses girl songs although I’ve written my share of break-up songs (‘I Miss the Dog [More Than I Miss You]’, ‘Her Problem Now’ and others). It’s cheaper than therapy.
You also use a lot of humor in your songs. Do you set out to write a humorous song or does the humor just emerge naturally?
I’m cursed with it. I’m always looking for ways to say something in a way that folks don’t feel like I’ve hit them over the head with a blunt object. And hearing an audience laugh is better than sex.
Your albums invariably include songs about lesbian lives. Is this a conscious decision? And what impact, if any, has this had on your career?
They say to write what you know and I’m a lesbian. Lesbians seem to like that and open-minded straight folks appreciate it. Being out has kept me off of a lot of stages. Sometimes they’re blunt about it but usually, it’s subtle. Bookers have told me everything from “our regular audience would be hiding in the bathroom” to “we’re afraid you’ll just draw lesbians”. (And the problem with that would be?)
Your song, ‘Loretta and Bernadine’ tells the story of an aging couple. Did you ever manage to track down anyone who knew Loretta?
No, I never did find Loretta.
Chocolate is another recurring theme in your songs. Does the hot chocolate on the menu have anything to do with you playing at the Two Way Street Coffee House, Downers Grove?
Of course. J I love playing there because they draw a listening crowd who really appreciates the music.
What can people expect from your Two Way Street Coffee House gig?
A solo performance on guitar with a little mandolin — songs about body image and klepto mother-in-laws and whatever else I cook up. I’ve got some new tunes and I’m always happy to take requests for the older songs.
And tell us about your gig at Uncommon Ground
It’s a showcase with several singer/songwriters including Kat Fitzgerald, who organizes the event. It’s always great to share a bill because then I get to be entertained too.
What do you look forward to when visiting the Chicago region?
I’ve toured to Chicago for 18 years now so parts of it feel familiar. I always get a warm crowd there.
You recently wrote an article about women’s music (www.afterellen.com/music/2008/4/womensmusic101). In what ways is women’s music of ongoing relevance?
We talk about women’s lives and not enough people do that.
Tell us about life as a touring singer/songwriter
It’s exhausting but fun to play for lots of people. I could spend hours telling road stories (like the time I shared housing with a pig or the time I met Melissa Etheridge).
What do you do when you’re not touring?
I love to read, especially biographies, mysteries and historical fiction. Right now I’m reading The Memoirs of Cleopatra and it’s fascinating. I also love to garden. This year I got some killer cantaloupes and I’m still getting some lovely sweet tomatoes but it’s starting to get cool here in North Carolina so they’re almost done.
I teach guitar privately and music and dance classes at a local art center. I’m also a freelance writer with work published in Curve, AfterEllen.com, Indie-Music.com and more.
What are your plans for the coming year?
I’m raising money for a new album I’d like to release in 2010. I’m touring to Florida in January 2009 and the east coast in March 2009. I’m already booked at a couple of festivals for the spring/summer.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us?
My favourite food is dark chocolate, I have three cats and my wonderful Canadian girlfriend refuses to speak French to me because I wouldn’t understand it. That’s a problem?
I also want to thank everyone who’s come to my concerts and bought my music over the years. Without them, I’d be sitting in my living room playing for my house plants. They don’t clap.
Jamie Anderson will be performing at:
Uncommon Ground, 1401 W Devon Ave, Chicago
Wednesday 19 November 2008
Two Way Street Coffee House, 1047 Curtiss Street, Downers Grove
Friday 21 November 2008.
The September 1992 issue of HOT WIRE magazine (with Jamie Anderson on the cover) is still available from Ladyslipper Music.
More info
www.jamieanderson.com
www.myspace.com/jamieandersonmusic
www.uncommonground.com
www.twowaystreet.org
www.ladyslipper.org/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=53&upc=hotw83bk000
SUE BARRETT is an Australian music writer, with a special interest in women in music. It’s more than a decade since Jamie Anderson kindly sent Sue a lyric sheet for the song ‘A Family of Friends’, annotated with details of “who sang what”.
© 2008
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