Written by:
Shirley Liu
Excerpts from a 2-part interview with Indigo Girl Amy Ray, by Shirley Liu, first published in 1997.
CURVE: Do you have any opinions on the new highly-visible, more widely-accepted lesbian culture?
Amy Ray: You mean like Ellen?
CURVE: Yeah, the single-name people like Ellen, k.d., Melissa, Martina...
Ray: [Laughs] I love lesbians. That's funny. People start calling you by first names; it's very familiar, you know? I like it. Well, this is the thing. I had this construction guy over at my house and he was trying to bond with me, so he told me he loved Ellen. I looked at him and I thought, "This is great," because Ellen is a point of context for everybody.
Anything that's helping the mainstream see things more clearly and be more open-minded is great. I don't look deeper into that and worry it might be hurting us in the long run; I don't see how anybody could feel that way about it. I don't think it's homogenizing lesbianism; people tend to homogenize things themselves in their minds. They put things in categories and stereotype them and it takes a while for people to evolve and figure it all out.
CURVE: Can you talk about your involvement with the Zapatistas?
Ray: We funded a program through Honor the Earth in 1995 that supported a wome'’s art co-op. These women are commanders in the Zapatista army. [Mexican rebels] They needed to stockpile and store supplies for their art, textile, weaving, the things they do to bring some money into the village. Before, they would make continuous trips to other villages and the main town to buy supplies. They would be harrassed by the Mexican military, which is stationed in that area all over the place. Basically, we funded this project to build a place to stockpile everything so they wouldn’t have to make so many trips.
There's a war going on down there and a lot of it has to do with what they call "low-intensity warfare," intimidating and breaking the people down. Women were raped and verbally abused; they’d have to go through a lot just to get their art supplies. I went down there to meet these women. It was an incredibly eye-opening experience. At the time, there was an international conference going on that was hosted by the Zapatistas. They had five different locations in the rainforest and you went to whatever location was talking about the issue important to you. So I went to the "Women's Table." In this particular village, they talked about women's issues and how women have been affected by NAFTA. People from all over the world talked about women’s issues in their own countries. They also dealt with gay rights.
CURVE: Really?
Ray: Yeah, I was sitting there in the middle of the jungle in this meeting on gay issues hosted by the Zapatistas. It was fascinating to me!
CURVE: When you wrote about your Honor the Earth '95 experience in the journal Indigenous Woman, you refer to the song "Shed Your Skin." It seems there's an intertwining of the message of activism and shedding your skin.
Ray: I wrote "Shed Your Skin" after my breakup as a song to my ex-girlfriend about how important it is to go do your thing and celebrate it and celebrate yourself. The growth we experience through all that pain is really important. The Indian stuff enters into it because it was happening at the same time and there were some of the same sentiments. My dedication to activism took away from my relationship. I found it important to say, "Look, what I've been involved with has given me some freedom in my heart and soul that I've never experienced. You should find the same thing."
CURVE: I heard a rumor that you wrote "Hey Kind Friend" for Ani DiFranco.
Ray: [Laughs heartily.] I don't know if I should say that. Ani would probably kill me...Yeah, it's a friendship song. It's not just to her, though. I hooked up with her ensemble for a few days because our bassist Sara Lee was playing with them. I got to know Ani better through that experience.
It was a hard time in my life and I went out with them for about a week. They kind of saved me, that whole group. And I didn't know them well. Sometimes what you need is the company of strangers. So that song was written in reflection of that time...Ani, she's a good girl.
CURVE: Have you ever thought about collaborating with her?
Ray: Oh, I'd love to collaborate! But I think she's a lone horse. She and Andrew…locked in that little studio like mad scientists with all their clothes off or something...like they've gotten down to the most primal aspect of their being and they're creating art. That's what I picture. I don't know how I could fit into that, you know? [Laughs]
Her self-determination is very inspiring, though. It was an inspiration to watch her work in the studio. Technically I saw her do some cool things, different tricks with sending your vocals through the speaker and singing again, having a weird background going and using loops in general, vocal and drum. What happens is you hang around with some artists and you trade ideas and thoughts without even knowing it. You inspire each other to go forward with what you're doing.
CURVE: There's always the question, were you and Emily ever involved?
Ray: No. Everybody always asks that but no one believes me. You think we would have stayed together this long if we'd ever been involved in a relationship? No way. [Laughs] We have the perfect relationship, a great business relationship and a great friendship. And she's not my type and I'm not hers.
CURVE: I'm sure our readership would like to know what your type is.
Ray: I don't know anymore. I'm single and I just had an eight-year relationship. It was a very heartbreaking moment of my life to break up with that. I don't know what my type is, I'm searching. But I want someone...[gently] who's kind. That's what I found out.
To read the full story, see CURVE Vol. 7, #6 and Vol. 8, #1
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