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www.TheEugeneBar.com
Musician Graves discusses
her inspiration, motivation
Joules Graves began as
an activist and later learned
how to use music as a
form of political expression
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
Earth-friendly singer and song
writer Joules Graves has celebrated
tier love for life and the planet in her
music for the past 12 years. Graves,
originally from Missouri, also lived
in Chicago and Europe before even
tually settling in the Seattle area.
Graves began singing during a six
month encampment organized to
protest the Gulf War, and soon after
she was invited to play at colleges,
Earth Day celebrations, festivals and
women's events across the Pacific
Northwest and beyond. She talked
to the Emerald about her music,
connecting to nature, hitchhiking
and her new band.
Emerald: I read that you were an
activist before you became a musi
cian. Was speaking out for peace
what inspired you to start playing?
Graves: Absolutely. I was involved
in a protest against the Gulf War —
a six-month encampment back in
1990 and 1991.1 just started singing
my poetry and it's really taken off
from there.
Emerald: It sounds like you're re
ally in tune with Mother Nature.
How do you express this love for the
planet in your music?
Graves: It s expressed in the lyrics
and the feeling of it. The songs come
from my heart. I put in all the pas
sion that I feel for the beauty of na
ture, and I also take a stand to say,
"Stop abusing this beautiful place."
That's in a lot of my songs.
Emerald: Tell me about your new
musical project, Rhythmethod.
Graves: I'm working with Marcos
Deslury and Diano Garcia and they
are both in a band called Ancestor
Radio. Diano Garcia is playing tradi
tional West African drums, and he
brings a West African knowledge
with him. Marcos Deslury is playing
bass guitar. They have the rhythm
section, and they're very tight with
each other. They're also doing har
mony vocals. It's very beautiful; it's
very exciting to work with them.
Marcos Deslury has a master's de
gree in musical composition and he
knows many different forms of mu
sic, so I'm learning a lot while get
ting to play with these guys. It's real
ly fun.
Emerald: Tell me about your "Join
ing the Chorus of Life!" workshop.
Graves: The focus of that work
shop is to help people access their
own natural voice. It's not about get
ting people to sound any certain
way, by telling them they're sup
posed to shape their throat or their
mouth any certain way. It's just to let
people free, to let the sound of the
self come out. It's based on some
thing I learned years back — that the
overtone of every person's voice is as
unique as a thumbprint. Now,
someone can imitate someone's
voice but they can never imitate
those overtones. It's about people
setting themselves free to write a
song and sing it to each other. It's a
r
Courtesy
Singer and songwriter Joules Graves will perform at the WOW Hall at 8 p.m. Saturday.
really beautiful empowerment that
happens. Some people who have
come to my workshops have gone
on to make a CD of their own music
and they haven't sung before. Some
people come afraid of singing, like if
someone told them they didn't have
a good voice. I was told that as well.
The workshop is based on a saying
from Zimbabwe: "If you can talk,
you can sing." It's a birthright to
sing. Everybody can sing. That's
what the workshop is about — hav
ing the freedom to just make the
sounds we make. The most beautiful
thing we can do is sound like our au
thentic selves.
Emerald: I read that you hitchhiked
across the country at age 18. Would
you recommend this to anyone?
Graves: No, not at all. I feel really
fortunate that nothing really bad
happened, and people are even
weirder now than they were then.
It's not a good idea. It was an adven
ture, and I can't say I wish I hadn't
done it, but I would definitely tell
people that I don't think they
should do it.
Emerald: You lived in a Puget
Sound island community without
electricity, running water, car or tele
phone for five years. How did this
lifestyle influence your music?
Graves: Oh, it was great for my
music! I had the opportunity to
learn about communities that are
different from the capitalist nuclear
family. It helped me to get beyond
the concept of separateness. One of
the main recurring themes in my
music is that we are one. When I was
in nature, I was able to spend a lot of
time alone, but when I was around
people we really had a connection.
Because it was an island, we really
came to depend on each other —
like if the ferry wasn't running. We
knew that we could help each other
out. It broke down some of the con
cepts of isolation.
Emerald: I read that you have played
at the Oregon Country Fair. What do
you like most about the fair?
Graves: The thing I like most about
it is the freedom for people to express
their creativity. I've played at a lot of
festivals across the country, and it's the
most family-oriented and heath-con
scious one of all. For example, there's
good drinking water available for free.
At many festivals you have to buy
these tiny bottles of water for five
bucks. That, to me, is one of the ugly
examples of capitalism and people
wanting to make as much money as
possible. At the Oregon Country Fair
there is a family-minded care for the
people. They don't want people get
ting dehydrated. It's a great example
of a celebration.
Emerald: Any plans for the future?
Graves: Definitely. I'm working
on a new record label right now. I
will announce its name at the show.
I've had record labels in the past, but
this one is going to be more of a col
lective thing. It will get away from
the competitive concepts in music. I
want to take what I have learned and
gained along my path and share it
with others.
Graves will perform at the WOW
Hall Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are
$ 10 in advance and $ 15 at the door,
and are available at WOW Hall and
the UO Ticket Office.
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
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