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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2000)
MUSIC ........... T ........... > Nearer I am to fine A conversation with Holly Near by A s a fem inist m usician who is interested in the many ways m usic fosters political awareness and social change, I wel com ed the opportunity to interview Holly N ear in advance o f her latest swing through O regon. S h e has released more than 20 albums, sh e’s been perform ing for more than 30 years, and her list o f collaborators and awards is long and distinguished. T h e generational divide that exists in the lesbian com m unity parallels my own rela tionship with the music o f our m ovem ent(s). My experience with fem inist music started in the early ’90s. I was heavily influenced by the radical consciousness raising that was (an d is) a part o f the punk scenes o f riot grrl and queercore. I learned about “womyn’s music” through conversations with Phranc, with older women musicians and through my own curiosity about women-run studios and record labels. I saw my friends build and nurture the infrastructure of a punk community throughout the Northwest in the early ’90s, and I tried to understand the relationship between this and what 1 was learn ing about the legacy. But I kept getting stuck on the aesthetics. Although I could understand the political simi larities o f the two scenes, I constantly was con fronted by the differences in the music. A nd I don’t really care for “womyn’s music.” Generally, it is nonconfrontational folk music that takes few aesthetic risks. Musically, it doesn’t speak to me. However, N ear reminded me that there are deep, political connections between women’s experience across time and place and that our differences must be honored rather than ignored or discounted. Her music links feminist work with the traditional folk music o f political struggle in ways punk never can. And punk addresses issues that folk music S arah D ougher never touches. We have a lot to learn from each other. Sarah Dougher: What do you feel your political focus is these days? Holly Near: I, as an artist, have always tried to keep adding ideas and issues to the music so as to express a sense of our whole selves. I don’t think it is useful for me to be a single-issue singer/activist. My audience is diverse. People are working on many fronts in their lives. My hope is that before a concert is over, folks have heard a song they can relate to that in some way supports the work they do and that they have heard one song that challenges their thinking, inviting them to take a step forward. That said, I think we need to be very aware of the needs of children. That, by extension, demands sensitivi ty to class, race, gender, sexuality, health, art, physical and mental difference, language. SD: What is the best show you have been to in the past six months? H N : I go to see the young people at my sis ter’s school, SP A C E (School for the Perform ing Arts and Cultural Education). I love watching the kids dance. They are taking on many issues and ideas through their work, and I am always moved by their courage and ener gy. Through the arts, they are meeting one another, crossing over cultural barriers put in place by their ancestors. They are looking at language and how it does hurt. They are learn ing to be friends, to be outspoken, to have opinions, to change their opinions. They chal lenge the adults in the community. SD : Do you think music still provides a strong medium for feminist consciousness raising? H N : 1 continue to be changed by art and music. The people in my audience continue to write me and say that they are changed. But look at it his torically. Every political movement in this coun try has had a music: civil rights, labor, youth. And let’s look at feminism. The music, affection ately called “womyn’s music,” was a main lifeline for women as we unveiled the secrets so guarded in the ’50s. It is hard to remember that when we began to sing these songs, most peo ple were not using the words breast cancer, alco holism, lesbianism, incest— we had to say these things to ourselves, then to each other, then to the world. Now, these ideas are discussed on day time television and in sitcoms. People don’t necessarily agree, but they are talking, and the debate is on the table, not hidden in the attics. Our music was an essential distributor of ideas, support, community, courage, humor and love. Literally hundreds of thousands of women found their way to them selves through these songs. When listening to the songs on Simply Love, the women’s music collection that I just released, it is hard to remember that the ideas expressed were new on the mouths of society. There was great love for what we did. There was great hostility. That was one way we knew we were doing great work. The dominant system is still afraid of basic feminism and womanness. There is still discomfort in “mainstream room" if one identi fies oneself as a feminist. Som e will treat it as a joke, some will say feminism is dead, some will be on guard. Powerful thing, being an outspo ken woman. Young women today are enjoying the benefits we worked for. That is lovely. What greater gift could we get than to enjoy their pleasure.7 And when they discover that the struggle for women’s rights here or around the world is not over and can be taken away in a heartbeat, I trust some of them to rise up, just as we did. And they will be more prepared than we were. They will not reinvent the wheel; they will improve on it. SD : Do you think that new technolo gies grant possibilities for the empower ment of women in the music industry? If so, what are they? H N : I d o n ’t know much about this. Web Holly Near and folk music legend Ronnie Gilbert sites allow com m unication without buying unaffordable ads, and most artists can now afford to make a hom e C D . T hese two Holly Near, then and now things em pow er artists. However, touring now is extrem ely hard. A irfares are high, m any o f the producers o f political music h ave burned out, clubs h ave closed. A n d the political m ove m ents that supported m any o f the outspoken artists o f the ’60s and 7 0 s are in transition, st) we d o n ’t feel their support as we did then. It will be interesting to see w hat h appens up ahead. I think we forget how im portant little things can be. T h ere are still lots o f women out there who d o n ’t know there is or ever was fem inist and lesbian music. T hey still walk in to my concerts “by accid en t” and com e to me after, amazed and grateful. S o I suggest that every tim e we go to a fem inist concert or event or discover a C D that we like, take som eone along for the ride. It is a good way to build a com m unity, build a m ovem ent or save a life. I think both Simply Love and Edge Ithe new C D sJ are wonderful tools/gifts. It is why I do this work— to give people music to live by. I can n ot buy costly advertising. I need you, the people out there doing this work, to pass this music on. It can do an am azing am ount o f work on its own if it gets out there. ¡ n appears 8 p.m. Nov. 10 at Ash land’s Unitarian Fellowship, Fourth A venue at C Street; 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at Eugene’s Agate Hall on the University of Oregon campus; and 8 p.m. Nov. 12 at Portland's Aladdin Theater, 3017 S .E. Milwaukie Ave. HOLLY N ea r SARAH D o u g HER is a Portland free-lance writer, musician and educator. Her records are available at www.mrlady.com, and she can be reached at sarahdougher@hotmail.com.
