DAR WILLAMS INTERVIEW

FOLK TALES: Songstress Dar Williams brings In the Time of Gods to Charlottesville

By: MATT ASHARE |
Published: May 9, 2012 http://www2.the-burg.com

FORTUNATE ONE: "If I were a surfer, I was handed the best waves."

When Dar Williams first began testing the waters twenty years ago, there was little doubt where she fit in among her contemporaries. Earnest, confessional, unplugged, and socially conscious, she was the embodiment of the folk artist, a card-carrying singer-songwriter with a style more suited to the coffeehouse than the club scene. It was, after all, the alternative ’90s. And, although the mainstreaming of grunge and punk, along with the proliferation of female-dominated bands like Hole, the Breeders, and L7, the visibility afforded to strong women like Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, and the explosive jolt of riot-grrrl, shook up conventional notions of gender in rock, it didn't appear to have an immediate impact on other genres. Sure, Sarah McLachlan had some success promoting female singer-songwriters with her Lilith Fair, a festival style tour of which Williams was a part. But that merely demonstrated that women outside of alt-rock gene pool were still separate, if somewhat equal.

       Much has changed in the last dozen or so years. Thanks to the steady emergence of non-Nashville Americana coupled with indie-rock's turn toward roots and folk (think the Decemberists), the lines separating the rock and folk underground have been blurred very nearly beyond distinction. And digital downloading has created something resembling a level playing field, where big-budget major-label artists sit side-by-virtual-side with their counterparts in the independent folk, pop, and rock game.

       For Williams, who established herself on the New England folk circuit before moving to upstate New York to raise a family, that's translated to playing clubs like the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, where she'll headline this Sunday, instead of sticking to "listening rooms" and cafés. And, on her new In the Time of Gods, her ninth studio album and first in four years, it's reflected in the personnel: Producer Kevin Killen has worked most famously with U2, Peter Gabriel, and Elvis Costello; drummer Charley Drayton is a member of Keith Richards' X-Pensive Winos; and the cast of players is rounded out by seasoned sessionmen Gerry Leonard (guitar) and Rob Hyman (keyboards).

       And yet, in many ways, Williams remains very much a reflective yet ardent, sweet-voiced yet strong-willed folkstress, a contemplative songwriter who'd be as much at home in a coffeehouse as a rock club. In the Time of Gods opens with little more than a strummed acoustic supporting her ethereal voice on one of the disc's more passionately affecting tracks, "I Am the One Who Will Remember Everything." As the song builds toward an anthemic climax, with a dark guitar riff hanging over Williams' strained voice, she contrasts the life of a child in a war-torn country like Sudan or Afghanistan with that of an American son, concluding poignantly that, "In a world that's angry, cruel and furious/There's this monkey who's just curious/Floating high above a park with bright balloons."

       Williams touches on familiar subjects – the vagaries of romance, the beauty of nature, and the power of myth – in songs that move easily from acoustic folk to more countrified settings. And she hits her stride on "Summer Child," an upbeat song that's as close to polished pop as she's ever come. I caught up with her as she was leaving Minneapolis for a two-night stand in Evanston, Illinois on a tour that will take her all the way through early November, touching down for a second time in Virginia on October 12 and 13 at the Birchmere in Alexandria.

Given all the issues surrounding religious fundamentalism that we're currently wresting with, not to mention the contentiousness regarding religious freedoms, I'm curious why you chose to call the new album "In the Time of Gods"?

       There's something going on right now between science, with concerns about global warming, and armageddon that has a lot of people feeling that we're at the edge of something, a precipice of some kind. And that could be the case. I think the Bible says that it's your faith in morality that will save the day. But in Greek mythology it's actually your heroism. There's a moral aspect to it, but it's more about standing up and straightening your back in the face of difficult situations. So the title really reflects my belief that there's something about the times we're living in that requires our personal heroism more than our ability to preach. My "In the Time of Gods" is much more about people who take moral action. It's not a reliance on the supernatural; it's the idea that we're the ones with the power to create change.

Does it seem strange to you, after years of being somewhat segregated in the folk world, that you're now playing rock clubs and recording with a guy who's in Keith Richards' band?

       There is a wonderful wayfaring world of musicians out there who just know each other and play on each other's albums. I mean, I was in a band with Steaurt Smith, who's now in the Eagles. I'm just amazed that he chose the Eagles over me, but whatever. . . But, really, I've only been lucky. It's like, if I were a surfer, I was handed the best waves. You know, Lilith Fair came along at just the right time for me. And, the ’90s were a time of gender exploration. And there was a strong network of coffeehouses that were like an organic plant that just kept growing. There was enormous strength there. So, I lucked out as a songwriter. Folk was just a really good place to be. Sometimes I do regret that I didn't find my own Keith Richards, you know, the kind of musician who could create a synergy with my lyrics. Because the Rolling Stones are such a great combination of great vocals and guitar hooks that can stand on their own. But, I was in the right place at the right time for what I was doing. Even the rise of the internet created love for the folk underdog. It cut out the middleman so that you didn't have to go for the "Maxim" cover girl look. So I have nothing to complain about.

In a lot of ways "I Am the One Who Will Remember Everything" is very much in the old protest-song of folk music vein. It's also very personalized. Did you have a particular conflict or person in mind when you wrote it?

       I started writing that song about five years ago. It was a response to the fact that a lot of the Taliban are orphans from their war with Russia. As I saw that through the lens of being a parent who is educating my child about civilization using thousands and thousands of books and stories, I realized that when I handle things badly with my son, I see him handling things badly. And then I don't have a leg to stand on. So one of the answers is that I have finally arrived at a place where I understand how being a parent influences your child. And that song is really about how education is about leading a child out into the world. And when you start to see how your imprint is showing up, it opens up your perspective. So, I would say that I have a very strong sense of what civilization should look like, and it does break down into an elemental, story-by-story, garden-by-garden world view. I live in a town, and I see the way that we build civilization together when we work together, brick-by-brick.

I guess songs can be written that way too. . .

       I've waited a long time for that "aha" songwriting moment. Like "Eve of Destruction" was written in one night, and there are all kinds of examples of that kind of spontaneous songwriting. But I'm not that person. I'm not that kind of songwriter. I've just come to respect that it's okay if it takes a year or more for a song to come together. Because, if you're lucky, you're going to be performing it for another twenty years. . .