William's spoke with Halfstack about her latest album, Emerald, and what we can expect from this new release!
Halfstack: When and how did you decide you wanted to become a musician?
Dar Williams: When
I was 16, I was staying home from school and took out my parents' Judy
Collins record and listened to "Wild Flowers." It had a Joni
Mitchell song, it had Leonard Cohen song. I felt like that music was
made by people who believed that our civilization needed these words. I
just remember being 16 saying, "These are life or death songs." I wished
that that was the way music was still, because that was the height of
the disco era. I loved disco, but it was the '80s so it was the highly
produced electronic music. I loved that music, but it wasn't my parents'
folk-rock collection. Then lo and behold in the '90s I was in Cambridge,
MA where there was a whole station devoted to the new incarnation of
this music. I was just in the right place at the right time to become a
part of that scene and I never looked back.
HS: What inspires you most when writing music?
DW: Museums.
Definitely museums. Museums are just dedicated to figuring things out
without a definite answer or monetary goal and of course, it's
provocative. So, I can always count on a museum.
HS: You have a new album releasing soon, can you tell us more
about that?
DW: More than ever, it
describes a big trip--like an odyssey--that is defined by relationships
and friendships. It's probably no coincidence that I recorded it with a
lot of different friends and wrote songs with different friends and
caught up with old producers that I had worked with and went back
to my friends to make the album. I was getting back to my friends and
all these different parts of my life so it was really defined by
relationships.
HS: You collaborated with quite a few other artists for the
album. What artists did you choose to
work with and why?
HS: I decided to
do a good old fashioned co-writing week in Nashville because I'd never
done that and I thought it would be fun. It was more than fun. Nashville
is really hot right now for fun, interesting musicians. I worked on two
songs during that week that I went home and finished and that made it
onto the album. I loved working with Brad Wood and Stewart Lerman, two
producers. I went back to them to do certain songs that reminded me of
them and co-wrote a song with Jill Sobule. I always wanted to cover
"Johnny Appleseed" which was a Joe Strummer song, but with The Hooters,
outside of Philly because they're my friends. I always had a little
person in my mind or sitting next to me that I always intended to record
with even as was writing it. I also wrote a song with my keyboard
player who I had played with for seven years, Bryn Roberts. Maybe it was
just an excuse to hang out with my friends.
HS: What is currently your favorite song on the new album?
DW: The
song that I like the best right now is "Mad River" because I'm on the
road and it's translating onto stage ten times better than I thought it
would and that's really fun. When you go out on tour you discover what
parts of your album sound the best for an audience and that one has
really been good.
HS: How do you think this album will be most different from
music you have released in the past?
DW: I
am actually happy to say that it has some similarities. I was concerned
that working with seven producers meant that it would be stitched
together awkwardly. Actually, because I'm part of the mix and because the
album is unified by my voice and my experiences and possibly my
friends, there is somehow some unity in the sound of the album. Which
actually makes it like other albums in a really good way, considering how
eclectic the process was.
HS: What are you looking forward to most about being back on tour?
DW: Touring
is, like, 20 percent mystery and 80 percent excitement, so you never
know what's going to happen on a stage. But, once you're there it's
always exciting. When I'm off the stage for more than two months I
forget how exciting it is. Visiting cities is kind of like visiting old
friends--just the streets and the restaurants and the promoters and the
audiences. Every day is old home week when you're on tour.
HS: On April 25th, you performed in Chicago at Thalia
Hall. How was it being back in Chicago?
DW: Thalia
Hall is new and the people who work there are really committed to doing
something great. There must be some good ghosts in there because it was
one of those nights were you felt like the whole was greater than the
sum of its parts.
HS: What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t performing, writing
music, or touring?
DW: Walking around and thinking my
thoughts. I'm working on a book so I have a lot to think about right
now. I used to pretend that I had a hobby or that I was looking for a
hobby or an intention to start knitting or speaking Spanish or something
like that. But, I actually just love walking around thinking about
stuff. I can never get enough time to make sense of things. I like doing
that.
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