Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

A birthday tour for Joan Baez

The patron saint of American folk and good causes talks about both in advance of her Wilmington concert Wednesday.

Before starting a 75th birthday tour that brings her to Delaware's Grand Opera House on Wednesday, Joan Baez held a party at New York City's Beacon Theatre in January to mark the occasion. Birthday wishes dispensed, the tribute featured Paul Simon, Emmylou Harris, David Crosby, and other greats in duet with Baez, a presence in roots music and sociocultural activism since the '60s.

When she wasn't bringing her dulcet, angelic tones to songs she'd penned ("Diamonds and Rust") or lending her voice to paeans of protest (Odetta's "Oh, Freedom" with Mavis Staples), Baez lent her support to minorities and the fight against mass incarceration. We caught up with Baez shortly after watching the footage of the Beacon concert, which was taped for a PBS special that will air in June. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

Q: I already shouted my happy birthdays to you at the Beacon, so we're good there. Are you happy with the footage of the show and how your partners sounded?

A: You know, I am happy. I knew that everybody showed up on time and did a really good job. That's onstage, though. You still don't know what that is going to look like on film until it's in front of you.

Two things I noticed onstage that I hadn't realized in the past. The first is that you've got some nice dance moves. You did quite the rumba with Nano Stern.

Thanks. We were supposed to have other dance elements that fell through at the last minute, so I took on that job.

The other thing is that your voice has lowered a bit in the last decade or so. The range has shortened but it's stronger, heartier, more nuanced. Can you tell me about making that work for you going forward?

By about my mid-30s, I noticed it. Little did I know that I'd ever have problems, because all I ever did from the start was just open my mouth and sing.

I began having trouble with notes not doing what I wanted them to do, so I went to a vocal coach, whereupon I learned that all those years previous, while singing, I had been doing the opposite of what you are supposed to be doing. If I had learned properly and had any real training, perhaps I would have caught it sooner. So I had to unlearn all of my old tricks and learn an entire set of new tricks.

Once you get older, the pitch starts to go down - gravity is at work. You develop exercises to keep the voice up there, but, while doing so, you have to figure out how to capitalize - best use - the lower range and enjoy it.

Does the voice change how you choose songs to sing?

At the risk of sounding corny, the songs have chosen me. I can't predict what songs will find me, and how they will wish to be sung. Some songs might involve social issues, some not. I'll work on a song until it's nothing like the original, then work on it some more until it's mine. As I'm saying this, I'm thinking of songs from Richard Thompson, Tom Waits, and Antony [and the Johnsons].

So what must songs have, or rather, what does a song look for you to do? What is the symbiotic nature between you?

I can't do some songs justice. Some fall in my lap, like Antony & the Johnsons' "Another World." That's a no-brainer. It's about global warming, is beautifully done, and it resonates with me melodically and lyrically - sweet words. Then there are songs that we roll around and work out with for a while.

So many issues to choose from; why did you partner with Amnesty International for this tour, and why is its focus mass incarceration?

We chose a platform that was relevant and that people wanted to know about now, one that seems to have a lot of misinformation about it. Young people in particular are making this a concern, the disparity amongst the races. Each of us must find what is calling us and do it, move toward it.

Though you're playing in Delaware, you're very near Pennsylvania, the seat of Quaker learning, which was a large part of your upbringing. Is there anything left of your parents' Quaker past in you?

I never was officially a Quaker but was certainly forced to go with my family. [She laughs.] I hated the silence then but get it now. What stuck with me was the whole dialogue about nonviolence, peaceful resolution, the inner voice - the still, small voice within - and the silence of mediation now makes sense. 'Just be quiet' is what I got from my parents' Quaker meetings.

Several weeks ago, Madeleine Albright stated that there's a special place in hell for women who don't support women, i.e., Hillary Clinton. What say you?

I wish that women used their feminine side to create social change in a powerful but softer fashion. Otherwise, I don't think that there's a whole huge difference between electing a woman and electing a man.

I know and like Hilary, but she has donned the armor of a male, and it is really awful to me. It grates on me.

I know what brought you to us in the first place: talent, drive, the sensual and spiritual selves, dedication to making the world a just and better place. How do you evolve those same things to keep you here?

I have always been the happiest when I can wear several hats at the same time - doing music, doing some sort of social awareness, helping maintain nonviolence. Saying something in a concert setting now reminds people of what was then and what ought to be going on now with their lives, our lives. How can we all participate on a larger scale, create a livable world, and make it a more generous place?

Joan Baez plays 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Grand Opera House, 818 N. Market St., Wilmington. $59.50-$69.50. 302-658-7897, thegrandwilmington.org.