Baez still a voice of protest --
with a little more time for stretching and family
http://www.reformer.com/ci_12895566?source=most_emailed
By DAVE MADELONI
[July 2009]
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- After 50 years of worldwide acclaim for her
artistry and activism, Joan Baez has much to be proud of. So, before
I asked her to reflect on her proudest accomplishment, I tried to
guess what the 68 year-old folk icon might choose:
I wondered if the political side of her might pick the time she sang
at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at Martin Luther King's 1963
March on Washington in or the performance for over a billion
television viewers around the world at Nelson Mandela's at the 90th
birthday celebration.
Surely she would consider the Lifetime Achievement Award received at
The Grammys a couple of years back -- the greatest honor that the
Recording Academy bestows.
"What I do when someone asks me a question like that," she answered
softly in a phone call from her home in Northern California, "is a
shut my eyes and see what comes into view ... and it is ... my son."
Baez, who will be bringing her pride and joy, son Gabriel Harris,
along to play percussion when she comes to The Pines Theater in
Florence this coming Tuesday, has maintained her passion for singing
and for social justice. But her priorities, like many her age, have
shifted to the simpler things in life. "I'm spending way more time
with my family," she explained. "I am not seeking out things to dash
into. ... But, I feel very much the way I did (about activism) when I
started out."
"It took me a long time in my life to learn how to slow down or stop
and sit in my tree -- we just built a new treehouse, but I painted it
the wrong color so I have to sand it all down -- I want to be close
to nature, feed the birds, go to jazzercise." Baez paused for a
moment then laughed. "At 68, you have to do a tremendous amount of
exercise and stretching -- and you suddenly realize you got to do it
every goddamn day!"
Although Baez prefers to commune with the birds in her backyard these
days, she still refuses to sit back when injustice rears its ugly
head. After our interview, she would be heading out the door to
support a protest from the other side of the world. "Today, with my
assistant and a hand-held camera, I will sing 'We Shall Overcome' in
Farsi to put out on YouTube and have my Iranian friends get it out in
appropriate places in Iran. ... That fire in my stomach is still
there, but I do it in the ways that I can where I can stay near my
mom who is 96 -- the feeling is exactly the same. I just try to live
my life in a more calm style."
Over the course of five decades, her approach to performing has also
shifted. "It is different than what it used to be," she admitted.
"Number one, I am hoping to enjoy myself. I never used to think about
that. I was too busy worrying about everyone else."
After 50 years, the still feisty Baez still knows how to dazzle
audiences, and now she has finally learned how to just relax and
enjoy being onstage. "I want to go out there and make a beautiful
evening, get into my songs in a way that I am in complete harmony
with my musicians and the public, just have an extraordinary time all
the way around. To be relaxed enough that I don't have to worry about
the sounds that are coming out, then I can horse around a little bit."
For information on Baez's 7 p.m. show on Tuesday, July 28, at Look
Park, visit lookpark.org or ticketmaster.com.
--
Dave Madeloni writes a weekly music column for Ovation. He can be
reached at madeloni@aol.com.
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