Love Was Made For Janis Ian

Singer-songwriter Janis Ian has been writing songs, playing shows and winning awards for 50 years. And in a business that has evolved toward a here-today, gone-tomorrow formula, Ian songs like "Society's Child" (a stirring 1965 story about interracial love that was, at the time, extremely controversial) or "At 17" have not only withstood the test of time, they've proven that songs with a strong message are always relevant. As a gifted lyricist, a spoken-word Grammy winner, a humanitarian and one of the first openly gay celebrities, she has carried herself with a certain style and grace that we could all probably learn from. I spoke with Ian about her upcoming two-night performance at George RR Martin's Jean Cocteau Cinema.

SFR: Do you tour all the time? How did you come to be playing in Santa Fe?

JI: Oh, I love it there, but I've also known George for about two decades now. I met his wife Parris at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in the '80s and then I met him shortly after at a sci-fi convention. They were actually two of the five people I invited to my wedding, and George has donated to my foundation. (Author's note: It's called The Pearl Foundation and awards scholarships to returning college students.) The thing in America is lack of funding for the arts, that it isn't like Europe where every town can open a theater or arts space and keep it open. So, when people try to combine things—in this case, art and film and lecture and music—and make it affordable for their community it's…a smaller theater that hits on so many levels it is wonderful. I was at about 200 dates a year, but I'm ramping down. Mostly I put this tour together because I wanted to play at George's place, and I wanted to play with Tom Paxton who is retiring next year. (Another note: Paxton will not appear in Santa Fe.)

We're a small town. How do the smaller markets compare to the larger?

People in Santa Fe are nice and the food is great, but the biggest difference is that we're doing an interview in the middle of the shows. George will be running the interviews, and I'll be answering the questions as logically as I can. We're also doing a VIP meet and greet.

Are you totally sick of playing "At 17?"

Absolutely not. That song means so much to so many people and just looking out at so many people in the audience and how they feel…no, never.

OK. So back when "Society's Child" came out, you were faced with a lot of hate. How is it perceived today?

That's putting it rather mildly, honestly, but now if I try to take it out of my set, people complain. It became a real talking point about race and race relations in the US. I was living in New Jersey in an almost all-black neighborhood, and I just saw it everywhere. You couldn't avoid it. At that point, though, it was an unusual subject, but now it's kind of like gay rights. Speaking as a gay person, I would never have dreamed in my life I'd see a day when a gay person could get married, but for most people now there's no question. It's not strange to them.

I've heard you record completely live with no overdubs or edits.

That's not always true, but there is something about the immediacy of live recording and just going in and getting it done.

Your songs usually seem to have an important message.

Well, my favorite recording on earth is "Da Do Ron Ron," so I'm not sure if that's true, but it's all art. Now, that sounds terribly pretentious, but it's all part and parcel of the same thing. Any time you tell a story and it moves somebody, you've done your job.

Any message for the people of Santa Fe?

Let's see…I'm in talks with a label now about maybe some new material or maybe re-releasing my back catalogue. I was just nominated for an Audie Award, which is like the Grammy for audiobooks, and I always like people to know that I hang around after the show to sign old albums or whatever else they want to bring.

Janis Ian
7 pm Sunday, Feb. 22
and Monday, Feb. 23. $35-$75
Jean Cocteau Cinema
418 Montezuma Ave.,
466-5528

Santa Fe Reporter