Amy Ray.

• Author: Lewis, Andrea
• Position: THE PROGRESSIVE INTERVIEW - Interview

Amy Ray is one half of the folk sensation the Indigo Girls. More than twenty years may have passed since they debuted their first album, Strange Fire , but they still sound fresh. Their new two-CD album, Poseidon and the Bitter Bug , was issued by their new independent label, IG Recordings.

The duo is known for its music and politics. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers sing beautiful, soaring harmonies, write passionate lyrics, and create catchy melodies. Over the years, they've released ten major-label albums and picked up a Grammy and six Grammy nominations.

In 1991, Ray and Saliers co-founded Honor the Earth, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness and financial support for indigenous environmental justice. They have also been outspoken for women's rights, civil rights for same-sex couples, and the abolition of the death penalty.

The Indigo Girls began their career playing in bars in the Atlanta area and eventually released their first album on their own. Epic Records signed the Indigo Girls in 1988. After leaving Epic, they signed on with Hollywood Records in 2006, a label owned by Disney. But that didn't last for long.

Andrea Lewis interviewed Amy Ray on KPFA last summer and sent a copy to us. Lewis died on November 15, and we publish this interview in her memory.

--The Editors

Q: Your most recent album is called Poseidon and the Bitter Bug . When I think of that title, I think maybe one of you had a bad dream and woke up and said what a great album title. What's that title about?

Amy Ray: Emily would probably say that's true. She did have a bad stretch of midlife crises. A lot of her friends were breaking up, things like that. So she wrote a batch of songs. One of her songs refers to Poseidon, who wreaked havoc. In my song "Second Time Around," I refer to a character that I call the bitter bug. It can get ahold of you and make you bitter and cynical. Then we chose to put those two characters together.

Q: Tell me about your favorite songs on the album.

Ray: There's a song on there that's pretty depressing but I love it, "Digging for Your Dream." It's an Emily song, and the thing I like about it is that it really shows her influences. It has a certain lilt to it that is R&B, mixed in with an almost Joni Mitchell flavor. I like the way they combine. It's pretty different than anything else we've done.

Q: This is your first release on your IG independent label. Tell me about launching your own label.

Ray: We got off Epic, and we had this long conversation about what we should do. Hollywood was a small label, but it was...