But if you enjoy touring and the effect it has on people...
Oh, yeah, of course!
There's a musical theater element to being a songwriter who plays in front of people. It's a little show. I really do enjoy hearing people react to it. I like hearing what people have to say about it when they talk back to you from the audience, or when they sing along. That's something you cannot experience from sitting in front of your laptop. You won't hear them sing along.
Your song has entered into how they see the world - how wonderful is that! It's not a sick little power trip, it's more, "Wow! I feel really useful!" I get a kick out of that. That's a motivator for me. That's the difference between the world of the Internet and being a performing songwriter. Yeah, it is kind of like Amish blogging.
I like that.
I think it came from our conversation about Mennonites.
[laughter] I wanted to ask you, have you seen an impact on your existing catalog sales by having them available as digital downloads through iTunes and such?
We've seen a spike. I wouldn't say it's overwhelming. We've seen a lift in the numbers, but not a tsunami of purchases. I think it has something to do with the fact that my music is so thematic. The last project was songs that sound like they're from the 20s and 30s, and there wasn't political content in that. I think I would see more of that if "My Strange Nation" was indicative of all of my music. What it has done is introduced more political minded people who otherwise wouldn't know of me. It has brought them to my shows. We know that. That was my greatest hope for this song in commercial terms, that it might introduce me to a new audience.
[At this point, the conversation shifted and Werner became the interviewer for a moment. I won't bore you with the details, but instead cut back into where it got interesting again.]
You've lived in Kentucky, Virginia, and Washington, so you certainly have an appreciation of the geographic and demographic range of the United States, so maybe this song spoke to you in some way.
Oh, yeah, it did very much. In the song you say, no I’m not going to move to France. For me it's, no I'm not going to move to a big city just so that I can be around people who think like me. I love living in rural America. I love living in a small town. I love living near the mountains. I loved living in Kentucky and Virginia, and these are not places where people like me usually live. It's difficult because there's this push because "you're not one of us, so why don't you just go somewhere else." I don't want to. That part of your song really spoke to me.
Article comments
1 - Tracy
GREAT interview here with Susan Werner. I absolutely LOVE her music, particularly the jazzy songs and the new gospel-y songs. I love that y'all got into a discussion about religion in America; it's really cool to hear where she's coming from on these new tunes. I'm a recent divinity school graduate and while my faith means a great deal to me, I fluctuate between a kind of seriousness and earnestness and a kind of subversive desire to shake things up a bit. ;o) A healthy skepticism and doubt, if you will, combined with a deep sense of faithfulness. This is what I love about Susan's new songs in this genre, and I think they're really going to resonate with a LOT of folks in the church around the country, probably more than she realizes. Most of the folks I know from the types of churches I've been involved in have just this kind of perspective... a wilingness to laugh at oneself and be critical of something while still being loyal to it. It's nice to have some music that expresses that complexity of thought and emotion.
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this and wanted to thank you for taking the time to write it and share it! :o)
Grace and peace,
Tracy