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Indigo Girls Biography
It’s been two decades since the Indigo Girls launched their career with their independently released debut album, 1987’s Strange Fire. Now, after entertaining millions of fans with their 10 major-label studio albums (nine on Epic Records and one, 2006’s Despite Our Differences, on Hollywood Records), Emily Saliers and Amy Ray have come full circle with the independent release of their new album, Poseidon And The Bitter Bug on their new label IG Recordings distributed through Vanguard Records.
“I am overwhelmingly excited to be independent because it really is where the heart of music sits for me,” says Ray. “I don't have many regrets about the major-label life of the band because we certainly got a lot out of it. We were lucky enough to be on Epic when Pearl Jam and Rage Against The Machine were our label-mates and the company was developing bands with the intent of creating catalog artists.
Despite being associated with a major label, the Indigo Girls have always felt like an independent band — creating a string of elegantly layered, acoustic guitar-driven folk-rock albums on their own terms, and “remaining a little island of consistency in an aggressively unpredictable industry,” as Billboard magazine put it. That hasn’t changed on Poseidon And The Bitter Bug. These ten songs, five by Ray and five by Saliers, retain the indelible melodies and silvery harmonies that have become their trademark, but they also display the growth of two intelligent, empathetic artists devoted to always evolving in their craft.
The songwriting takes center stage on Poseidon, with the duo exploring new approaches to melody, harmonics, and rhythm, especially on Saliers’ “Digging For Your Dream,” which she says is “as close to R&B as I’ve ever gotten,” and Ray’s “Sugar Tongue,” a fevered meditation on colonialism that finds her experimenting with her higher vocal range to capture an innocence not commonly displayed by the fiery rocker. Ray recorded all her lead vocals live and spent time honing her approach before going into the studio. “I also worked on playing with our drummer, Matt Chamberlain, in a more natural way and just getting inside the groove,” she says. You can certainly hear it on her tracks “Ghost of the Gang” (“a tribute to lost friends”), “Driver Education” (given an Indigo Girls arrangement after appearing on Ray’s 2005 solo album Prom), and “Second Time Around” (“a song about not compromising and trying to support each other in our uniqueness,” Ray says).
While Ray says her contributions didn’t center on any particular theme, Saliers, often pegged as the duo’s sensitive balladeer, found herself in a world-weary frame-of-mind during the writing process. “The songs reflect just about everybody I know in my personal life ending long-term relationships,” she says. “So there’s a lot of asking of big questions like, ‘Can love last?’ on tracks like ‘Fleet of Hope’ and ‘Love of Our Lives,’ which are about people breaking up. ‘Digging For Your Dream’ is about the drudgery of life told through one woman’s sad story. None of this is lighthearted at all. I’m a hopeful person by nature, but it’s not really reflected in this group of songs, except ‘What Are You Like?’ That’s a positive song about having great friends who hold you up in tough times.”
While Saliers’ and Ray’s mood may have been reflective, the atmosphere in the studio was urgent and lively. The duo barreled through the recording process in three weeks flat in Atlanta with longtime bassist Clare Kenny, session-pro drummer Matt Chamberlain, engineer David Boucher, and veteran producer, arranger, and keyboardist Mitchell Froom, all of whom worked on Despite Our Differences. “There wasn't time for lot of belaboring over decision-making so it was very much an in-the-moment recording, which I found exhilarating,” Saliers says. As a result, a certain intimacy and vulnerability crept in, Ray says, “because there was no time to second-guess ourselves and make everything super correct. We had to trust our instincts.”
Both Saliers and Ray were excited to go back into the studio with Froom, who is known for his work with Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Los Lobos, and Crowded House, among others. During the writing process, Saliers and Ray, who write their songs separately, would send Froom rough demos to get his input on the arrangements before recording began. “He has a very keen musical ear,” Saliers says. “He’s a musician’s musician and has a very clear idea of what will work. For us, we found someone who we completely trusted to even tinker with our construction of the songs. I’d say nine times out of ten, we went with his ideas because they were good ones.”
“Mitchell was able to build a bridge between Emily's songs and my songs more successfully than anyone we've worked with,” Ray says. Adds Saliers: “He likes Amy’s music and he likes my music, which is not the easiest thing to find because we are so different and our songs are different.”
Those differences have made for a long-lasting musical partnership informed by balancing the creative tensions between two very distinct personalities. Saliers and Ray have known each other since elementary school in Decatur, GA, and began performing together in high school. They first appeared on the public’s radar in the late ’80s as part of a folk-pop singer/songwriter revival that also included Suzanne Vega and Tracy Chapman. In short order, the duo released a series of transcendent albums beginning with their breakthrough shot across the bow, 1989’s Indigo Girls, which earned them their first hit single, “Closer to Fine,” and a Grammy win for Best Folk Recording in 1990. Six Grammy nominations followed as well as several bona-fide hits, including “Hammer and a Nail” (from 1990’s gold Nomads Indians Saints), “Galileo” (from 1992’s platinum Rites of Passage), “Least Complicated” (from 1994’s platinum Swamp Ophelia), and “Shame On You” (from 1997’s gold Shaming of the Sun).
Constant touring, as well as an unwavering commitment to social, political, and environmental issues cemented the Girls’ bond with their audience, who clearly recognize two artists willing to walk the walk. In 1991, Ray and Saliers co-founded the non-profit organization Honor the Earth to raise awareness and financial support for indigenous environmental justice, and over the years they have supported groups fighting for women’s rights, civil rights for same-sex couples, and the abolition of the death penalty. During the recent Presidential election campaign season, the duo partnered with several organizations to provide voter registration opportunities and election information at their concerts and on their website.
The Indigo Girls continued to make records throughout the ’90s (1995’s platinum live album 1200 Curfews, 1999’s Come On Now Social) and into the new millennium (2002’s Become You, 2004’s All That We Let In, and the 2005 Rarities collection). In 2006, they released the game-changing Despite Our Differences, which critics heralded as their best album in years, one that “brims with a renewed sense of purpose.” Saliers feels that Poseidon builds on the palpable energy of Differences.
“It does feel like an extension of it to me,” she says. “It's what Mitchell and David, as a team, have brought to our sound. For a band like us, it might feel inauthentic if we tried to branch out in some crazy way musically. That's why Amy makes solo records, so she can do her own thing outside of what we do together. As a unit, we do what we do and Mitchell just happens to bring the best out of it. That's a good thing at this point in our career.”
One thing the Girls have done differently on Poseidon is include a second CD that features acoustic versions of all the songs, plus a bonus track, “Salty South.” “The release of the acoustic record will give folks a taste of how the arrangements change with the addition of the band,” Ray says. “I think our fans will really appreciate it,” Saliers adds. “Amy and I always talk about whether our fans want to see us with the band or whether they want to see us perform acoustically. Many times we settle on doing it acoustically, so this is a way for them to musically experience the more intimate setting. It was just Amy and I sitting around with a bunch of microphones and playing in a very stripped-down and organic way.”
Like we said, the Indigo Girls have come full circle. Says Ray, “I felt an honesty and sincerity making Poseidon, because I fully believe in independence.”
“I am overwhelmingly excited to be independent because it really is where the heart of music sits for me,” says Ray. “I don't have many regrets about the major-label life of the band because we certainly got a lot out of it. We were lucky enough to be on Epic when Pearl Jam and Rage Against The Machine were our label-mates and the company was developing bands with the intent of creating catalog artists.
Despite being associated with a major label, the Indigo Girls have always felt like an independent band — creating a string of elegantly layered, acoustic guitar-driven folk-rock albums on their own terms, and “remaining a little island of consistency in an aggressively unpredictable industry,” as Billboard magazine put it. That hasn’t changed on Poseidon And The Bitter Bug. These ten songs, five by Ray and five by Saliers, retain the indelible melodies and silvery harmonies that have become their trademark, but they also display the growth of two intelligent, empathetic artists devoted to always evolving in their craft.
The songwriting takes center stage on Poseidon, with the duo exploring new approaches to melody, harmonics, and rhythm, especially on Saliers’ “Digging For Your Dream,” which she says is “as close to R&B as I’ve ever gotten,” and Ray’s “Sugar Tongue,” a fevered meditation on colonialism that finds her experimenting with her higher vocal range to capture an innocence not commonly displayed by the fiery rocker. Ray recorded all her lead vocals live and spent time honing her approach before going into the studio. “I also worked on playing with our drummer, Matt Chamberlain, in a more natural way and just getting inside the groove,” she says. You can certainly hear it on her tracks “Ghost of the Gang” (“a tribute to lost friends”), “Driver Education” (given an Indigo Girls arrangement after appearing on Ray’s 2005 solo album Prom), and “Second Time Around” (“a song about not compromising and trying to support each other in our uniqueness,” Ray says).
While Ray says her contributions didn’t center on any particular theme, Saliers, often pegged as the duo’s sensitive balladeer, found herself in a world-weary frame-of-mind during the writing process. “The songs reflect just about everybody I know in my personal life ending long-term relationships,” she says. “So there’s a lot of asking of big questions like, ‘Can love last?’ on tracks like ‘Fleet of Hope’ and ‘Love of Our Lives,’ which are about people breaking up. ‘Digging For Your Dream’ is about the drudgery of life told through one woman’s sad story. None of this is lighthearted at all. I’m a hopeful person by nature, but it’s not really reflected in this group of songs, except ‘What Are You Like?’ That’s a positive song about having great friends who hold you up in tough times.”
While Saliers’ and Ray’s mood may have been reflective, the atmosphere in the studio was urgent and lively. The duo barreled through the recording process in three weeks flat in Atlanta with longtime bassist Clare Kenny, session-pro drummer Matt Chamberlain, engineer David Boucher, and veteran producer, arranger, and keyboardist Mitchell Froom, all of whom worked on Despite Our Differences. “There wasn't time for lot of belaboring over decision-making so it was very much an in-the-moment recording, which I found exhilarating,” Saliers says. As a result, a certain intimacy and vulnerability crept in, Ray says, “because there was no time to second-guess ourselves and make everything super correct. We had to trust our instincts.”
Both Saliers and Ray were excited to go back into the studio with Froom, who is known for his work with Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Los Lobos, and Crowded House, among others. During the writing process, Saliers and Ray, who write their songs separately, would send Froom rough demos to get his input on the arrangements before recording began. “He has a very keen musical ear,” Saliers says. “He’s a musician’s musician and has a very clear idea of what will work. For us, we found someone who we completely trusted to even tinker with our construction of the songs. I’d say nine times out of ten, we went with his ideas because they were good ones.”
“Mitchell was able to build a bridge between Emily's songs and my songs more successfully than anyone we've worked with,” Ray says. Adds Saliers: “He likes Amy’s music and he likes my music, which is not the easiest thing to find because we are so different and our songs are different.”
Those differences have made for a long-lasting musical partnership informed by balancing the creative tensions between two very distinct personalities. Saliers and Ray have known each other since elementary school in Decatur, GA, and began performing together in high school. They first appeared on the public’s radar in the late ’80s as part of a folk-pop singer/songwriter revival that also included Suzanne Vega and Tracy Chapman. In short order, the duo released a series of transcendent albums beginning with their breakthrough shot across the bow, 1989’s Indigo Girls, which earned them their first hit single, “Closer to Fine,” and a Grammy win for Best Folk Recording in 1990. Six Grammy nominations followed as well as several bona-fide hits, including “Hammer and a Nail” (from 1990’s gold Nomads Indians Saints), “Galileo” (from 1992’s platinum Rites of Passage), “Least Complicated” (from 1994’s platinum Swamp Ophelia), and “Shame On You” (from 1997’s gold Shaming of the Sun).
Constant touring, as well as an unwavering commitment to social, political, and environmental issues cemented the Girls’ bond with their audience, who clearly recognize two artists willing to walk the walk. In 1991, Ray and Saliers co-founded the non-profit organization Honor the Earth to raise awareness and financial support for indigenous environmental justice, and over the years they have supported groups fighting for women’s rights, civil rights for same-sex couples, and the abolition of the death penalty. During the recent Presidential election campaign season, the duo partnered with several organizations to provide voter registration opportunities and election information at their concerts and on their website.
The Indigo Girls continued to make records throughout the ’90s (1995’s platinum live album 1200 Curfews, 1999’s Come On Now Social) and into the new millennium (2002’s Become You, 2004’s All That We Let In, and the 2005 Rarities collection). In 2006, they released the game-changing Despite Our Differences, which critics heralded as their best album in years, one that “brims with a renewed sense of purpose.” Saliers feels that Poseidon builds on the palpable energy of Differences.
“It does feel like an extension of it to me,” she says. “It's what Mitchell and David, as a team, have brought to our sound. For a band like us, it might feel inauthentic if we tried to branch out in some crazy way musically. That's why Amy makes solo records, so she can do her own thing outside of what we do together. As a unit, we do what we do and Mitchell just happens to bring the best out of it. That's a good thing at this point in our career.”
One thing the Girls have done differently on Poseidon is include a second CD that features acoustic versions of all the songs, plus a bonus track, “Salty South.” “The release of the acoustic record will give folks a taste of how the arrangements change with the addition of the band,” Ray says. “I think our fans will really appreciate it,” Saliers adds. “Amy and I always talk about whether our fans want to see us with the band or whether they want to see us perform acoustically. Many times we settle on doing it acoustically, so this is a way for them to musically experience the more intimate setting. It was just Amy and I sitting around with a bunch of microphones and playing in a very stripped-down and organic way.”
Like we said, the Indigo Girls have come full circle. Says Ray, “I felt an honesty and sincerity making Poseidon, because I fully believe in independence.”
Indigo Girls All Music Guide Biography
While they came into prominence as part of the late-'80s folky singer/songwriter revival, the Indigo Girls had staying power where other artists from the same era quickly faded. Their two-women-with-guitars formula may not have seemed very revolutionary on paper, but the combination of two distinct personalities and songwriting styles provided tension and an interesting balance. Emily Saliers, hailing from the more traditional Joni Mitchell school, boasted a gentler sound, was more complex musically, and leaned toward the abstract and spiritual. Meanwhile, Amy Ray drew heavily from the singer/songwriter aspects of punk rock, citing influences such as the Jam, the Pretenders, and Hüsker Dü for her more abrasive and direct approach. Throughout two decades of music, they managed to garner respectable mainstream success and maintain their rabid core following.
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers first took the name Indigo Girls while living in Atlanta in 1985, although they had been performing together since the early '80s, at times under the name "the B-Band." In 1986, they recorded an independent self-titled EP and followed in 1987 with the full-length Strange Fire -- only 7,000 copies were pressed, however, and very little interest was generated. Things changed quickly in 1988 when, in the wake of the success of Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, and 10,000 Maniacs, the duo seemed to fit nicely into "the next big thing." Appropriately, Epic Records was quick to sign them.
Indigo Girls, released in 1989, was an excellent national debut. A guest vocal by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe ("Kid Fears") gave them initial college radio credibility, and the single "Closer to Fine" was a hit -- buoyed by those strengths, the album eventually broke the Top 30 and earned a Grammy for Best Folk Recording that year. By the end of 1991, it achieved platinum sales. Strange Fire was reissued in the fall with a cover of "Get Together," replacing one of the original tracks. The follow-up, 1990's Nomads Indians Saints, didn't fare quite as well. Although it was nominated for a Grammy and eventually reached gold status, the material wasn't nearly as strong. A live EP, Back on the Bus, Y'All, was released in 1991 while the women regrouped; it, too, was certified gold and garnered a Grammy nomination.
In spring of 1992, the Indigo Girls made a comeback with Rites of Passage, which debuted at number 22 and went platinum by the year's end. The album showed an increasing diversity and some of their strongest songs to date. Almost exactly two years later, Swamp Ophelia was released and entered the charts at number nine; it went gold by the end of the year. A double live album, 1200 Curfews, was released in 1995 and the much awaited follow-up to Swamp Ophelia, Shaming of the Sun, followed in 1997. The duo's next effort, Come on Now Social, appeared two years later.
2002's Become You was stripped down in comparison to the orchestration of the Girls' more recent work, and 2004's All That We Let In was generally regarded as their strongest album in years. A rarities set appeared the following year, marking Saliers and Ray's 20-year anniversary as Indigo Girls, as well as their last release on the Epic roster. Shortly thereafter, Saliers and Ray signed a five-album deal with Hollywood Records, although the songwriters only released one record -- the Mitchell Froom-produced Despite Our Differences, issued in 2006 -- before Hollywood dropped them from its roster. The Indigo Girls took to their website to assure fans that the band would move onward, and 2009's Poseidon and the Bitter Bug marked their first release as independent artists in 22 years. ~ Chris Woodstra, All Music Guide
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers first took the name Indigo Girls while living in Atlanta in 1985, although they had been performing together since the early '80s, at times under the name "the B-Band." In 1986, they recorded an independent self-titled EP and followed in 1987 with the full-length Strange Fire -- only 7,000 copies were pressed, however, and very little interest was generated. Things changed quickly in 1988 when, in the wake of the success of Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, and 10,000 Maniacs, the duo seemed to fit nicely into "the next big thing." Appropriately, Epic Records was quick to sign them.
Indigo Girls, released in 1989, was an excellent national debut. A guest vocal by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe ("Kid Fears") gave them initial college radio credibility, and the single "Closer to Fine" was a hit -- buoyed by those strengths, the album eventually broke the Top 30 and earned a Grammy for Best Folk Recording that year. By the end of 1991, it achieved platinum sales. Strange Fire was reissued in the fall with a cover of "Get Together," replacing one of the original tracks. The follow-up, 1990's Nomads Indians Saints, didn't fare quite as well. Although it was nominated for a Grammy and eventually reached gold status, the material wasn't nearly as strong. A live EP, Back on the Bus, Y'All, was released in 1991 while the women regrouped; it, too, was certified gold and garnered a Grammy nomination.
In spring of 1992, the Indigo Girls made a comeback with Rites of Passage, which debuted at number 22 and went platinum by the year's end. The album showed an increasing diversity and some of their strongest songs to date. Almost exactly two years later, Swamp Ophelia was released and entered the charts at number nine; it went gold by the end of the year. A double live album, 1200 Curfews, was released in 1995 and the much awaited follow-up to Swamp Ophelia, Shaming of the Sun, followed in 1997. The duo's next effort, Come on Now Social, appeared two years later.
2002's Become You was stripped down in comparison to the orchestration of the Girls' more recent work, and 2004's All That We Let In was generally regarded as their strongest album in years. A rarities set appeared the following year, marking Saliers and Ray's 20-year anniversary as Indigo Girls, as well as their last release on the Epic roster. Shortly thereafter, Saliers and Ray signed a five-album deal with Hollywood Records, although the songwriters only released one record -- the Mitchell Froom-produced Despite Our Differences, issued in 2006 -- before Hollywood dropped them from its roster. The Indigo Girls took to their website to assure fans that the band would move onward, and 2009's Poseidon and the Bitter Bug marked their first release as independent artists in 22 years. ~ Chris Woodstra, All Music Guide
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