{"id":2989,"date":"2011-08-02T09:36:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-02T16:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=2989"},"modified":"2011-08-02T09:36:13","modified_gmt":"2011-08-02T16:36:13","slug":"melissa-etheridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2011\/08\/melissa-etheridge\/","title":{"rendered":"MELISSA ETHERIDGE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

MELISSA ETHERIDGE<\/strong><\/h1>\n

A progressive survivor finds inspiration returning to her rock roots<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By Melinda Newman<\/strong><\/p>\n

Melissa Etheridge attracts more than her fair share of what she calls \u201cjumpers\u201d: those overzealous fans whose exuberance leads them to leap uninvited onto her concert stage. \u201cMy people know how to watch the front row and go, \u2018Oh, there\u2019s a jumper,\u2019\u201d she says with a chuckle. \u201cThey can tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Etheridge has inspired just that kind of passion since her\u00a0self-titled debut album came out 22 years ago, and it\u2019s not only her music that does it. She has inspired fans as a breast cancer survivor\u00a0(a struggle that informed her 2007 album The Awakening<\/em>), a\u00a0dedicated philanthropist, a gay rights advocate and an environmentalist\u2014she won an Oscar for her theme song from the global-warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But if her other activities have occasionally overshadowed her art, Fearless Love<\/em> should place her music front and center once again. In preparing the album, Etheridge harkened back to the artists who first shaped her style\u2014classic rockers like\u00a0Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and the Who. \u201cThe whole album is an unabashed tribute to my influences,\u201d she says. \u201cI understand rock \u2019n\u2019 roll enough to know that you look at what inspires you, then you turn around and make that music.\u201d She notes that Love<\/em> songs like \u201cDrag Me Away\u201d were written expressly to be showcased live.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean that Etheridge isn\u2019t still singing about issues she\u2019s passionate about. \u201cThe album is completely layered, and purposefully so,\u201d Etheridge says. \u201cYou could listen to a song and go, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s a sweet song\u2019 or go, \u2018Wait, what\u2019s she talking about there? Is that a statement?\u2019\u201d She says the album\u2019s themes can be most clearly summed up in its original working title: Songs of Love and Fear<\/em>.<\/p>\n

An effusive Etheridge spoke with us about her new album, her admitted history of guitar abuse and exactly how she handles those overexcited \u201cjumpers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did Fearless Love<\/em> reveal itself as a rock album as you were writing, or did you know it from the start? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I had an intention from the very beginning. Before I\u2019d even written the songs, I got together with [producer] John Shanks and said, \u201cI want to make that kind of record that we loved, that we always talked about\u2014that classic, iconic Led Zeppelin record, that\u00a0Pink Floyd record that just lasts and lasts. I know we\u2019re all playing this radio game and this hit game. I want to get out of that game and create a new game. I want to make a full-on rock record.\u201d And John went full tilt with it.<\/p>\n

Do you usually have a concept in mind before writing note one?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the last record, The Awakening<\/em>, I did. But before that I was, \u201cOh, where am I? What\u2019s the music? Oh, this is what it is.\u201d I didn\u2019t have it before.<\/p>\n

Do you think that\u2019s because of the cancer? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah. It\u2019s understanding what intention is. Everything is intention. We can either believe that we\u2019re fumbling along and life happens to us\u2014or we can believe that our intention is what creates life in front of us.<\/p>\n

Was Fearless Love<\/em> easier or harder having that intention? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. (laughs<\/em>) It was harder because it didn\u2019t fit any formula, and we really had to stay true to it and stay fearless about it. And\u00a0it was easier because I was doing what I\u00a0love and all I had to do was make sure\u00a0that I loved every single note, every single thing, every single song, every single\u00a0take, every single word. I couldn\u2019t\u00a0second-guess myself.<\/p>\n

This is your 10th studio album. You said that you finally feel you have enough songs for the perfect live show.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually knowing that if I have the most amazing audience\u2014let\u2019s say it\u2019s Madison Square Garden, and they\u2019re all crazed\u2014that I could just keep rocking all night long if I wanted to and not slow down one bit. I know that I could just slam<\/em>\u2014here\u2019s another one and another one and another one. There\u2019s just something powerful about that.<\/p>\n

You didn\u2019t feel that way before? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny, insecurity is a weird thing. You can be in front of 100,000 people and still ask, \u201cDo they like me?\u201d It\u2019s just the way we\u2019re built. Finally I like myself enough to know I\u2019ll be OK.<\/p>\n

How did that influence the record? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It was huge, because I didn\u2019t have to bring any insecurity in. I didn\u2019t have to drag any baggage in and go, \u201cI don\u2019t know, did the record company like it? Will this person like it?\u201d I didn\u2019t have that. I knew that I wanted to make an album that I loved, and I felt pretty sure that there were fans who loved my music and who would love whatever I loved. There was a confidence, a purpose to it.<\/p>\n

Where did you record the album? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I wanted to find a place where the musicians, myself and John could all come together and live there for about two weeks, so we went out to this studio in Malibu called the Document Room. I had my chef cook just day and night. There was constant food, so we never went hungry. We had everything we needed\u2014and all we needed to do was play music. The bottom floor was the studio, and the kitchen and the top floor were bedrooms. We just lived there.<\/p>\n

How many guitars do you have? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh lord, I don\u2019t know. I have so many acoustic guitars, because every time I go out on tour with an Ovation I kill it in a year. So we have to retire them every year.<\/p>\n

So your road and studio guitars are different? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah. I want to record with the finest guitars that I have: my [Gibson] J-45 and Fender Telecaster with the F-hole. They\u2019re museum pieces, so if I ever took them on the road I would have a heart attack. On the road, you want a guitar that will hold out. You want to be able to rock it as hard as you can without worrying about your guitar. I usually get three or four and we rotate them so that one doesn\u2019t get more worn out than the others. So between them, they can\u00a0pretty much hold out. I\u2019ve destroyed\u00a0a few.<\/p>\n

Do you practice guitar every day? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I should, to keep my fingers in shape, but I don\u2019t because I have four children. As I get closer to rehearsal, I\u2019ll start playing at least four or five days a week.<\/p>\n

What are some of the crazier things that have happened on stage? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Undergarments that are thrown on\u00a0stage always trip me out. What does\u00a0that mean? Those are weird. And I always\u00a0find it strange when someone jumps\u00a0on the stage and runs to me. I don\u2019t\u00a0know what they think they\u2019re going\u00a0to accomplish.<\/p>\n

How do you deal with that? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I used to have this cat when I was a kid. The cat would bite me, and if I jerked back it would really hurt because its claws would just dig in more. But if I just stayed there and let the cat let go, then I could pull away\u2014and that\u2019s what I do. If anyone gets to me, I just wait. I don\u2019t try to get away or pull back. I think, \u201cSomebody\u2019s going to come and take you off of me soon.\u201d The scariest thing is that the people that jump up are pumped<\/em> up on adrenaline and they don\u2019t know their own strength. They get their arm around my neck and I\u2019m like, \u201cOK, that\u2019s going to hurt for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you get now from playing live that you didn\u2019t 15 years ago?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sore! (laughs<\/em>) In all honesty, I\u2019m in better shape now than I was back then and I train\u00a0more. I\u2019m doing yoga and kickboxing and getting my body in shape. I could do it 15\u00a0years ago and not have to worry about\u00a0all that stuff, but now I have to keep myself in shape.<\/p>\n

Last year you did an acoustic tour, <\/strong>just you and a guitar. What was <\/strong>that like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a real growing experience because\u00a0all the insecurities of thinking, \u201cThey\u2019re only going to like me because I\u2019m rocking\u00a0them.\u201d When I can get to that point on\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m the Only One\u201d or \u201cPiece of My Heart\u201d or \u201cLike the Way I Do\u201d and they\u2019re all standing up, screaming and hollering and it\u2019s only\u00a0me and my guitar, that gives me a wonderful feeling of confidence. It\u2019s not about how much noise there is, it\u2019s about where that energy is coming from.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MELISSA ETHERIDGE A progressive survivor finds inspiration returning to her rock roots By Melinda Newman Melissa Etheridge attracts more than her fair share of what she calls \u201cjumpers\u201d: those overzealous fans whose exuberance leads them to leap uninvited onto her concert stage. \u201cMy people know how to watch the front row and go, \u2018Oh, there\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[70,2270,970],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2989"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2989"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2992,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2989\/revisions\/2992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}