Saliers, Emily 1963-

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Saliers, Emily 1963-

PERSONAL:

Born July 22, 1963 (one source lists July 23), in New Haven, CT; daughter of Don (a professor) and Jane Saliers; life partner of Leslie Zweben. Education: Emory University, B.A., 1985; also attended Vanderbilt University. Hobbies and other interests: Crossword puzzles.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Russell Carter Artist Management, 567 Ralph McGill Blvd., N.E., Atlanta, GA 30312. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Singer, songwriter. Indigo Girls, member with Amy Ray, 1983—.

Watershed Restaurant, Decatur, GA, co-owner; Flying Biscuit Café, Atlanta, GA, cofounder.

MEMBER:

Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Indigo Girls, 1990.

WRITINGS:

(Contributor) Heart and Soul: New Songs from Ally McBeal (sound recording), Epic (New York, NY), 1999.

The Road to Bliss (sound recording), Cash Rich Records (Villa Park, IL), 2003.

(With father, Don Saliers) A Song to Sing, a Life to Live: Reflections on Music as Spiritual Practice, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 2005.

RECORD ALBUMS; WRITER, WITH AMY RAY; AS THE INDIGO GIRLS

Early 45 (independent release), 1985.

Indigo Girls (six- track album, independent release), 1985.

Strange Fire (independent release), 1989.

Indigo Girls (ten- track album), Epic Records, 1989, rereleased with two bonus tracks, 2004.

Nomads Indians Saints, Epic Records, 1990.

Rites of Passage, Epic Records, 1992.

Swamp Ophelia, Epic Records, 1994.

1200 Curfews, Epic Records, 1995.

Shaming of the Sun, Epic Records, 1997.

Come On Now Social, Epic Records, 1999.

Retrospective, Epic Records, 2000.

Become You, Epic Records, 2002.

All That We Let In, Epic Records, 2004.

Rarities, Epic Records, 2005.

Despite Our Differences, Hollywood Records, 2006.

Individual songs include "Closer to Fine," 1989; "Hammer and Nail," 1990; "Galileo," 1992; "Least Complicated," 1994; and "Shame on You," 1997. Composer for the film One Weekend a Month, 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Singer and songwriter Emily Saliers was born July 22, 1963, in New Haven, Connecticut. The daughter of Dan Saliers, a theology professor as well as a cantor who serves as his church musician, she showed a musical aptitude at a young age, learning to play the guitar and writing her first songs when she was just nine years old. She began her college education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, but ultimately graduated from Emory University in Georgia. Saliers is best known as one-half of the musical group the Indigo Girls, a folk-rock duo that she founded with fellow singer Amy Ray in 1983. The pair have known each other far longer, however, first meeting in grade school at the ages of eleven and ten, respectively. They have recorded numerous records together over the course of their careers, and are also known for their social activism, particularly on the behalf of gay and lesbian rights and organizations, and for their environmental awareness. On the occasion of the group's twentieth anniversary, they commented on their business relationship and career on their Web site: "‘I think it's remarkable that Amy's life and my life coincided like this,’ Saliers says, ‘that we've been able to make music and stay dear friends through all these years.’ Ray echoes her bandmate. ‘I remind myself that we've been together for such a long time and that we're lucky to still be together,’ she laughs." Despite their long friendship and working partnership, they still write music individually, each going off on her own to work on whatever songs are prompted by inspiration, and they each have their own distinctive sound and writing style, with Emily, whose work has been compared to that of folk icon Joni Mitchell, having a slightly more pop sound at the heart of her folk-like music. Said Ray of their writing practices, in an interview with Dan Craft for Pantagraph.com: "We enjoy that artistic space from one another—it's our way of expressing ourselves." Their albums include Early 45, 1985; Strange Fire, 1987; Indigo Girls, 1989, which won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1990; Nomads Indians Saints, 1990; Rites of Passage, 1992; Swamp Ophelia, 1994; Touch Me Fall, 1995; 1200 Curfews, 1995; Shaming of the Sun, 1997; Come On Now Social, 1999; Retrospective, 2000; Become You, 2002; All That We Let In, 2004; Rarities, 2005; and Despite Our Differences, 2006.

Because Saliers and Ray are so politically and socially active, their opinions and ideas are often reflected in their music. Stephen Holden, in an early concert review for the New York Times, labeled many of the group's songs as "verbose, poetically weighted stories of spiritual crisis and redemption told in the first person." Holden went on to add, however, that it is "refreshing to find two performing songwriters who treat philosophical themes so directly." However, Saliers especially shows her background as the daughter of a theologian, who spent time singing in her church choir. Much of her music grapples with the role of God in her life. This was particularly clear in Become You, as evidenced by the comments of Christian Century reviewer Amy Jenks, who observed that "even Saliers's love songs echo with biblical and theological themes. In ‘Deconstruction,’ loss of love is intensified by its relation to a loss of faith. ‘As for the truth it seems like we just pick a theory / The one that justifies our daily lives.’"

In A Song to Sing, a Life to Live: Reflections on Music as Spiritual Practice, which Saliers wrote with her father, Don Saliers, she once again reveals the religious background that serves as the foundation for many of her social and political activities. The book shows how music and life are inextricably linked for both father and daughter, and illustrates how Emily Saliers has managed to avoid the stereotype of the Saturday night musician whose life fails to mesh with the spiritual teachings they espouse on Sunday mornings. The pair discusses the role of music in their lives, recounting tales of singing on car trips and how music helped to unite the family. They also look at the different components of truly moving music, the instruments and the individual sounds they make, and the emotions that those different sounds conjure, likening a truly moving piece of music to a spiritual experience. June Sawyers, in a review for Booklist, commented that the book is "a lovely meditation on the power of music," and, while praising the shared memories that the Salierses impart, found their individual reminiscences to be the most resonant portions of the book. A reviewer for Sojourners commented of the Salierses: "They have a lot to say about the spiritual dimensions of music, and about how music offers both hope and healing."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Advocate, April 2, 2002, "Become You," p. 69; March 30, 2004, "Finely Aged Indigo: The Indigo Girls Return to Their Vintage Sound—While Keeping It Fresh—on Their Terrific New CD," p. 67.

AZ Daily Star, May 17, 2007, "Ray's Lifeline: Indigo Girls."

Booklist, November 1, 2004, June Sawyers, review of A Song to Sing, a Life to Live: Reflections on Music as Spiritual Practice, p. 445.

Christian Century, November 20, 2002, Amy Jenks, "Indigo Girls: Faith, Love, Politics," p. 27; November 20, 2002, Amy Plantinga Pauw, "Musical Lives: Don and Emily Saliers on the Religious Power of Song," p. 24.

Curve, December 1, 1999, "Going Back to Our Roots," p. 46.

Dance Magazine, February 1, 2002, "Indigo Girls Complement Atlanta Dancers," p. 64.

Entertainment Weekly, December 23, 1994, "A ‘Superstar’ Is Reborn," p. 65.

Guitar Player, September 1, 1994, "Indigo Girls: The Power of Two," p. 123.

Herizons, September 22, 2004, "Indigo Girls' One Perfect World: Politics, Gay Marriage and Making Music," p. 22.

International Wire, March 18, 2004, "The Search for Ayman Al-Zawahiri; Talk with Stars of New Movie ‘Taking Lives.’"

Interpretation, October 1, 2006, Brian A. Wren, review of A Song to Sing, a Life to Live, p. 488.

New York Times, August 7, 1989, "Review/Pop; 2 with Much to Tell"; December 10, 1990, "Review/Pop; Indigo Girls' Sensibilities"; June 4, 1992, "Pop and Jazz in Review"; June 30, 1994, "In Performance: Pop"; June 5, 1997, "A New Shade of Indigo."

Orlando Sentinel, January 25, 2007, "Nuance Colors Indigo Girls' Songwriting: The Duo's Articulate Folk-Pop Has Connected with Fans for 25 Years."

People, July 24, 1989, "The Indigo Girls' Mood Isn't Blue; They've Got a New Album and Their Very Own Tour," p. 63; July 6, 1992, "Rites of Passage," p. 18; August 8, 1994, "Out of the Blue," p. 43.

Progressive, December 1, 1996, "The Indigo Girls," p. 34.

Publishers Weekly, September 27, 2004, review of A Song to Sing, a Life to Live, p. 55; September 27, 2004, "Like Father, Like Daughter," p. 58.

School Library Journal, March 1, 2002, "Roger Day's Ready to Fly," p. 90.

Sojourners, August 1, 2005, "Holy Listening," p. 38; August 1, 2005, "Inside Story," p. 4.

Time, June 15, 1992, "Rites of Passage," p. 75; May 12, 1997, "The Shaming of the Sun," p. 85.

Times Leader, April 6, 2000, "Dedicated Duo: Indigo Girls Bring Music and Issues Together."

WWD, February 19, 2004, "Dress Blues," p. 3.