3678
(0 votes, average 0 out of 5)
Written by Gregg Shapiro
Sep 22, 2011
Joan Osborne performs on Sept. 27 in Milwaukee’s Turner Hall. – Photo: Courtesy
After years of struggling to find an audience, singer Joan Osborne finally became an overnight sensation 15 years ago with her hit song “One of Us.” Since then, she’s been recording and performing steadily. Osborne is on a multi-city concert tour with singer/songwriter Dar Williams. She also has a pair of recordings forthcoming in the new year.
Gregg Shapiro: I understand that there are plans for you and Dar Williams to perform as a duo for part of the show.
Joan Osborne: I’m really looking forward to the two of us being onstage together. I don’t get a chance to do a lot of harmony singing. It’s something that I love to do. I’m hoping that Dar and I will get a chance to do some harmony singing, because I really love her voice and, of course, the fans are going to want to see that. You come to see two artists, you want to see them mix it up together. We’re also considering her covering one of my songs and me covering one of hers. …
Dar comes from a folk background, while you have more of a rock and R&B style. Is this a chance for you to let your inner folkie shine through?
There’s definitely something about this acoustic duo format that seems more folkie. The songs that I do for my part of the show, I’m able to do them in a way that’s a little more subtle than with a full-on rock band. It gives me the opportunity to explore different ways of presenting the songs. But I don’t know that I would claim to be a folkie in that way. I do (play acoustic guitar) a little bit, but I’m really bad at it. I wouldn’t charge people money to see that.
Will you be trying out new material on the audience?
Oh, yeah! I’ve got a bunch of brand new songs that I’m very anxious to play for people. It’s part of an original song cycle called “Love and Hate.” We premiered a bunch of it at Lincoln Center as part of their “Songbook” series. I can’t wait for the songs to be released next year. …
Dar has a sizable following in the LGBT community, probably due in part to the time she spent in Northampton, Mass., and her singing about queer people. Are you also aware of an LGBT fan base?
Yes, I definitely have met fans from that community. I’ve received e-mails and messages and letters from them. That’s great. I’ve never set out to court any specific audience at all, but I’m really grateful for any fans. It’s an equal opportunity experience. I’m happy for anybody who likes the music.
How are things coming with your next album, which is said to be a collection of soul and blues covers by the likes of Al Green, Bill Withers and others?
That’s called “Bring It On Home,” and we’re hoping to release that in February of 2012. And hopefully this “Love and Hate” original music project will follow hot on its heels. It’s been a little while since I’ve had anything new out, so I’m excited to have these two different things come out next year.
Did you include any songs by female songwriters?
There’s a woman named Olive Brown, a little-known R&B shouter, and I’m covering a song of hers. I tried to do a Nina Simone song, and I wasn’t even coming close to doing it as well as she did. Unfortunately, I had to abandon that one. If you can’t bring something unique to it, then you’re just going to get compared to the original version – and I wasn’t brave enough to do that. Maybe I’ll try again with a different song next time.
Finally, if God was one of us, what do you think he’d make of Michele and Marcus Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin and Rick Perry?
(Big laugh.) I hope he’s got a sense of humor. Otherwise he’d be pissed, right? For them to pretend that they represent him and in fact are doing things that would fly in the face of what I think any self-respecting God would want people to be like to each other.
