UPDATE! In the time since this article went to press, Etheridge and her partner, Tammy, have split up.
Melissa Etheridge put out her first album more than two decades ago and she has made empowering music ever since. Along the way she came out of the closet, sold millions of records, started a family, battled and survived cancer and picked up a couple of Grammys and an Academy Award. Not bad for the girl who left Kansas for California with not much more than her guitar and a heart full of dreams.
These days Etheridge is a full time mom and an LGBT icon. She is also preparing for the release of her new album, Fearless Love, and a world tour that kicks off in Europe and then brings her home to perform for her American fans. Fearless Love demonstrates Etheridge’s ability to deliver important messages and tell heartfelt tales through songs that run the gamut from dramatic rock & roll to darker ballads. Songs like “Indiana,” “The Wanting of You” and “To Be Loved” demonstrate the range of styles and emotion that have helped her amass a fan base that is as dedicated to her as she is to them.
The songs on her new album also pay tribute to the music that has influenced her throughout life’s journey and she finds unique and creative ways to give a wink and a nod to groups like U2, ZZ Top and Led Zeppelin.
“I wanted to unabashedly use the influences I’ve had all my life,” Etheridge explains, “I wanted to present them in this album, and honor them and respect them.”
Between parenting, rehearsing and stopping for a second to catch her breath, Etheridge was more than happy to make time for a phone chat with Watermark to discuss her kids, her activism and her music.
WATERMARK: On Fearless Love, you pay tribute to musical styles and some of the people who left impressions on you, specifically on songs like “Company.” Why was this important to you?
MELISSA ETHERIDGE: I’ve spent the last 20 years trying to define myself and make a space in the music world for myself. I think ultimately in the end, all rock & roll artists are inspired by other Rock & Roll artists. It goes back to rhythm & blues and blues; its all inspiration. I got together with Jon Shanks, my producer, and I said, “This is it. I want to make that great Who record, that great Led Zeppelin record. I just want it to be my influence and just flow freely.” And that was the plan.
As the mother of four kids, do you find that they influence and inspire you as well?
Well, this is the first time really that my kids are kind of aware of what I do in the world (Laughs). They’re more interested in the music world and the whole world out there because they’re in their adolescence now and teenagers. A couple of years ago when I said, “Oh, I’m going to start my new album,” and I started writing, I wanted them to see how long my process was and how long it took and what I did. My son is a guitar player and I’d show him what I was working on and playing and he’d be, “I like that” or, “I don’t like that.” After a while I started playing full songs for them.
Is it true that your daughter came up with the album title?
My daughter asked, “What are you going to call the album?” I was thinking of Songs of Fear and Love and she said, “Oh mom, that’s so long.” I said, “Oh. Ok, how about Fearless?” She was like, “Oh mom, Taylor Swift, that was her album.” So she suggested Fearless Love?’ I said, “That’s great.” So she left and I thought, “Now I need to write a song called ‘Fearless Love.’” (Laughs).
Having your son pick up the guitar must have been a cool moment for you.
You know, I’ve really allowed whatever their love or joy of music is to come very naturally. I knew they were surrounded by it all the time, aware of it. Two years ago he really fell in love with guitar and started playing it, so I said, “Ok,” and I got him lessons with someone. I’m not going to give him lessons, you know, that’s a nightmare, trying to give your kid lessons. He had a real desire for it and my daughter plays piano. As long as they have a love or desire for it then I want them to do it.
What are some of the other ways having a family has changed your life?
It changes your perspective. When I was a woman with no family, out there in the world writing, and living and looking for adventure, it was different than the woman who has four children that I care about, that I’m watching over. When you’re a parent you have feelings about whatever ages your kids are, you remember that inside yourself and it’s kind of this constant emotional string that gets tugged at all the time. You look at the world differently and you want the world to be a better place.
You have won numerous awards for both your music and for your humanitarian efforts. Do you see a distinction between the two types of accolades?
There’s a certain sense of accomplishment you feel when you get an Oscar or a Grammy. It’s your peers; it’s the ones who are in there making music and for them to look at you and say, “We want to honor you with this,” that’s kind of one thing. Humanitarian stuff? That’s a mystery to me because I’ve just been living my life. I certainly didn’t set out to be any kind of humanitarian. I didn’t ask for the breast cancer, I didn’t ask to be gay. I just stepped into whatever it was that I truly was. I just stood in my truth and I kind of think it’s funny we live in a society where we honor people for being truthful.
Why are your fans so important to you?
When I was playing as a teenager in bars and restaurants, my father would say, “Melissa, make sure you thank the audience because they don’t have to be here. They’re showing up and that’s what’s paying you.” He really instilled a sense of gratitude in me about the audience—that it’s about them.
In this business that can be up and down and you’re hot and then you’re not, to know that there are people who no matter how many records you’re selling, they’re going to want to come hear you play. That’s just a wonderful feeling and you just can’t buy that.
One of the standout songs on the new record is Miss California. It is pretty obvious where that one came from, am I right?
Oh yeah, I tried to be just short of knocking you over the head with it.
You have never shied away from telling the stories of the LGBT experience through your songs like Scarecrow, Silent Legacy and Tuesday Morning. Why is that important to you?
I want to say thank you for recognizing that because that is a part of me, that is a side of me that is more political and gay. That part of me that is like, “Come on, people. This is crazy, what you’re doing here,” and it becomes very musical and lyrical because I’m passionate about it. I know I can be better the more truthful I am about my life. I get a lot of power from speaking or singing that truth because singing can reach people where just talking at them doesn’t.
We are living in a time where we are seeing the face of activism changing from peaceful marches to young men chaining themselves to the gates of the White House. How does it feel to be living in changing times?
That’s where we are now. I think that we are such a loving people and to have to fight for a right to love is kind of crazy. Most of us just want to be in our home and love our partner of choice or raise a family if we choose. To have to take to the streets is just kind of crazy, yet we will because we know it’s right and it’s good for everybody. The best activism we can do every single day is just to be ourselves openly because that’s where it starts: in your work, in your community and in your schools.
