Issa

Back in 1993, I read a music review in People magazine. Canadian singer/songwriter Jane Siberry had released an album called When I was a Boy. The reviewer labeled her “quirky,” which always seems to interest me, and claimed this was a CD for intellectual lovers. Whoa. I was hooked.

The next time I went to Record Exchange (sadly, they’ve since gone out of business), I found a used Siberry CD, Bound by the Beauty, which includes “Everything Reminds Me of my Dog,” the song I referenced in the first blog, the hook, the catchy beat. Most of the album is love, love of people, love of nature. Optimism at it’s finest. In trying to decide which cut was my favorite, I couldn’t. So, I’ll give you a taste of the lyrics of “The Valley.”

i live in the hills
you live in the valley
and all that you know are these blackbirds
you rise every morning
wondering what in the world will the world bring today
will it bring you joy or will it take it away
and every step you take is guided by
the love of the light on the land and the blackbird’s cry
you will walk in good company

I love her lyrics, articulate and unexpected. The music is the same. A friend of mine, a musician in her own right, admitted that Siberry didn’t do anything for her. My response was that I instinctively know what the next note will be in most songs but not in Jane Siberry’s. She makes me work, and I like that. So, I had to buy When I Was a Boy.

I have a favorite, “The Gospel According to Darkness.” Here’s the chorus:

I see you lookin’ around at the people on the street
Well, things aren’t what they seem
If you push them hard enough
You’ll find that most of them do not feel worthy of love
Now how did this come to be?

How, indeed? But I have to move on here. Jane Siberry hasn't been exactly inert since the mid-Ninties.

After releasing Maria in 1995, Siberry founded her own independent label, Sheeba Records. I went online in 1998 and found her there, at Sheeba. The website was pretty sophisticated for that time, complete with a store and her musings. Most of her recordings on Sheeba have been theme-oriented; I have Hush, lullabys Siberry style and Lips, recorded live at the Bottom Line Club in NYC. Although her public profile was smaller, those of us who knew her, kept track of her. Periodically, I'd visit Sheeba and read her thoughts, check her touring schedule. I learned about the quirks involved with selling her music online and how she overcame the problems.

Around 2005, something changed. Thoughtful, optimistic Jane seems to have had an epiphany. In early 2006, she closed the Sheeba office in Toronto and sold or gave away most of her possessions, including her house and musical instruments. All that was left, which includes her Miles Davis recordings, was put in storage. On June 3rd of that year, she changed her name to Issa. A month later,during a lecture at the University of British Columbia, she talked about her adventure in down-sizing her life, changing her name, and the evolution of her conception of herself as an artist.

At this same time, she developed her "self-determined" pricing policy at Sheeba, in which you can pay a standard price, a self determined price (payable now or later), or a "gift from Jane" freebie. In order to reduce plastic and paper, shipping and handling, all of the music (including Issa, Jane Siberry, Adrienne Pierce, Gyan, Tim Ray, and Leslie Alexander) at Sheeba is available only as MP3 downloads. There is, however a link to CD Baby on the Siberry and Issa pages, if you just have to have the CD. I don't know about you, but I love liner notes!



This is Issa's latest museletter:

things i have enjoyed lately

watching a goose fly up towards a flock.
i was wrong, eventually they flew in different directions
specks by then

taking tickets at the local fair.

watching the horse pulling. (2 horse teams)

riding my bike fast down the dirt road.

flickering sun through leaves.

after heavy winds, a day of complete silence except for crickets.

tiny bird songs, like pin pricks.

stars scraping my heart as i lie on the rocks

sadness and joy mingling

So, Issa is homeless, but not friendless, by any stretch of the imagination. She's travelling, singing, talking, creating, and loving. She'll come to your town, if you'd like to host a salon. What a wonder that would be.

www.issalight.com
www.sheeba.ca