Photo by Shervin Lainez
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
“I defy being defined,” sings Ani DiFranco on her latest album, “I’m not black or white or gray / I’m not he or she or they / I’m not gay or bi or straight / I’m just me, and maybe that’s just another thing to say.”
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for a Grammy-winning artist who’s been in and out of the public spotlight since she began performing as a solo artist 20-plus albums ago. She’ll perform on April 7 at the Pabst Theater.
The Buffalo, New York native has been described in the press and elsewhere as a protest singer, folk revivalist, feminist icon, riot grrrl pioneer, spoken-word artist, DIY label owner, and more.
Distinctly Different
And now, as DiFranco crosses the country on her current tour, she can add Broadway actor, children’s book author, and full-on bandleader to the list. Backed by Todd Sickafoose on bass, Jharis Yokley on drums and Eric Heywood on guitar and pedal steel, she’ll be playing fan favorites alongside songs from her latest album, Unprecedented Sh¡t, which boast a distinctly different sound than the more stripped-down approach she’s taken on past albums.
“I’m notorious for producing my own records, and most of them are recorded live in the studio,” said DiFranco, who has also produced albums for a number of artists on her Righteous Babe record label. “I had a co-producer maybe once along the way, but I just wanted to change it up and bring in more of a 21st century sensibility.”
To that end, DiFranco handed the production reins over to BJ Burton, a producer, engineer and mixer with a diverse clientele that includes Bon Iver, James Blake, Low, Lizzo and Charli XCX.
“BJ brought a whole new sonic element to this record, and that’s what I wanted,” said DiFranco, who now lives in New Orleans. “There’s a whole new world of technology and possibility when it comes to making records, and I wanted to work with somebody who lived in that world and understood it.”
Cranked It Up
The production on the album’s title track is a prime example, one that initially took time to get used to. “It’s always shocking when someone takes something you made and then changes it,” said DiFranco, who recorded the song at home alone with vocals, guitar and “little whistles and things.” “Then I sent it to BJ and he filtered and contorted it, as he does. He cranked it up, shoved it through a bunch of gear and, you know, there it was.”
With its unlikely mix of acoustic folk and borderline industrial elements, Unprecedented Sh*t has since been hailed by critics as one of the artist’s best and most eclectic since 2003’s Evolved.
Production notwithstanding, “Unprecedented Sh*t” remains true to DiFranco’s artistic and political roots as both a musician and lyricist. “I think we should have a new bible that just says: mother earth,” she sings on the new album, “and I think men should stand down when women give birth.”
DiFranco speaks reverently about artists like Woody Guthrie, Odetta, and the many others who’ve followed in their wake.
Proud Folk Singer
“I’ve always called myself a folk singer proudly,” said DiFranco, who recorded two albums with the legendary Utah Phillips. “I would so much rather be hanging out with the old lefties—you know, the radical anarchists, the Wobblies and socialists and rabble rousers than in so many other places I’ve found myself in life and in music. I think it’s cool how the template that Woody and so many others helped establish continues to spread the stories that are not told in the official history books, the ones that you’re not necessarily taught at school.”
DiFranco made her own contribution to childhood education last year with Show Up and Vote, a picture book aimed toward future voters between the ages of three and six.
“Yeah, it’s playing the long game, for sure,” DiFranco said. “One of my reasons for writing it was to give parents an occasion to talk to their kids about voting and its role in being a citizen and being part of society. That’s always been one of the main issues burning in me, to try to inspire and encourage people to participate and vote.”
In other extracurricular activities, DiFranco spent six months in New York last year playing the role of Persephone in Anais Mitchell’s Broadway musical “Hadestown.” Her connection to the play goes back more than a decade.
Anais gave me a cassette tape of a live recording of the proto Hadestown show being performed in Vermont by herself and a group of her compadres up there,” DiFranco said of the show’s origins. “Ashe said, here’s this concept album that I want to make, can you help me produce it? So I was sort of there at Hadestown’s conception. And God bless her. I couldn’t believe how long she stuck with that project and how much she put into it.”
While other artists on Righteous Babe may not reach her level of success, DiFranco is proud of her label and its mission. “We want to help our young artists have sustainable careers in music, to quit the day job and dedicate themselves to art,” DiFranco said. “We’re certainly not the star-making machinery here. But I think there are plenty of examples in the folk-roots underground where you don’t have to make a killing, but you could make a living.”
