Out in the Mountains

The Changer and the Changed;
A Talk with Cris Williamson

The legendary Cris Williamson was in
Vermont recently for a pair of concerts,
one at Middlebury College on September
20. and the other at the River Valley Per-
forming Arts Center in Putney on October
6. Before the Middlebury concert she
spent an hour talking about her life, her
music and being useful in the world, with
OITM’s Sage Russell.

OIT M: You’ve recently completed a tour
celebrating the 15th anniversary of The
Changer and the Changed. What does the
album say to you now?

Cris: Well, it still is an amazing thing to
me, that it’s so powerful, because I swear
to you, I think I’ve put that same power in
everything I’ve done subsequently, but
notl1ing’s ever had quite the effect on peo-
ple that that album has. And so it says to
me there’s something else going on be-
yond my intent. I think I’m saying the
same thing over and over and over, which
is basically that we’re all interconnected
and everything’s interrelated, and we need
to learn to love in this world. And we must
do it, we must learn how to do it to save
ourselves and save the world. I’m just
writing one song over and over.

OITM: But The Changer was still some-
thing special.

Cris: Powerful. And it wasn’t by intent or
design. And that’s the beauty of it for me.
Because then I get to participate in it
too...I truly write for myself, and then it’s
a miracle to me if it’s useful to someone
else.

OIT M: Does it surprise you? Or have you
gotten used to it?

Cris: I am not surprised so much, but I val-
ue it greatly. I almost count on it now, that
it will work. I guess I would be more sur-
prised if it didn’L Because I do want to
make a difference. I do want to help in my
time.

OIT M: Well, you’ve certainly done that.

Cris: Thanks. I think a lot of that’s be-
cause people allow it to have its way with
them. And that’s the beauty of music. I
don’t know any armor that’s very success-
ful at keeping it out. And that’s terrific. It
doesn’t have to do with me other than if I
sing it right every time, make the notes
right make the shape of the thing right -
the presentation - then it should work eve-
ry time. The spell that you have to weave.
And I’m under it too.

OITM: Really? Night after night after
night?

Cris: Yes. And that’s the object, to beckon
the spirit to be with you. They (the songs)
are invocations in a way...There’s some-
thing visiting in the room, and you know
it’s rippling through the people. People
weep. They allow it to have its way with
them, and it’s the greatest feeling. And
you’re never content with anything less
than that

OIT M: You’re sounding like you think of
yourself as a channel or a medium, and the
spirit moves through you.

Cris: I’m an Aquarius. I can’t help but
think of myself as that.

OITM: But you’re also the creator.

Cris: Changer and the changed. That’s ex-
actly what that means. I strive for music
I’d say is really not gender-specific. More
universally couched. And I talk more
about the human condition. That’s what
interests me. It’s not enough for me to
preach to the converted. It’s not enough
for an artist I don’t think. How am I to
gauge myself? By what shall I measure, if
people are all like me, and they’re re-
sponding equally? That’s easy, to be in
that easy company, and it’s a wonderful
thing. Mind you, I love that. But also,
there’s the challenge of singing for people

 

that I would consider to be a little bit
more resistant. More diff1cult...There’s
nothing that pleases me more than that
look that comes over people’s faces,
“Where have you been? Why haven’t I
known about you?”

OIT M: You’ve been touring for at least
20 years that I know about. I wanted to
ask you why you keep going.

Cris: I love my job. There are times I like
to take off, and a lot of times what I’ll do
is work really hard so I can grant myself
some time. I also get too rusty if I stop.
Just like any machine. I stopped for a
year once. And getting started again was
unbelievable. I felt so rusty. You get in a
groove when you work all the time. You
become well oiled and you function beau-
tifully. You just get better and better, like
a stone that’s endlessly polished in a tum-
bler. I like it, and I suppose in some way
I’m a little afraid to stop. The older you
get, the harder it is to get back up. I’m al-
most 45 now. It’s not as easy. And yet
I’m getting better, the older I get.

OITM: You’re periodically accused of
not being open about being a lesbian in
your concerts, in your music. Do these
accusations get to you?

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