I tried so hard to make myself clear. With artists and concert promoters nationwide forced to confront a surging spike in infections and hospitalizations attributed to the spread of the delta variant, Grammy award-winning musician, Jason Isbell, announced Monday that he and his band, the 400 Unit, will require concertgoers to provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test to attend all their future shows, whether they are held indoors or outdoors. Amid the rise in infections, it was reported last week that one of the worlds most prominent concert promoters, Live Nation, will allow artists performing at its venues to require guests in the U.S. to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test. She gets pregnant and wants to have an abortion, although she doesnt feel great about it. But I think folks forget that access to abortion and reproductive healthcare is not just about terminating unwanted pregnancy. And I also want to thank Zack Sedgefield for playing guitar and also Diana Walsh, who engineered your end of the music and the conversation from your home studio in well, outside of Nashville. Then I tried recording it in a couple of other situations, and I just didnt have it right yet. I didnt want to do more damage. I think she probably knew 100%, but.. And I remember the first time I sang ever, Leon Rausch had to hold my hand. (In "Wasn't I Paying Attention," a tale of dramatically staged, small-town suicide, for example, the way she sings the word "attention" amplifies the narrator's unsettled state.) People are still going to get abortions, and were going to have to keep peoples secrets, and house people, and try to do the best we can. If youre just joining us, my guest is songwriter, singer and musician Amanda Shires, and her latest album is called Take It Like A Man. Well be right back. The spurs of hip bones Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. I didnt start learning how to accept my voice until recently. And Lanny Fiel, he would say, youre really, really great at the parts you love. If you see my milk cow, please drive her on home cause I had no milk and butter no since my cows been gone. Is that right? Isbell said everyone attending the bands shows would also be required to wear a mask. You can say I lost my grip. SHIRES: Thats well, see, Im accepting that it sounds like its supposed to now. Having recently moved to Nashville with Shires whose own fourth solo album, Down Fell the Doves, comes out next week the newlyweds will sequester themselves in different corners of the house to write new songs, then play them for each other. In 2016 there was 13% representation of women to men on country radio, and now it still sits pleasantly at 16% on a good week. Shes also one of the founders of the group The Highwomen. Which would I rather have? I also received responses from trolls. I would have died; my daughter, Mercy, would have lost her mother; my husband, Jason, would be a widower. Do you have you do a great version of Im Your Man, his song, Im Your Man, on YouTube. GROSS: What I hear in your voice is that it rings out. After trailing off there, she draws a thorny conclusion about the web of intimate, familial dependency: "Maybe being human is an orphaned condition and what's missing isn't what should be found. Its a lot like writing a song about it. No way. And I followed a dress code. It was love at first listen. SHIRES: I didnt know I was going to work it into a song until I got to the to writing it. And tell us how. Is there a song that you could play a Leonard Cohen song you could play an excerpt of for us in tribute to him since were both such great fans? Probably nobody enjoys it as much as I do, but its not a necessity for survival. And because I was in the time of my life where I was having a disconnect in my marriage and not feeling great in with music but I discovered that it takes a lot to be vulnerable, and it takes a lot to talk to folks and to understand each other. Will you look at me the same? In 2020, The Highwomen won Album of the Year at the Americana Music Honors and Awards ceremony. So I would be studying my pieces. In the first half of the 20th century citizens from every walk of life gathered at the Ryman to enjoy the greatest preachers, entertainers, speakers and politicians of the day. So heres my guest, Amanda Shires, and Jason Isbell singing her song, The Problem.. Theyre just, you know, scans of them. And if you want another kind of love, Ill wear a mask for you. SHIRES: I feel like its a little nasally, and I wish it was, like, a little bit lower. Since publishing my op-ed, Ive heard from some folks who are in their eighties. WebAmanda Shires - The Problem (feat. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. But, yeah, after a while thinking about it, I got more comfortable with it. He asserted that the band would cancel the concert if any venue refused to agree to their requirements. My focus stays strong I can work on a song for six or seven hours in one day, and not get bored or tired of it.. Then her character takes control of the exchange in a teasing tone. And there was a guy that also played the guitar, like a multi-instrumentalist side person. And the other parts, youre just kind of asleep. Recently, I had an ectopic pregnancy, she tweeted. And, you know, she. I had no problem taking direction, but and I had no problem helping when I needed to help, so. SHIRES: Oh, right, in Alcatraz. That way, there could be a more kind of a wider effort to try and have the conversation with folks and realize that youre not alone. And she was like, I had no idea. And how come you didnt know before? And my stuff worked. And while I I know the voice that I have is what I have. And he said, well, you can always put it on there and just choose not to answer questions about it and, you know or you can he was pushing for me to leave Fault Lines on there because it is a good song, as he said. SHIRES: Sure. When I would write the songs, I dont know whats going to come out, but sometimes I was just so down that the only way I could get better was to take it out on writing a song., Shires sings and plays fiddle throughout this interview. This part of my life and our marriage was difficult and it took me back to the reason I came to writing and doing music in the first place, which is expression, she says. Jason Isbell will put his tour on hold after announcing he tested positive with for COVID-19. But finding a voice now and sharing their stories now is as good as any time. Can you play something that you think kind of epitomizes the style that you learned and fell in love with? When youre trying to make a tough decision, you need a lot of support. And luckily, my teacher was one of those good and rare teachers that notices when you know, when a student needs a little more help. But anyway, he just grabbed my hand and held it. You can have as much fun. As they talked, And I was really into that. Ive found and scrounged and continued to for every interview that hes done in any form and any language. Video Playlist: Drive-By Truckers Play Pared-Down Southern Rock, You can still find those adventures if you surround yourself with the right people, Isbell tells Rolling Stone, sitting at a picnic table on the roof of the Port City Music Hall in Portland, Maine, where hell perform in a couple of hours, a few days after his Newport set. She was going to school. People forget that, if you take away access to reproductive healthcare, youre going to be killing moms like me. On forming the all-female country super-group The Highwomen. And I know that Jasons platform is bigger than mine. Like, dont cry; dont show your emotions; be stoic; be strong; everything else is weakness. Theres so much attached to folks thinking women treat it as a kind of birth control. I would like to challenge other folks who have platforms to actually use them. Grammy Award-winning songwriter Amanda Shires and bestselling author George Saunders discuss inspiration, songwriting, and Amanda's new song, "You Don't Get to Go." Like, I know that in all of the searching that he did still believe that there was something bigger out there. She performs in several settings and has received awards in each of them. GROSS: Whoa. I guess for awhile youve been looking for the exit. Chris Tompkins, a high school friend who has co-written mainstream country hits including Carrie Underwoods Before He Cheats and Florida Georgia Lines Get Your Shine On, says Isbell seemed on a different level even back when they were covering Stairway to Heaven together. It was keeping me up at night. We want to hear it. So it was just like a week and a half or two weeks afterwards that Texas banned abortion. Oh, I could have crowed. Yeah without you asking. And Empty Cups wasnt even the hardest one for me to put on there. You could say its all my fault. And that, to me, was incredible, because they had abortions in what was a pre-Roe v. Wade environment and theyre only now sharing their stories for the first time. SHIRES: Oh, yes, Mercy is my daughter. Im so glad you wrote it. As if to match it, she experimented for the first time with filtering the sound of her fiddle through effects pedals, which lends her playing a fierce luminescence. Its not competition, Isbell makes clear with a chuckle. Amanda Shires. Amanda Shires (born March 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and violin player. She has performed as a member of the Texas Playboys, Thrift Store Cowboys and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, as well as in a duo with Rod Picott. Shires has released six solo albums, her most recent To The Sunset on the Silver Knife label in 2018. GROSS: Amanda Shires, its been such a pleasure to talk with you. I recorded my interview with her last week. It was Fault Lines.. Members get extended access to PBS video on demand and more. But she was very good at keeping a lot of secrets. Isbells first show after finishing rehab was opening solo for Ryan Adams in Perth, Australia, three days after he got out (two, if you count the international dateline, the day that goes into the vortex). SHIRES: Oh, I would have had to find somebody to drive me to Mexico or somewhere else. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Did you actually meet him? It de-stigmatizes the conversation. And she came over and I showed her. And so you know Ill say, I dont know, but no ones going to be asking me. The tracks release How did you manage to do that? Why not? SHIRES: My whole left arm is tattoos of Leonard Cohen. It could be something you played. It felt like maybe wed both leave at the same time. GROSS: So that was the Highwomen, which is a song performed by the supergroup The Highwomen, which was co-founded by my guest, Amanda Shires, and Brandi Carlile. And I hadnt heard the fiddle being played at all. Its yet another thing that, when policing does happen, is going to happen haphazardly and ruin lives. "Last night you walked me to my car / You said, 'You won't be getting far before you turn around,'" she sings, her phrasing seesawing and scampering. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires Celebrate Vinyl and Indie Retail as Record Store Days 2023 Ambassadors: Were Building the Embassy as We Speak. We would sleep on the floor in the closet there because she would do the night shift, because she would was going to school in the daytime for being a nurse. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Kitty Eisele adapted it for the web. It doesnt have to be Im Your Man. I just know that youve done that. Theres nothing left to fix. I am your man. When Roe is overturned, some healthcare workers may feel afraid to help people. "Maybe it was circumstance, but I saw my chance and I took it," she boasts, her tone fuzzed-out by distortion. Some of the reason [The Problem] is only coming out now is fear on my part, and Ill admit that. Weve had legal abortions for 50 years and now, suddenly, a long-held right will be illegal. SHIRES: Theres this song called Milk Cow Blues. Its blues, you know? And thats when the fertilized egg stays in the fallopian tube. People forget, Shires says. Im on your side. Her new album is Take It Like a Man. Ninety-five percent of study participants who did have an abortion still stood by their decision. Yet, Isbell noted, the problem is that many of the venue owners are getting so much pushback from some of the governors of certain states who want to kowtow to their political base.. And when I would write these songs, it was never in my mind, oh, I have to record them. The subject isnt talked about enough, Shires says. Maintaining that vigilance and devoting necessary energy and attention to confronting and correcting not only sexual wrongdoing but warped thinking can be all-consuming. SHIRES: Yeah. And youve called on country music stars to speak out, too. Never one to shy away from his beliefs, Isbell implored his fellow man, in Alabama or otherwise, to get vaccinated, that is, if they wanted to see him perform in person, hoping to make a difference. 1,286 talking about this. And then I asked Chance, and Chance was like, no, those are real documents. Victoria is scheduled to open for Isbell on this tour. Were you just, like, the cute kid who could play but, you know that audiences would go wild over because you were a girl in the band and there wasnt much of that? Amanda Shires opens her new album To the Sunset with a strikingly different scenario. I want to talk with you about The Highwomen. So I was left to the radio choices of sports ball and country top 40 country music. Her new album of original songs is called Take It Like A Man. She also co-founded the country supergroup the Highwomen, which includes Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. There were probably 2,500 people, and Im just standing there with a guitar, elevated and facing everyone. Thats what I want. And healer seemed fitting for me not only because it happened that way, but my moms a nurse. My daughter was about a year old, and I was getting into my touring van because I hadnt worked my way into a bus yet. On your Twitter, you describe yourself as a disciple of Leonard Cohen. And nobody would let me in, but I sat there anyway. Maybe I was asking for a little too much. So lets hear a little bit of that song. (Singing) Time was all Id want. In 2020, she penned an op-ed for Rolling Stone about why abortion rights matter. SHIRES: (Singing) Trying not to think of names. Sign up for Rolling Stones Newsletter. Dont support artists who dont support your rights. That last talk left me a makeup rainbow of tears, turned everything blurry. But I had about seven different album sequences going on. When she paints a picture of motherhood in the subdued jangle-pop number "Charms," she doesn't dwell on its oft-idealized and sentimentalized facets. And her latest album is called Take It Like A Man. Well be right back after a short break. And in this certain period of time, there was a lot. And it just worked when we did it. And I was like, thats what I want to do, because you play this song. And she was doing the bail bonding on the night. I just feel like that invites a lot of conversation and questions, you know, into our marriage and our relationship. GROSS: Well, thank you for doing that. So she did daytime job. Snubbing the King: Why Don't Big Stars Want to Perform at Charles' Coronation? I was gifted as a girl. SHIRES: (Singing) Im well aware of what the nights made of. And even on the charts, theres one spot usually I think in 2016, there was 13% representation of women to men on country radio, and now it still sits pleasantly at 16% on a good week. When it reopened, he was in the first 200. When do you show him the songs? NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) Three months after an emergency heart transplant, Grammy-nominated keyboardist, producer, songwriter and artist Peter Levin And I said, yes, Id love to. You know, like, how does that go? BRANDI CARLILE: (Singing) I was a Highwoman and a mother from my youth. If youre just joining us, my guest is songwriter, singer and musician Amanda Shires. On August 10, my life was savedthese are some dark days.. Certain period of time, there was a guy that also played the,... Awards ceremony and in this certain period of time, there was something out. From my youth to make a tough decision, you know, into our and! 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