Dana

Alison Roberto
Fuchs

No
Boundaries!

Songwriter’s Monthly - April ’11, #135 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly

 When Dana Fuchs sings, it is a spiritual
experience. She is incapable of holding
anything back. She taps into something
“Jon and I went into
this being so sick of
a producer coming in
and saying, ‘Okay,
you have to sound
like this.’”
larger than herself, some collective, a
place where we are all connected. All
the hurt, all the love, all the joy, all
those raw and primal emotions find an
outlet in her, an escape. They use
Dana. Her body trembles, she falls to
Songwriter’s Monthly - April ’11, #135
the stage and her voice roars with such
power that she has to pull the
microphone back, otherwise she might
drown out the entire band — even
without the mic, that is still a very real
possibility. Then she slowly climbs to
her feet . . . or maybe she only makes
it as far as sitting at the edge of the
stage with her feet dangling in the
audience, and a story so deep, so tragic
and so personal, tumbles from her lips.
Then she cries.
When you think her body and her voice
can endure no more, that she has given
every ounce of herself over to the
music and it has used her completely,
Dana springs to her feet, renewed,
revitalized and recharged, she appears
to be even more dynamic and alive
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 than she was when she first stepped which gave the illusion that Dana’s
onto the stage! Then, unbelievably, voice was coming from everywhere at
Dana takes it to an even higher level. once in the small space.

That’s what you get when you see Dana I pulled out my notes and a copy of her
live, an experience that transcends a CD. Since this debut contained writing
mere performance. Think revival. from a wide span of time, I was curious
where Dana had wound up, artistically,
This week Dana released her debut CD, by the end of the project. “Which is the
LOVE TO BEG, on Ruf Records. On April newest song on here?” I began.
15th, she will celebrate
that release with a “The music didn’t Dana picked up the
special showcase at CD from the couch
New York City’s have to have and started
Highline Ballroom. I boundaries, it didn’t scrutinizing the track
caught up with Dana list on the back cover.
before a show at the
have to be one “Let me look,” she
Sellersville Theater in thing.” said absently while
Pennsylvania. Jon deciding. “There’s a
Diamond, her guitarist and writing few I wrote in the same time frame just
partner, had just pulled up in a large before we started recording . . . It
white van containing all the gear and would be either ‘Set It On Fire’ or
the band. While the guys unloaded and ‘Golden Eyes’ or ‘Summersong.’ We
set up for soundcheck, Dana and I never really even planned to record
settled into a sparsely furnished yet ‘Summersong’ because it was so
somehow cozy room just off-stage to unfinished, but Jon came into the studio
conduct the interview. The Theater had and said, ‘No, no, no we have to do
provided Fuchs and the band with a this!’ and we worked it out, right there.”
spread of wine, crackers, cheeses and
other refreshments, but she opted for “Summersong” was my current favorite
water. track. The song contains a mellow,
soulful vibe and a cool, easy-going
Dana was remarkably relaxed and melody that sets it apart, sonically,
casual, her trademark cascade of wild, from the rest of the album.
dirty blonde locks had been tamed and
pulled back. She stretched her long legs “It’s a departure,” she agreed. “I really
out as she reclined slightly on the couch wanted to give it the tender treatment
and asked me several questions while I that I thought it needed. We were on
set up the recording gear. Her voice tour all last year in Europe and I was on
was deep, husky and rich with a warm this Al Green musical diet — for some
color. Even after the long drive to the reason before every show I would have
venue, it crackled with an engaging my iPod and that was my centering
vitality. The emptiness of the room music before the shows. I’d always
provided a mild echo, a natural reverb loved Al Green and I’ve listened to him
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 over the years, but for some reason I
just found his music to be really great
for that one particular tour. So, when
Jon came to me and played sort of this
R&B thing for ‘Sumersong,’ I had no
“One minute it’s
blues, one minute
it’s classic rock, one
minute R&B or kind
of a folky singer/
songwriter . . .”
words, nothing, but I kept thinking, ‘Al
Green.’ I said, ‘We should think of that
like Willie Mitchell,’ and then Jon, of
course, knew exactly what to do.” [Note
to hear Songwriter’s Monthly exclusive
audio of Dana talking in more depth
about “Sumersong,” visit: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?
v=QSPauArdeXc&feature=channel_vide
o_title]
“That’s the great thing,” she continued,
“that’s why the songs are so different.
One minute it’s blues, one minute it’s
classic rock, one minute R&B or kind of
a folky singer/songwriter . . . we’re
drawing on all our country, blues and
roots influences. Jon and I both listen
to everything, all these different veins,
so he knew exactly where to go with
that Al Green thing and I literally just
banged out the lyrics. But we’ve never
done anything like this, so that’s why,
really, it’s the newest one.”
“‘Keepsake’ is the other one that was a
little bit of a departure,” she pointed
out. “We wrote that a little over a year
Songwriter’s Monthly - April ’11, #135
ago and we thought, ‘Well yeah, it’s
sweet and it’s kind of folky, but how
does it fit in?’”
“If you didn’t have the slower tracks,” I
o b s e r ve d , “ t h e n t h e g u t s y o n e s
wouldn’t feel as strong, they provide
contrast.”
“That’s a great point,” Dana agreed.
“We all have a bunch of different sides
— at least we hope we do — so I didn’t
want everything to be me screaming.
Interestingly, before we made this CD, I
did go into the studio with a really well-
known producer, a brilliant guy, and he
wanted everything to be mellow. And
while I really enjoyed doing that —
because I’d never done anything like
that before — after it was all done and
the hypnosis of being in the project
wore off, I stepped out and I thought,
‘This is only one side of me for the
“We’re drawing on
all our country, blues
and roots
influences.”
whole record . . . and it’s so boring.”
She laughed a deep robust laugh.
“Speaking of a sort of hypnosis of a
project,” I wondered, “do you think
playing Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway
production of LOVE, JANIS and spending
18 months as Sadie while filming
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE changed your
music or your approach to music?”
“Absolutely!” Fuchs declared without
hesitation. “I think it changed my
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 freedom of approach, especially playing
Janis Joplin every night. I stepped into
her shoes and I got to be her. She was
“I do have a
vulnerable, tender
side. I have a shy
and quiet side.”
a very risky person! It was just so easy
to take all the risks under the guise of
‘Janis.’ Then, I was like, ‘Why doesn’t
Dana just take more risks?’ It really
shaped me first and foremost as a
performer, it definitely got my voice in
better shape. I realized, man, I’ve got a
lot to learn. She was really that
Songwriter’s Monthly - April ’11, #135
brilliant! I didn’t know it before the
show. I had been compared to her and
asked to do her music, play her in the
show, but that was way before I ever
really listened to her.”
“Then, with the film — which was a
loosely based Janis role — I felt like it
gave me permission to just say, ‘You
know what, there are no boundaries, be
uninhibited!’ There are times when
that’s hard, like when you’re sitting in
front of an audience for the first time.
My golden rule is ‘Don’t try to be cool’
because that’s so uncool. Just spill it all
out, spill your guts, do what you gotta
do and let it be real.”
“Have you ever written a song and
thought, ‘This is not for me?’”
Michael Weintrob
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 Dana leaned back and laughed. “You i n t e r v i e w . H e h a d a k i n d o f
have great questions, nobody asks that disconnected coolness about him. There
stuff! Yes, we’ve written a few songs could have been a gun fight going on in
where I think, ‘Maybe that’s for that little room and I surmised he
someone else.’ I almost did that with would have been oblivious. Yet, as he
‘Keepsake’ because I couldn’t find a slipped out, he half mumbled, “The live
way to get to the sweetness of the a c o u s t i c s t u f f , ” e f f e c t i v e l y
c h o r u s a t f i r s t . I t w a s a l i t t l e demonstrating that not only was he
challenging. I had to fully aware, but he
learn how to reign in was quick and sharp,
some of my power
“Just spill it all out, deftly putting his
because I do have a spill your guts, do finger on exactly what
v u l n e ra b l e , t e n d e r what you gotta do.” I was talking about
side. I have a shy and without hesitation.
quiet side.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Dana recalled,
“Just not on stage,” I threw out. the understanding flooding into her
eyes. “That’s Jon Diamond, by the way,
“Exactly,” she admitted. “And I wanted my co-writer and music partner,” she
to capture that. I remember Jon and I introduced, but the mystery man had
recorded it acoustically in a series of already moved on, headed back to the
demos we were making before we went s t a g e t o c o n t i n u e p r e p a r i n g f o r
into the studio . . . I just remember soundcheck.
getting tears in my eyes while singing it
and thinking, ‘Wow, this is striking a “Yes, the song is about the music
chord, I can be this too.’” industry,” Dana picked the conversation
thread back up, “but also it’s about
“Was ‘What You See’ really written people listening with their eyes or
about the music industry?” speaking with their ears. People jump
on a bandwagon and either say, ‘Oh I
“Yes. How did you know that?” like this’ or ‘I don’t like this’ because
they are waiting to see what everyone
“I caught you saying something at the else says. I think almost every musician
beginning of one of your videos,” I out there has gone through something
confessed. like this at one point or another. I think
every person has . . .” Dana trailed off.
Dana looked a little confused. She fell silent, collecting her thoughts.
She sat forward and when she
About a minute prior, an unassuming continued, there was a hushed urgency
guy in a hat and glasses had shuffled to her voice, like she was revealing
into the room with us. Currently, he something of vital importance. “You
was digging through the beverages, know, everybody’s waiting to see what
seemingly unaware that anyone else everybody else thinks before they get
was there, let alone in the middle of an on-board. The song is saying, ‘Come
Songwriter’s Monthly - April ’11, #135 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly
 on, go with your gut, take a chance or
don’t waste my time.’ I wrote it in
reflection after doing about 20,000 gigs
for the same labels. All the shows were
sold out, the audience was singing the
songs and yet the labels were still
unsure, they were looking around,
waiting for someone else to make the
first move . . .”
“Don’t try to be cool,
because that’s so
uncool.”
Songwriter’s Monthly - April ’11, #135
The hushed delivery of what she had
just related hit hard. The intensity was
not so much in what she said as it was
in how she said it. It made me realize
how much control Dana had over the
subtleties of her voice and how
important it was to her career to
maintain that control. She could make
just as strong of an impact with a
whisper as she could a
yell. “How do you take
Karen Weiss
care of your voice?” I
blurted. “Do you do
anything special to make
sure it remains in shape
night after night?”
She settled back into the
couch, “Wel l , I never
smoked,” she began as if
defending her richly
graveled, husky voice.
“Honestly, when we’re on
tour, no matter what, even
if I’m offered 20,000
dollars to do a show, if I
can’t get at least six or
seven hours of sleep the
night before, I won’t take
it because people will get
a bad show.”
Dana reconsidered her
word choice, then
corrected, “Maybe not a
b a d s h o w, b u t i t w i l l
cumulatively wreck me.
Sleep is really the most
important thing. I’m not a
b i g d r i n k e r, I d o n ’ t
smoke . . . I do have this
incredible gem of a human
being for a voice coach.
When I was twenty years
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 old, I went to hear this amazing singer “Yeah, the label loved it and picked it
— she had been a back-up singer for up, but Jon and I went into this being
Bowie and Steely Dan and she was so sick of a producer coming in and
doing her first solo gig. I couldn’t saying, ‘Okay, you have to sound like
believe the lows to the highs! When I this,’ or a label giving us a demo deal
asked, ‘How do you do that?!’ she said, and saying, ‘You have to do it like this.’
‘Go see this man, Jim Carson, he
brought my voice back from the grave!’
I do work with him and I do scales — “Let it be real!”
even if it’s just five minutes a day — I
do ‘em every day to keep the muscles We just told everybody, ‘No, we don’t
going, it’s like any muscle in the body want your loans or your demo deals,
you gotta use it or lose it.” we’re doing this on our own. By doing
so, we really got to say, ‘You know
Dana’s band had obviously finished what, there’s our country influence,
setting up their gear t h e r e ’s o u r b l u e s
because now they influence, there’s our
were testing out “Be uninhibited!’” classic rock influence.’
sounds, pedals, The music didn’t have
levels, etc. The roar from just the other to have boundaries, it didn’t have to be
side of the dressing room wall was one thing. We’re coming from all these
rather inhibitive for conducting an places and if one song gets played on
interview. I suggested that maybe it Nashville radio while another is on a
was time to wrap up, but Fuchs got up, blues station, that’s great! It was very
disappeared through the door and freeing. It doesn’t all have to be exactly
the same genre . . . that would be
untrue to who I am.”
“Take a chance!”
Despite the image that kept replaying
suddenly there was silence. She came in my head of an impatient band pacing
back in, almost grinning, and stated, “I about the stage, glaring at the dressing
just told them to hold off.” room door, waiting for us to be done so
they could resume their soundcheck, I
Still, I remained a little concerned had to ask, “So, if you could only pick
about cutting into the band’s one song to represent you, what would
soundcheck time, so I asked my typical it be?”
closing question, “Is there anything
you’d like to bring up that we haven’t Dana stared blankly for a moment, then
talked about, yet?” exclaimed, “Oh, what an unfair, cruel
q u e s t i o n !” S h e d r e w i n a l o n g ,
“The thing that I do like about this measured breath. “Wow, you know
album is it really came into being what . . . I would probably have to say,
without any parameters. Initially, it was and it’s not my favorite song on the CD,
a self-financed CD,” she revealed. but I think . . . Arrgh! That’s really
Songwriter’sMonthly
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 brutal. I would say . . .”
Apparently tired of waiting, soundcheck
suddenly resumed. The guitar spun a
tasty lick that rattled the walls of the
small room. I worried an answer would
not materialize.
“Something, somewhere between
‘Drive’ and ‘Love to Beg’” Fuchs finally
decided, “because they’ve got sort of
that soulful, bluesy, classic rock with a
little bit of southern rock thrown in.”
As I stood to shut off the recorder, I
offered a final, casual comment. “I’ve
noticed that when you perform, you
don’t necessarily move to the music so
much as the music rises up from inside
you and your body just moves as it
releases the song. It’s almost like your
body is singing, does that make any
sense?”
there laughing! She asked, ‘Can I video
you?’ Later she told me about the
movie and that’s what inspired her to
offer me the part!”
“I have to really feel a song,” she
concluded. “If I’m not moving like that,
then I’m cheating the audience because
I’m not connecting.”
We said our goodbyes and I hurried out
the door and past the stage, fearful of
the glares I might receive for cutting
into the band’s soundcheck. But the
guys were oblivious, already lost in
noodling, testing levels and preparing
for that night’s show . . . Which, by the
way, was phenomenal!
For more information on Dana Fuchs,
her new release, LOVE TO BEG, and her
u p c o m i n g t o u r, v i s i t : h t t p : / /
danafuchs.com.

“Nice, I love that,” she replied.

“And it does make sense. I
don’t ever consciously try to
do a dance move, I’m terrible
at it! And, you know, it’s
funny you‘re bringing that up
because that ’s why Julie
Taymor gave me the part in
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. She
had hired me to sing a song
that had nothing to do with
the movie, it was this Indian
chant — the Goddess of Death
and Destruction — that she
was doing for a part she had
hoped Tina Turner would play
someday. I fell in love with
the song and I was in the http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?
id=hyTjEIK1pMo&offerid=146261&type=3&su
bid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A

studio singing and moving and

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sweating . . . and she was out

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