 Appropriation
When I first started developing the Last Forever repertoire, I was somewhat hesitant about working from Black traditions. There were several reasons for this. One, because I'm White, and, for reasons I won't defend or dismiss, I'm sensitive and a little diffident when it comes cross-race appropriation. (Now, stealing from those Appalachian coal miners, that's perfectly all right, of course.) Second, because it often seems to me that White interpretations of Black music often border on (when they don't fully inhabit, that is) minstrelsy. But Sonya demonstrated such an honest clear approach to Black-based song material on the first album that I loosened up a little more on Trainfare Home, trying on some gospel, jug band funk and blues. A lot of the growth and potential of Last Forever depends upon me not being able to find what Sonya can't do. |
