#you are native in the sense that you have native family and community u grew up with | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mrsrcbinscn · 3 years

Text

Franny’s NPC Music Pals

Alternatively: McKala rudely writes a novel about Daniel Maitland and everyone else just gets bullet points.

Obvs she’s got a million but these are her main NPC music buddies that will be referenced in game.

Daniel “Dan” Maitland (June 14, 1980)

FC: Martin Sensmeier

Born in Alaska, moved to Payne Lake, Georgia when he and Franny were in middle school

Alaska Native, Tlingit and Koyukon Athabascan

Beginning of his contact with Franny

Daniel has been Franny’s best friend since middle school. They were an inseparable trio with the late Molly Vaughn, who was Franny’s best friend since Kindergarten. The three of them got matching tattoos when they were twenty. It’s bluebonnets because of the song Cowboy Take Me Away

Daniel and Franny got a second matching tattoo the year Daniel was inducted into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame and they were both inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame -- it’s matching banjos on their wrists

His dad always liked country music so he got into it a little as a kid, but mostly listened to rock in the early 90s, got real into grunge, but in late high school he rediscovered country and bluegrass music

He and Franny played in a rock band in their last two years of high school but they were both getting really into country and bluegrass together at this time so they’d get together and jam

Acquiring a love for country/folk music

Daniel has said in interviews that, “Unlike Franny, my music taste wasn’t very diverse until I was in high school. I was a product of the 80s and 90s, you know, rock n roll, grunge, Franny and I were even part of a rock band with some classmates. I got a car and could drive us around. Franny usually commandeered the cassette player. She really opened my ears to influences outside of rock music.”

On how a Nirvana fanboy grew up to study bluegrass music academically and become a bluegrass musician; “It was really our senior year of high school that I fell head over heels for country and bluegrass music. He isn’t always considered country, but I discovered the music of John Denver in the late nineties. After his death, Franny and I went to a record store and purchased one of his Best Of compilation albums because all we really knew [...] Country Roads, the obvious. We sat on my bedroom floor, I had my guitar, Franny had her thrift store mandolin, we played with that album and came up with harmonies until my sister bangs on my door at almost midnight to tell us to shut up. I found a cassette tape we recorded from that day actually, I still have it. We have a lot of recordings of our early- I don’t even want to call it work, we were just playing around. That night sent me down the rabbit hole.”

He hasn’t just ditched rock music though, he’s a guitarist and backup singer in a female-fronted alt-rock band Venus and The Flytraps.

He has a prolific career as a songwriter, a successful career as a solo artist, he and Franny Robinson form an americana-bluegrass duo called Dara & Danny, and he’s one of the members of a kind of “supergroup” of musicians living in Appalachia called Pardon My Banjo. Daniel used to play mandolin in a band called NDN Cowboys- a country-folk band made up of all Native Americans, but he left the band on friendly terms in 2010, the year after Dara & Danny was formed.

Daniel went to East Tennessee State University to pursue a degree in Country, Bluegrass, and Old Time Music, the only place in the world to offer such a degree.

Personal Life

Daniel was born in Juneau, Alaska, to a Koyukon-Athabascan mother and a Tlingit and white father. His paternal grandfather is of English, Croatian, and Czech descent. Daniel maintains a home in his native Alaska, and in Kentucky, his primary residence. Shortly after his birth, he, his father, and his siblings moved to the Hoonah–Angoon Census Area where they lived in various communities with friends and relatives of his father, primarily Hoonah and Pelican, while his mother worked as a civil engineer in England and sent money home. He didn’t live with his mother until, in 1991, she got a job opportunity with the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the family relocated to the town of Payne Lake in Clayton County.

“Payne Lake’s this little nowhere town sandwiched between Jonesboro and Lovejoy, in the rural part of Clayton County,” Maitland explained in an interview. “You’re driving south from Jonesboro, you blink and you passed through Bonanza and Payne Layne, then you’re in Lovejoy.”

Daniel became a classmate of Franny Sor Robinson at Lovejoy Middle School and Lovejoy High School. “She’s been my best friend for 30 years,” Maitland said in a 2021 interview. “It’s been a gift to know her for long. We’ve been through marriages, kids, all of the good and bad in life together. It’s great to have somebody besides your family and partner to lean on and to knock some sense into you when you need it. Apart from my family, the only non-negotiable people in my life are Franny and, uh, Madalaine, my oldest kids’ mom. I’ve always just had a better time being one or two token guys in a friend group of mostly women.”

In 2009, he and Robinson formed the duo Dara & Danny together after having regularly collaborated since the start of their music careers.

Twice divorced, his divorces were the inspiration behind Dara & Danny’s “The Divorce Album”, a critically acclaimed and fan-beloved album about divorce and the lead up and aftermath. Daniel wrote most of the lyrics and Franny wrote the music to go with Dan’s lyrics, which was unusual because she usually writes most of the lyrics. In addition to his divorces, Daniel’s had several rocky serious relationships that have served as song inspiration.

In 2003, Daniel married Madalaine Snow, daughter of English banjo-player John Mitchell and North Carolina Cherokee and Lumbee Native American activist, sociologist, poet, and musician Atsila Snow in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. They had two children together, son Larkin Maitland Snow (b. 2003), and daughter Kalia Maitland Snow (b. 2004). They divorced in 2006 but they’ve remained friends.

Snow’s children and older step-children from her current relationship occasionally visit Kentucky with Maitland’s children. “They’re my kids’ siblings. They’re welcome in my home anytime for a trip to the mountains with or without my kids.” Maitland has said in an Instagram live with Kalia, where he was teaching other dads how to do their daughters’ hair. “Her brother -- okay, for the sake of clarity I’m going to say just once stepbrother and stepsister, but those aren’t words we really use in our family. Her brother and sister literally call me like ‘hey, Dan, can my friends and I come crash at your place some weekend this month? We want to go hiking and white water rafting somewhere different’ and I’m like ‘great, any vegans or food allergies I need to know about for dinner?’ If you are my kids’ family, you are my family too. I stay at Maddy and Eric’s house when I have a show within an hour and a half drive to hangout with them and Larkin and Kalia. Eric and I have gone on fishing weekends together. We’re very fortunate that our divorce was a very mutual, natural conclusion to that part of our relationship, and that we’ve gotten to maintain a wonderful friendship. I feel like our marriage ending made my family grow, not shrink. And I hope all of Larkin and Kalia’s siblings through Maddy and Eric feel welcome in my family. Like a weird bonus uncle.”

Larkin and Kalia mainly lived in Swain County, North Carolina, with their mother and attended New Kituwah Academy, a private Cherokee-language-immersion K-6 school. In 2019, Kalia moved to Cumberland, Kentucky to live with Daniel so she could graduate from high school there and get Kentucky tuition at University of Kentucky.

In 2006, Daniel began dating Canadian actress and Mohawk indigenous rights activist Gina Taylor, but they split in 2009. They have one daughter together, Ariadne Maitland (b. 2007). Daniel is on good terms with Gina, and Ariadne lives primarily in Kentucky with him.

He briefly dated Oscar-nominated actress Amanda Dunham in 2009.

He married Australian journalist Sasha Teller in 2010. They divorced in 2014 and had two children together, boy girl twins Jack and Maxie (b. 2011). In 2018, he sued her for primary custody, citing Teller withholding his right to see the twins. He won primary physical and joint legal custody of Jack and Maxie, and was court-ordered to have the twins spend Christmas and three weeks in the summer with Sasha in Australia.

In 2019, his son Larkin came out as pansexual and two-spirit. Dan retweeted their tweets that clarified their pronouns are “he/xe/they” and that “I don’t dislike the terms nephew, son, grandson, but do not call me a man.” He has been supportive of his son’s identity, appearing at North Carolina and Kentucky pride events with them, his daughter, and their mother.

In February 2016, Daniel began dating American artist, poet, writer, and singer-songwriter Whitney Sullivan (born April 8, 1991). Her mother is from the Zuni tribe and she grew up on the Zuni reservation with her siblings, mother, and her father, whose ancestry comes from the Lummi, Ute, and Omaha tribes, and one Irish great-grandfather, hence the last name.

On her friend’s current girlfriend, Franny Sor Robinson has said, “If Daniel don’t marry her, I might have to.”

............

Serghei Adamescu (November 24, 1982)

FC: Andrei Tiberiu Maria

Romanian-born sound engineer that Franny regularly words with

Met when he was studying at Pride U when she was getting her Masters’ there and they #vibed

He’s a dope guy

Not much to say about him other than he’s damn good at his job

Lora Lopez (November 1, 1978)

FC: Sandra Hinojosa

Mexican-American singer and songwriter she went to NYU with

Franny’s collaborated with with and written songs for her

She stared in one of her music videos as the love interest and they got to makeout half-naked which Franny described as “fun as hell”

Lora makes music in English and Spanish

Padraig Chen (May 10, 1987)

FC: Lewis Tan

Irish-Chinese alt-rock singer and musician

Met through her Scottish Seoul Hanoi’d bandmate Max Cho

They’ve written together a few times

Mostly just jam and vibe together

He sends her a lot of his demos for her opinion

#&&...hc

0 notes

theparaminds · 6 years

Photo

It was the mantra he repeated to himself through his lowest moments, the mantra that changed everything he was, but also, it was a peek into his near future and a reflection on the journey he had already made:

“You’re an egg, you don’t know who you are, but one day, you will hatch”

Yes, for Nelson Mendes, this was the string of words that allowed him to bring himself out of the emotional hole he had been dug into right when he believed little could go wrong. This was the mantra that created the summation of one man’s childhood and teenage years, cracking open the door to his tomorrow and to an understanding of self.

Many would be quick to label Nelson as a designer after seeing that he has founded his own successful company, ‘Svnk Face’, fresh out of high school with the vision of a brand that constructs unique shirts, hats, cups, stickers and, originally, skateboards (though he never sold a single one) identified by his own artwork. But Nelson himself doesn’t even know if that’s what he is, admitting he has no idea how to label himself, as he never decided to become a ‘designer’, an ‘artist’ or the person he is today, truthfully, he has come to this point unexpectedly, yet, it seems as though this is the spot he was meant to be in, whether or not it was planned. It is this lifelong campaign for self-discovery that has led the 18-year-old to his current work, current self and, most importantly, current goal of inspiring others to find their wings.

The further one goes into Nelson’s past, the more they understand that he was always been poised for this style of work, evident in the way he grew up and the characteristics he exemplified from a young age. Most notably, as far back as he can remember, Nelson found comfort in drawing. Whether or not he believes he was good at it, drawing became a nirvana that allowed Nelson to escape the daily routines and constant expectations floating around his head. Once while growing up, Nelson stole the notebook of a cousin, ripping the pages out and attempting to recreate the images himself, or some days, giving his best shot at visualizing the character he grew up with, Naruto. Though, this connection with art, creativity, and anime had led Nelson to feel like an outsider, one who fit into no groups and whose interests were uninteresting or uncool to everyone else. One could argue these are the feelings that Nelson hopes to eradicate with his clothing and overall company, praying that once the shirt is placed upon the chest of an individual, they truly feel as though they are part of a family.

Oddly enough though, family was something Nelson had been looking for in his own manner, his youth started off in a way one wouldn’t pick by choice, having an absent father and being forced to search for someone to look up to. Though, he would tell you himself that this experience was essential towards his current character, whether or not he actually noticed the absence, as the father figure he would eventually find would push him somewhere he had never expected. But before finding him, he needed to move to California, heading for the trip with his mother and single brother at the age of seven, leaving their former home in Texas behind and blossoming the opportunity for a young Nelson to grow and develop the artistry he grew a yearning to pursue.

Years passed with relative ease up until middle school, difficulty finally arising from an uncertainty of self. The pain of puberty mixed with a sense of alienation from peers led Nelson to seek someone for guidance, it led him towards the man who would change everything, becoming the parental puzzle piece he had been missing for a lifetime. He had never met the man, never spoke to him, he had only heard his voice. And truthfully, the man himself was only a broke teenager who grew up in a seemingly parallel life to Nelson’s. Creatives since birth, absent fathers, LA natives, both alienated in school, self-taught and self-made, the list is endless. But, there is one diversion in their stories, while one was a middle school kid completely unsure who he was, the other had started to figure it out, labeling themselves with a stage name: Tyler, the Creator.

Tyler’s music and brand became an addiction for Nelson (who had now recharged his love for art) and gave him a sense of what he wanted to see in himself. Tyler became an idol, a father and an inspiration for the now maturing artist (interestingly enough, when they now see each other in LA Tyler jokes that Nelson is always growing a little taller, catching up in height as if like a son outsizing his dad). Nelson disallowed any other music to hit his ears and when he was on the internet ever so rarely, he was scouring Odd Future message boards for those who had become as obsessed as him, hoping to find a solace in the possibility that he wasn’t again alienated for his passions. But after seeing what Tyler had created, he truly believed he could do the same with his artwork, wanting to sell it on mediums beyond a canvas. In the coming months he designed and labeled his first ever clothing company, DT, making 3 distinct pieces and excitedly sharing them with the same online community he became close with. He was harshly criticized and deflated, leading to a pause on his clothing dream. Nelson had no knowledge of the number of failures Tyler may have had before Odd Future, instead only knowing the final outcome, leading him to believe his first ventures’ collapse was the end of the line.

Of course, this was just the beginning of his clothing story and soon he would experience a moment that would change his brand drastically. This story happens to be quite personal to Nelson, asking for information to be sparse yet for the important elements to be amplified. With that in mind, it took place on Nov. 19, 2014, a now high school Nelson had found himself in the usual lost teenager situation: confusion, constant questioning and drugs. It was night like any other, with him and his friends going out to the local train station to pick up whatever they could from wanderers in the darkness. Whatever had gone into his body was much more potent than expected, leaving Nelson on the ground in a feeling that he was near death. Though, once he was able to bring himself to a mirror to see if that was true, he saw an image that would become branded into his mind. His face, melting down and decaying without any way to reattach the skin. For days Nelson couldn’t focus on anything but this face, drawing it everywhere and giving it a title: the sunken face. Something in his mangled face spoke to him and lit his passions ablaze, and thus, he began his current brand, Svnkface (the v being used because he hated the look of the ‘u’).

A plan was born immediately after, concepts and designs constantly emerging from his newly powered (and drug-free) creativity. Along with his plan, he jotted goals down, hoping to have a certain number of sales and a proven path to success in his allocated time frame. Again another failure struck Nelson as he only sold 3 shirts in 3 months, but this time, determination and experience were on his side, as well as the support of the man he has been looking up to since the beginning. Yes, after years of admiration and months of growing the brand itself, Tyler, the Creator himself had bought clothing from Nelson, finding out after meeting him for the first time at the GOLF fashion show through mutual friends. The moment made Nelson feel whole. Not only had his idol recognized him, but also supported him, the man he saw as a father was proud of him, and finally he was given the reassurance in himself he had been longing for his entire life. His brand saw a success afterwards that was exponential beyond belief as having one of the top youth tastemakers enjoy your work introduces an entire new realm of fans and willing shoppers. At that moment, all seemed perfect, all seemed to be where it was meant to be. The point he stood upon felt as though it was the peak.

But at the end of the day success, praise and affirmation were still not answering any of his questions, not telling him what he needed to know. He truthfully was still the same kid internally. If it was some consolation, he had learned who Svnkface was, who that teenager who idolized Tyler was, and ultimately learned that obsession had caused a loss of self. There was no Nelson anymore, there was only Svnkface. The realization that he was just the shadow of a man he idolized swept the rug right from under his feet, leaving him to fall endlessly, sinking into a depression deeper than ever felt before. Truthfully, how can one blame him? In that moment his reality of self-had shattered, the person he thought he was gone, feeling his personality nonexistent. He attempted everything to bring himself out: mediation, putting his brand on pause, going to Disneyland for the first time, lucid dreaming. Nothing he forced worked. What did eventually succeed? Well, a lot of help from his incredibly supportive girlfriend, but also, the same escape as always, drawing. Nelson drew and drew, this time being obsessed with the concept of an egg, the concept of hatching, the idea he had to come out from the shell he built for himself throughout adolescence. He repeated it to himself every day, and eventually, it happened:

“You’re an egg, you don’t know who you are, but one day, you will hatch”

The egg is now the identifying image for all the clothing coming from the Svnkface brand and represents the entire journey Nelson has had to go through to find who he is, all the trials, tribulations, failures, it all led to this. And amazingly, he has hatched a greater man he ever dreamed: more determined, accepting of his flaws, wiser, calmer, listening to new music (for once in his life) and finally, understanding of what he represents.

He built the brand as a kid who was scatterbrained and unsure of life beyond high school, excluded and as Tyler the creator would describe, a total goober. But these are the people Nelson has always hoped to touch and inspire, those whose clothing choices are outlandish, who hate where they live, those without mentors, those who get picked on in the schoolyard, those not invited to parties, it's for individuals who can truly say they are themselves no matter what. He wants kids to know what he didn’t know when he was younger, the fact that being cool in the ways society tells you is overrated, that honest and pure ‘coolness’ comes from embracing every part of your personality and every single passion you hold near and dear to your heart. The clothing is stitched with the hopes that those without a voice become empowered, finally becoming heard over all the clutter of daily life. Simply put, Nelson is a champion for the alienated youth, hoping to teach the lessons he’s learned through negative experience with others possibly going through the same. And in words of Tyler, the Creator (the master of being himself):

“I think I’m cool, That’s all that matters”

#clothing #drawing #story #egg

2 notes · View notes

cynthiajayusa · 6 years

Text

Kelly Clarkson Talks Artistic Liberation, Confronting Anti-LGBT Parents

During her 15-year career as your friendly pop spirit-lifter, Kelly Clarkson has prescribed a cheap alternative to therapy: anthemic pick-me-ups like “Since U Been Gone” and “People Like Us,” songs that impel a transcendental, fist-raised state.

Late-night Facebook Live sessions are also her thing, and recently, the American Idol alum geeked out like she’d just won “Idol” all over again about her soulful rebirth, Meaning of Life, released on her new label, Atlantic Records. It was just Clarkson chillin’ on the couch with a glass of red wine that was much deserved, considering the artistic sacrifices she had to make post-“Idol,” when she felt creatively stagnate as a Top 40 machine for RCA Records. But aside from a fat glass of red, Clarkson has other strong urges too.

Due, in part, to her simply being so damn cool, Clarkson – who drowned the world in their own tears right along with her own as she was crowned the inaugural “Idol” winner in 2002 – tells me she feels so compelled to stick up for her LGBT besties she literally wants to go door-to-door and talk some sense into her friends’ homophobic parents.

Because her friends ask her not to, she doesn’t. But here, with the ever-outspoken and now-artistically-liberated Clarkson leaving almost no opinion unturned, the Texas native makes that point loud and clear. Before getting back to being a mom to River Rose, 3, and Remington Alexander, 1, as well as husband Brandon Blackstock’s kids Seth and Savannah from a previous relationship, Clarkson spoke like one. Even her simple “diva” request – a “pretty dress to sing in” – is enough to make you wish you were on that couch with her and a bottle of Pinot.

Mariah, P!NK, Kesha – so many female artists have gone through the creative struggles you have.

Oh, every artist. It’s so not unique in any way.

How good does it feel to finally be yourself artistically?

It just feels freeing to make an entire project and, in its entirety, I’m 100 percent excited about it. There wasn’t any compromise. It’s how I feel the creative industry should feel. There’s nothing like working on something you’re so proud of.

Please tell me you at least got a little sloppy at a gay club to celebrate the end of your contract with RCA.

(Laughs) Brother, I got four kids and a career, I ain’t got time to go to clubs! I’m rockin’ a 1-, 3-, 10- and 16 year-old, man. You know what club I go to? The club of playing board games with my family…which, actually, I love.

Plus, you have your farm just outside Nashville. You’ve got chickens to raise!

We’ve got our chickens, our honeybees, and our orchard. We love our farm.

Have you sent RCA Records head Clive Davis a copy of the album?

(Laughs) Be like, “This is what I was wanting to do this whole time!” Yeah, no. (Laughs) You know what’s so sad: I was so excited to work with him. You have no idea. He worked with so many of my favorites: Janis (Joplin), and he worked with Bruce Springsteen way back in the day. All these artists who were very innovative in their time, and I was so excited. That’s been one of the saddest points for me in this industry – just figuring out that someone I really look up to just was not what they seemed. That was a pretty big blow. I was pretty sad about that. Like, we don’t always need to meet our heroes.

In some ways, your story of artistic suppression is relatable to the LGBT community. As an ally, do you recognize that affinity?

Talking with my gay or lesbian friends over the years, I can’t imagine. I’ve always said I can’t imagine not being able to be myself in and out. And, yes, while I can relate a bit musically to feeling like you’re going over massive hurdles to try and get to a compromise that you’re happy with, that’s nothing in comparison to hearing my friends talk about (being gay), especially in the South where I grew up, and then the faith thing comes into play.

I had one friend wait, and this is the saddest thing ever: I don’t think she ever felt comfortable in her skin because her parents were older. So, they passed away and then she finally felt free. I thought, “What a horrible feeling to have to wait until people aren’t around to be yourself.” I could never ever relate to that. I feel horrible that anybody has to go through that. It’s almost like when people ask me about other artists who have all these shticks about them and I’m like, “Oh God that would weigh on me if I had to keep that up, if I had to keep doing shit to make everyone happy.”

Walking onto the stage in, like, a pretty dress to sing, that’s really the extent of my diva, or just my experience on the stage. I’ve always just been very simple. Even in situations, musically, where I really had to fight or jump through hoops, I still was able to be myself, which I think people didn’t like because I was very open. But I have to do that. I have to express myself. Literally, I would go in such a downward spiral of depression if I weren’t able to, and that’s why, honestly, a lot of friends, especially who are gay and lesbian, felt that way. I pray to God my children never have to feel that, that people around me don’t have to feel that. I always hope that I’m always the one person going, “If they’re upset about it, screw it. It’s your life. You can’t “not” be you. You can’t suffer just because you’re trying to make somebody else happy. That’s not a life.”

That sounds exactly like something Kelly Clarkson would say. And I wonder, as someone who has this large, far-reaching platform, what does it mean to you to be an LGBT ally, and when did you know you had the power to be one?

I always laugh at the concept that people are like, “We just love what you say; that’s why we love you,” and I’m like, “Why is everyone not like that?” That’s what boggles my mind. Why would you not say what you want to say?

(In our last interview you) asked me if my daughter or son, or any of the four, ended up being gay, how would I take that, and I’d be like, “Awesome!” Honestly, in a world that is so hateful sometimes, I don’t care where my kids find love. Hopefully with a loving and respectful and kind person, but I don’t care if they’re a boy or a girl. It just doesn’t make a damn bit of difference to me.

I do want my children to fall in love with people who are loving, but I feel like our priorities are silly-ass backwards. Like, I want to go to my friends’ parents who just don’t want to talk about it. They know, but are like, “We just can’t talk about it,” which is so demeaning to their (children’s) existence. And I want to knock on their door – I don’t, because (my friends) ask me not to (laughs) – and be like, “Do you know you’re missing out on an exceptional human because you can’t get past your own ignorance? It’s just silly to me that you want to miss out.” I want to tell them, “I didn’t have a dad and it had nothing to do with me being gay – it had to do with, he was a shitty guy. And you have the opportunity now to not be that parent and embrace your child. That’s your DNA. You love your children. What’s wrong with you?” It just makes me so mad, more so than anything.

This past June, you helped two gay fans get engaged during one of your meet-and-greets.

Oh my gosh, it was exciting. But I was nervous! Like, what if he was gonna say no?! (Laughs)

How would you live that down?

Literally, before I was like, “Wait. I do not want to be put in this situation where this guy might say no. Are you sure he’s gonna say yes?” And he goes, “Well, I hope so!” He was nervous. I probably didn’t help any. (Laughs)

Do you hope gay couples just start routinely getting engaged in front of you?

I was like, “I need to get ordained!”

For the sake of gay couples everywhere, why are you not?

I don’t know if that would be authenticated! I don’t know if people would question that! One of our friends – my husband also manages Blake Shelton – was like, “I wanna marry y’all” and I was like, “I want it to be, like, credible. You don’t actually have a following, or a church!

I have a feeling people would go to the Church of KC.

Oh, Lord, that would be a funny church.

So, as much as I love talking about music, it’s hard not to acknowledge the screwy state of the world during interviews these days.

Yeah, everything is obviously impacted by it.

How are you? I know you’ve always stood up for what you believe in, but in this politically divisive climate, do you feel an even greater responsibility to stand up for the things that are important to you?

The hard thing for me, specifically: I always hate when people bring up, “Oh, you’re a celebrity, you shouldn’t have an opinion.” The hard thing in that for me is, I’m not just that. I’m a mother, I’m a daughter, I’m a woman. And it took a long time and a lot of women to pioneer that way for me, to even have a voice. So, for me to not use that is so disrespectful to those before me who worked so hard for it. For me to not take advantage of that seems like a cruel irony.

Why would I not voice my opinion as a mother? Why can’t I say this is a really hard time to have a 10- and 16-year-old, guys? Because I don’t know what to tell them when they hear certain things on TV. They’re smart enough to know what’s going on. I can’t hide them from that. So, it’s a very hard time to explain things away. It’s a very hard time to have the discussion about any kind of bigotry or racism or elitism. It’s a very hard time because a lot of things are happening that are making crazy, insane, irrational moments normal, and it’s a very hard time to raise kids in that environment. Forget me even being a celebrity. As a mother – just as a mother – it’s a very hard time.

I’m glad, at least, that everything is all coming to the forefront because it’s now pointing out – like, I had no idea we had white supremacists. I have never come across people like that. Not even as a child in a small town in the South, and even then, that town has blossomed and they’re more progressive now.

It’s 2017 – why are we still having these conversations? But we’re having them because they do exist, and it’s insane. It’s insane that somebody just doesn’t go, “Oh, I’m sorry, but yeah, we don’t want that here. You should go somewhere else. This is a country of many cultures, many faiths, and open-mindedness. That is why people came here.” It’s amazing to me that we just don’t have grown-ass men and women in the public eye of politics going, “Absolutely not. I’m not even having this conversation because that’s not even OK. There’s no way to validate what just happened.”

Reflecting on all your work for RCA: Which album are you most and least proud of?

The album I’m most proud of in that whole section is the Christmas album (2013’s Wrapped in Red), and that’s just because it was 100 percent me. It was Christmas and it was OK for me to make decisions (laughs). They let (producer) Greg (Kurstin) and I do whatever we wanted, so it was a lot easier to accomplish my goal with that album.

My least favorite? Man, I mean, maybe my least favorite was my first one (2003’s Thankful). I just say that because of the experience. I was very young and very excited about making a record. It was my first time doing all of that, and it was also my first time realizing, “This is gonna be really hard because there are so many cooks in the kitchen and they don’t care that you’re not allowed to be one.” It was my first experience in the industry going, “Oh, wait, this isn’t what I thought it was gonna be like.” So my ignorance led to that and me being young and excited, I guess. Not that I don’t love the album – it’s just that I didn’t love finding that out.

Do you ever get tired of singing your first single, 2002’s “A Moment Like This”?

I never sing it! Because the song wasn’t meant for me – it was meant for the winner. I never would’ve been like, “This is a great record” (laughs). I get the moment it was for. That was the perfect song for that moment. I totally address that, but that song doesn’t fit in my tour setlist.

It still takes me back every time I hear it.

Totally. The nostalgia. For me too. It was a beautiful moment. I’m very thankful and blessed for it. But it wasn’t a song that was meant for me. They just wrote it for whomever was gonna win, so that doesn’t make me feel special. (Laughs)

With Meaning of Life, your hair on the album cover is giving me some serious Mariah vibes.

That Drew Barrymore-to-the-side-’90s vibe, yeah – it’s completely calculated. (Laughs) I literally was like, “I want the hair for this album to be talking to God.” It fits with the record. It’s so sassy and confident and diva in the best sense, and so I really wanted that ’90s hair. All my inspiration photos were of ’90s hair. Whether it’s the artwork or the music, everything on this album is influenced by the ’90s, which was my favorite time in music.

From “Since U Been Gone” on through “People Like Us” and “I Have a Dream,” your anthems have been empowering to LGBT people. What song on this album do you hope becomes the next big gay anthem?

It’s always my gay boys who come up and go, “Oh my god, I love ‘Whole Lotta Woman.’” And it’s so funny, because I’m like, that is so ironic and amazing! (Laughs)

Based solely on the track’s name, not even the fact that it’s a celebratory anthem, you can’t possibly be that surprised.

(Laughs) Honestly, I didn’t think about it! But then we performed it impromptu at the “Today” show just for the audience there in New York – not for the televised show, just for the audience – and it was so funny because all the gay boys were dancing more than anyone, even more than the women! It was so fun. It’s such a fun audience that just loves sass and confidence, and I just love being surrounded by an audience with that kind of energy.

That song definitely shut downs, once and for all, your social-media shamers. What advice do you have for LGBT people who experience the bullying that you’ve experienced?

We have a 16-year-old girl and a grown-ass woman was being horrible to her. She was just being hateful and passive-aggressive online and I had to be real with (my daughter). I said, “This is gonna happen so often, so this would be a good time to learn to take the high road. Block them or whatever you want to do to not see it, if you don’t want to see it.”

Bullying is gonna happen, so we tell our kids, “That’s gonna happen. I can’t protect you from that. There’s nothing we can do about that. There are no bullying cops.” It’s an epidemic that’s horrible and it needs to be addressed, but at the same time, when you have kids coming to you, I just have to teach her to rise above it.

It’s one of those things I always describe to fans, too, in meet-and-greets because they always ask, “How are you so confident?” It’s because, at the end of the day, I really don’t care about anyone’s opinion but mine and the people I know who love me and really do want the best for me. You can’t base your entire existence and every decision off how people are gonna feel about it. That’s a giant check list; there’s a lot of us. (Laughs) So, just be happy with your decisions, and sometimes know you’re gonna be successful and sometimes you’re gonna fail. And whatever. At least you were steering your ship.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/11/30/kelly-clarkson-talks-artistic-liberation-confronting-anti-lgbt-parents/ from Hot Spots Magazine http://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2017/11/kelly-clarkson-talks-artistic.html

0 notes