Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune
November 2, 2021
Working on an album during a pandemic can be challenging, but singer-songwriter Dar Williams said it all worked out fine. “Luckily, (‘I’ll Meet You Here’) was mostly in the can before the pandemic,” said the New York-based musician. “I did overdubs in an isolated room with people in masks looking at me through the other side of the plexiglass – a little like the boy in the bubble.” Williams is currently on tour supporting her latest album. For the latest updates on her concerts, check out her website.
Q: How has traveling around the world impacted your artistry?
A: Every region offers a different palette and world of metaphors. They have all shown up in my songs. I have songs called “Iowa,” “New York is a Harbor,” “Southern California Wants to Be Western New York” and a new one called “Berkeley.” Also, after all these years on the road, I love prairies, mountain towns, desert parks and coastal cities so much. Sometimes, I think I keep writing songs so that I have an excuse to keep visiting (these places).
Q: You have a daughter who was born in Ethiopia. Has her adoption given you insight into the privilege you have as a white woman?
A: It didn’t take having an adopted child to know about the privilege I have as a white woman who travels a lot, or who has benefited from the unacceptable accumulated wealth gap that’s out there! It’s in the books and it’s on the streets. I’m appreciating how cities are working harder to tell their African American, Latin American, Asian American and native peoples’ histories. I could tour (Thomas Jefferson’s home) Monticello with my daughter and hear the full history of the enslaved people who built and landscaped the home. That’s not what I heard when I was her age. At home, everyone we know in our mostly white town is grappling with how to repair and go forward, and my daughter is a part of that conversation, even though I can tell there are times that she feels apart from it as well. No one has said anything cringe-worthy and we haven’t seen any grading or punishment bias at school. That said, there were definitely plenty of specific eye-openers when she was growing up, like how hard it was to find Black dolls.
Q: How have you spent some of your free time when you weren’t able to easily travel?
A: I walked in one park every day and watched it change with the seasons. I’m a big walker, but watching one place go through all these changes was very meaningful to me. Also, the wildlife really came out in force. I felt like we were all sharing the world.
Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?
A: I can’t wait to get back to Montreal. I love staying near the Old City, getting croissants and coffee at Olive et Gourmando and walking to the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal or to the Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal – two of my favorite museums in the world. At night, I walk up toward the street where “So Long, Marianne” was written and give a nod to the giant mural of Leonard Cohen on Crescent Street.
Q: What was the first trip you took as a child?
A: I remember my parents brought us in to New York City and did their best to make it exciting for us, despite the schlepping. They kept a brisk pace through the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum, took us to a hibachi restaurant and told us to look for the Little Red Lighthouse on the way in and out on the Henry Hudson Parkway. These trips gave me a lifelong love of all cities, but I’m sure I managed to complain while we were there. Parents, don’t give up!
Q: Do you speak any foreign languages?
A: I speak French and that’s why I love going to Quebec. I finally started learning Spanish and I’m excited to see how it helps me rediscover the places I already love, like New York City, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque. I would say I’m more enthusiastic than gifted at learning new languages.
Q: Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
A: When I lived in Berkeley for a summer, I felt at home in the eucalyptus groves, the original Peet’s Coffee and in a lot of the neighborhoods – even the not-so-safe ones. There is a vision of what the world can be and Berkeley isn’t giving up on that.
Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A: I had a friend who called me Harriet the Spy in college, because I always had a little notebook and pen with me. I love every kind of notebook and this summer I ordered myself a used Montblanc silver pen. It was cheaper, because it was engraved. But, to me, that was a plus. I love looking at my silver H. Nakamura and wondering where we’re going to go next.
Q: What would be your dream trip?
A: I would love to take a very slow boat trip from Homer, Alaska, through Ketchican and Sitka, then to the islands off of British Columbia, then to Vancouver – stopping at the Museum of Anthropology – going down to Bainbridge Island (in western Washington) and ending with a day at the Seattle Art Museum and dinner at Wild Ginger. Someday.
Q: What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?
A: If I weren’t a traveling musician, I’d love to be a travel agent. I try to find hotels where I can park once and walk around for days. And it’s also really fun to listen to audiobooks that take place in places where I’m traveling, like (books by) Edward Abbey in Utah, Tony Hillerman in New Mexico, and Zora Neale Hurston in Florida. I love adding the fourth dimension of time travel to any trip I take.
© 2021 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
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