INTERVIEW: Janis Ian Breaking Silence in New documentary
Screening 09/27 @ Caffe Lena, Saratoga
Photo by Niall Fennessy
“[Varda] saw this as an opportunity to make a film about certain points in time and connect those points to music. As a songwriter, that's what I do, so her vision aligned with mine and the more I talked with her, the more I liked her as a fellow artist.”
On September 27th, the trailblazing singer-songwriter and queer icon Janis Ian will be coming to Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs to support a screening of the new documentary film about her life, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence.
The film, directed by Varda Bar-Kar, explores Ian’s iconic songs like “Society’s Child” and “At Seventeen” while placing them within the context of Ian’s own life as well as the state of the country and music industry at the time they were released.
Prior to the screening, I was fortunate enough to talk with Ian over the phone about the origins of this documentary, what it’s like to have a documentary made about your life, Saratoga during track season, Buffalo Wings and having a character in Mean Girls named after you.
The interview below has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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Corey Dempsey: Can you tell me a little bit about the genesis of this documentary? How did the whole thing come about?
Janis Ian: I've been asked to let people make documentaries of my life since I was 15 or 16 years old and I've been turning them down for a long time. Varda [Bar-Kar] called me just after I had walked away from a deal that I had finally signed but the person I signed it with turned out to not have represented himself correctly. So I walked away and thought, ‘The universe is telling me not to do this.’
Meanwhile, Varda had finished a film called Fandango at the Wall that had won all sorts of awards, and she was meditating on what she should do next. She realized that with all these films about male singers and male bands, there were very few about female influences. She said that the first name that popped into her head was mine so she went online, found my website and emailed me saying she’d like to do a film. I said no, and so she emailed again. She just kept harassing me (laughing).
I finally said, ‘Okay, send me an example of your work,’ and she sent me a couple of private links to Fandango and a couple of others. I thought her work was terrific, but I couldn't see how it would apply to my life.
But, we talked and her vision seemed to make a lot of sense and she agreed to the two conditions I had. I wanted to be allowed to screen a rough cut of the film for factual corrections only, just in case somebody got a date wrong, and that it be about the times as well as my work to show how the two were connected. That was it! Then my lawyers did a whole bunch of stuff with her that I stayed out of.
Funnily enough, one of the things I did was give her a list of people who didn't like me and said, ‘You should talk to these people, to get a balanced view.’ None of them would do the interview which was interesting. Other than that my whole contribution was three interviews and I sent her all of the memorabilia, photos, and family photos that I had. And of course, when people like [Joan] Baez called to ask, ‘Is it OK to speak with her?’ I would say yes.
CD: What was it about Varda’s vision that let you know this was the right opportunity to finally do this?
JI: She saw this as an opportunity to make a film about certain points in time and connect those points to music. As a songwriter, that's what I do, so her vision aligned with mine and the more I talked with her, the more I liked her as a fellow artist.
I really kept arm's-length throughout the process. I think it took two years and I don't think we even went out for a meal because I didn’t want, at any point, to feel like I was influencing her judgment. It's only since the film came out that we've actually become friends.
CD: What’s it like to have a documentary made about your life?
JI: (laughing) It’s weird!
CD: Is there a sense of your privacy being invaded?
JI: No, it’s not that. I had written my autobiography some years before and that was the one that felt weird. People would suddenly come up to me and say, ‘You know that part where you talk about the dentist molesting you or your mother dying of MS?’
I thought, ‘Oh my God, do I have no secrets left?’ But, I've always lived a fairly open life and I’ve always felt like that was where I wrote from.
The film doesn't make me feel exposed because I think of the autobiography and the kind of life I’ve lived. It is strange to hear yourself being talked about by people like [Joan] Baez or Jean Smart. [The filmmakers] put up a thing on Facebook where Jean analyzes the song “At Seventeen” and she knows every word. It’s amazing to me that someone like Jean or Laurie Metcalf can sing my songs back to me.
CD: In screening the film, do you feel you’ve gathered any insight or learned anything about yourself?
JI: (laughing) Always be polite in public! You have to remember that I started as a 14 year old. I had years where I was being pretty snarky with everybody. It’s a relief that I have outgrown that.
CD: You’re doing this screening here in Saratoga at Caffe Lena. Is there anything about that particular venue that made you want to hold the event there?
JI: I've been working with Sarah [Craig], the Executive Director, for about ten years. Her son actually attended Berea College, which is a school where my wife and I have funded numerous scholarships and where my archives now reside.
About ten years ago, I made a list of all the places I wanted to play before I stopped touring. There were maybe five that I hadn’t played yet and then a bunch more that I wanted to go back to. Caffe Lena was one of those places. It’s an iconic club. And I love Saratoga Springs. My wife and I were actually talking about spending next August there but we haven’t gotten very far in thinking about it.
CD: Doing the track thing?
JI: (laughing) Oh, God no. Nothing against the track, but this would be a quiet time away. We live in Florida on a barrier island and this would be time away from the heat and a chance to get into the mountains.
CD: August is like peak track season so it would not be super quiet. I might recommend Lake George or somewhere further north.
JI: Good to know. Sounds like it would be like being at Woodstock. I think when you live somewhere like that, there’s a part of you that says, ‘This is pretty fun people watching.’ And then there’s another part saying, ‘Oh my God, please get me out of here!’
CD: Yeah, during August, I try to avoid Saratoga at all costs because I just can’t deal with all that. Are there any shows that you’ve played in this area that really stand out to you?
JI: Caffe Lena. The Last time I was there, I did three nights and then a master class and Arlo Guthrie came. He’s an old friend, but it was still a really cool thing that he was there.
The main thing I remember was that a bunch of my fans got into an argument over who developed the first Buffalo wings. So we got backstage after one of the gigs and there were like 15 packages of wings for us to try from various fans with a note saying, ‘Please let me know if mine were the best.’ I’m a big wing lover so it was perfect for me.
CD: It’s a huge debate around here, especially out in Western New York. Since you brought it up, do you have a favorite?
JI: No, I still haven’t found them yet. I make wings at home with a Japanese recipe and those are the ones I like best. They’re crunchy but not fried.
It has been one of those ridiculous things that you do on the road to amuse yourself. We go down to the local sports bar and order a beer, or in my case a non-alcoholic beer, and some wings. My tour manager and I are in search of the perfect local beer for her and the perfect wings for me.
CD: That’s great. I hope you find them. Okay, last question, and I have to ask as a child of the ‘90s and 2000s. What was it like having a character in Mean Girls named after you?
JI: (laughing) I found out about that when friends started calling to congratulate me on my new career as an actor. I was so confused. That was how I found out that Tina [Fey] and named a character after me.
I have to say that is much weirder to me than seeing myself on film, because I didn’t know about it. It’s especially weird when someone will say, ‘Oh, Janis Ian. Like in Mean Girls?’ and I’ll say ‘Yup, exactly,’ and just move on. At least they spelled it right.
CD: Well that is how I was introduced to your music. They played “At Seventeen” in the movie and I didn’t know where it came from so I did all of this research after seeing it. It was both informative and…
JI: Informative and influential. That’s neat. I’ve actually never heard that before. That’s nice to hear.
CD: Any parting words about the screening at Caffe Lena on the 27th?
JI: This is actually the last time I’m going out with it. I told Varda [Bar-Kar] that I would go on the road and support the film for a year, but after that, I’m off the road. We’re bringing minimal merch and charging minimal prices for it so we’ll be staying after the screening to do some autographs and meet some fans. Please let the people know that if they want to stay after the show and say hello, they don’t have to buy something. People always feel like they have to spend money to say hello and it’s not like that.
For more information about the screening and to purchase tickets, please visit caffelena.org/events-and-classes