Vodou Angel

How Haitian art inspires Nancy Josephson's bluegrass.

by Mary Armstrong

WHO DO? (L-R) Jen Schonwald and Kathleen Weber with Nancy Josephson, who recently took her Angel Band-mates on one of her frequent creative pilgrimages to Haiti. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

"As a 53-year-old, I shouldn't be trying to elevate my band to full time," laughs local artist-turned-author-turned-musician Nancy Josephson. "But I don't really care. I know this is important work to do. I am old enough now to write those songs that resonate with people, that say, 'this is how life works.'"

When we first spoke, it was a few weeks prior to a short Haitian excursion. "I'm taking the girls down to Haiti at the end of [October]. Some things will make more sense after the trip," says Josephson. "[Haiti] is an important lens into my world. It has been a life-changing experience for me. Finding beauty in this shithole is transformative — speaks to how you look at yourself in the world."

The aforementioned girls — Jen Schonwald and Kathleen Weber, Josephson's bandmates from the folk/bluegrass trio Angel Band — were in for some serious reminders about counting one's blessings.

So how did the trip work out? "The girls had a chance to get up close and personal with a part of my life that I was happy to share. We sang 'Hey Papa Legba' [a Josephson original that starts the Angel Band CD, asking permission for an open ritual] at the temple of the Vodou priest with whom I've been working for 12 years. He actually sang along ... in falsetto ... and only knowing a few phrases. It was at once moving and funny," she recalls.

Josephson's affinity for beauty in the midst of grinding poverty is exemplified by the vodou drapos (flags). Her book, Spirits in Sequins: Vodou Flags of Haiti (Schiffer), is thick with photos of the sequined and beaded religious banners. "The book is about telling the story of the people who do find that beauty and make images" to represent it, she says. Flags from her collection are part of a larger exhibition, which continues through Nov. 29 at Indigo Gallery.

For years Josephson has followed the dual path of visual artist and musician. Readers may already know that she was a professional bassist and singer (with the Buffalo Gals, among other groups) long before she met her husband of 29 years, the man who is also one of Angel Band's ablest accompanists, David Bromberg. In that time, they've raised a family and Bromberg has become a respected violin maker in addition to his world-famous guitar playing.

Josephson's trips to Haiti began about 12 or 13 years ago. "I'd always been attracted to roadside shrines — the ones that evolve as spontaneous memorials at accidents." Her art began to reflect that influence. At the same time she speaks of spiritual disturbances in her life and how an anthropologist once took one look at her work and intoned, "Oh, you must visit Haiti. Just go, you'll see."

And so she did, and it turned her world around. "Everything became about choices, not assumptions. All the assumptions about how I behave and structure my world changed," she says. "You make choices based on what's in front of you. If you haven't had [a certain thing] happen to you, you can't really judge."

Late-blooming lyricists, take heart: Josephson never wrote a song before she wrote her book. "I've only been at it two years. It came from finishing the book. Ten years of research, a year of writing — it was intensely hard to discipline myself to write that book. After that, doing a three-minute song was ridiculously easy. Writing the book was all about organizing thoughts, making them pointed and clear. In a song I take a microcosm of an idea, frame it and the music supports it." The majority of the material on Angel Band's spring release, With Roots & Wings (Appleseed), are Josephson originals.

HALF OFF DEPOT

Why live life at full price?

"It's been really interesting. Invariably somebody comes up after the gig and says, 'I wish I could do this, it looks like so much fun.' I say to them, 'Time's a-wastin', sister.'"

Angel Band was born in bluegrass, with the tight harmonies and acoustic instruments — fiddle, mandolin, guitar — but it evolves organically. "The band is about growing something beautiful, three separate and very powerful voices coming together to make one big noise that's like a laser. Being able to play with it, see what it can do, make it as dirty-bluesy as we can, as clear, shiningly beautiful, sweet as we can, to see what kind of textures we can get. It's about making very authentic, true, soul-satisfying noise. If it satisfies us, dollars to doughnuts it will translate to the audience. It's about making the sound come from the middle of us. The good news is we love working, we love rehearsing. Once you get a hold of that, it's a powerful thing to have in your hands."

Since their debut, they have been pressed repeatedly to explain their sound. The three women decided they were making "big girl music." "It means making big noise, standing up, not being meek and mild," explains Josephson. She counsels us all, musicians or fans, to forget about how we think we should behave. "Life is too damn short. Step up and make some damn noise."

(m_armstrong@citypaper.net)