joan baez

It's been told that some artists live in history - and the lives of other artists are history. From the very beginning of her musical career, Joan Baez has never sought to draw lines between real world, real time events and her own artistic vision. Her instincts have often been that of a journalist - or an incurable romantic. There is plenty of both to be found on Dark Chords on a Big Guitar, Joan's first new album of studio recordings in six years.
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At a time in our country's history when it was neither safe nor fashionable, Joan put herself on the line countless times, and her life's work was mirrored in her music. She sang about freedom and Civil Rights everywhere, from the backs of flatbed trucks to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's March on Washington in 1963. In 1964, she withheld 60% of her income tax from the IRS to protest miltary spending, and participated in the birth of the Free Speech movement at UC Berkeley. A year later she co-founded the Institute For The Study of Nonviolence near her home in Carmel Valley. In 1966, Joan Baez stood in the fields alongside Cesar Chavez and migrant farm workers striking for fair wages, and opposed capital punishment at San Quentin during a Christmas vigil. The following year she turned her attention to the draft resistance movement. As the war in Vietnam escalated in the late '60s and early '70s, she traveled to Hanoi with the U.S.-based Liaison Committee and helped establish Amnesty International on the West Coast.
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"All of us are survivors," Joan Baez wrote, "but how many of us transcend survival?" More than four decades after the release of her first recordings, she has never meant more to fans across the globe, has never shown more vitality and passion in her concerts and records, and has never been more comfortable inside her own skin. Always searching, always on the lookout for a good song, or a worthy social movement that would benefit from her support, Joan Baez is one of our most valuable treasures. In this troubled world, the paraphrase "Wings," a song from Dark Chords On A Big Guitar, she will always continue to seek "a place where they can hear me when I sing."

--Arthur Levy, June 2003

DIAMONDS AND RUST
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

© 1975 Chandos Music (ASCAP)

DARK CHORDS ON A BIG GUITAR

...the amazing new album by Joan Baez
...in stores September 9, 2003
...distributed by Koch Records

TRACK LIST:

• Sleeper (Greg Brown)
• In My Time Of Need (Ryan Adams)
• Rosemary Moore (Caitlin Cary)
• Caleb Meyer (Gillian Welch and David Rawlings)
• Motherland (Natalie Merchant)
• Wings (Josh Ritter)
• Rexroth's Daughter (Greg Brown)
• Elvis Presley Blues (Gillian Welch and David Rawlings)
• King's Highway (Joe Henry)
• Christmas in Washington (Steve Earle)

2004 TOUR SCHEDULE

The following is a list of Joan's 2004 performance dates and locations through April 4, 2004.

JANUARY
15 - Glasgow, Scotland (Royal Concert Hall)
16 - Liverpool, England (Philharmonic Hall)
17 - Nottingham, England (Royal Concert Hall)
19 - Cambridge, England (Corn Exchange)
21 - Sheffield, England (City Hall)
22 - York, England (Barbican Centre)
23 - Birmingham, England (Symphony Hall)
25 - Belfast, Northern Ireland (Waterfront Hall)
26 - Dublin, Ireland (Vicar Street)
27 - Dublin, Ireland (Vicar Street)
30 - Brighton, England (Dome)
31 - Bristol, England (Colston Hall)
FEBRUARY
1 - London (Carling Apollo/Hammersmith)
4 - Southend, England (Cliffs Pavilion)
5 - Oxford, England (New Theatre)
7 - Manchester, England (Bridgewater Hall)
8 - Cardiff, Wales (St. David's Hall)

MARCH
3 - Eugene, Oregon (John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts)
5 - Seattle, Washington (Moore Theater)
6 - Portland, Oregon (Aladdin Theater)
7 - Portland, Oregon (Aladdin Theater)
9 - Spokane, Washington (Met Theater)
10 - Portland, Oregon (Aladdin Theater)
12 - San Francisco, California (The Fillmore)
13 - San Francisco, California (The Fillmore)
14 - Anaheim, California (The Grove Theater)
16 - Santa Fe, New Mexico (Lensic Performing Arts Center)
17 - Boulder, Colorado (Boulder Theater)
19 - Dallas, Texas (Granada Theater)
21 - New Orleans, Louisiana (Tipitina's)
24 - Nashville, Tennessee (Belcourt Theater)
25 - Knoxville, Tennessee (Bijou Theatre)
27 - Lakewood, Ohio (Civic Auditorium)
28 - Ann Arbor, Michigan (The Ark)
30 - Lexington, Kentucky (Kentucky Theatre)
31 - Indianapolis, Indiana (Egyptian Room at Murat Center)

APRIL
2 - Evanston, Illinois (Pick-Staiger Hall)
3 - Green Bay, Wisconsin (Meyer Theatre)
4 - Des Moines, Iowa (Hoyt Sherman Theatre)

JUNE
22 - San Diego, California (Humphrey's by the Bay) (w/Steve Earle)
23 - Saratoga, California (Mountain Winery) (w/Steve Earle)
25 - Reno, Nevada (Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater) (w/Steve Earle)
26 - Laytonville, California (Kate Wolf Memorial Festival)

JULY
9 - Istanbul, Turkey (Cemil Topuslu Open Air Theatre)
11 - Bucharest, Romania (Sala Palatului)
14 - Fulda, Germany (Schlosshof)
16 - Bad Reichenhall, Germany (Alte Saline)
17 - Graz, Austria (KasemattenBuehne)
19 - Dresden, Germany (Freilichtgelande Elbufer)
20 - Munich, Germany (Philharmonie)
22 - St. Vincent (Aosta), Italy (Teatro Tenda)
23 - Genova, Italy (Arena del Mare)
25 - Andria, Italy (Castello Federiciano)
28 - Rome, Italy (Cavea Auditorium Parco della Musica)
30 - Trieste, Italy (Teatro Romano)

AUGUST
1 - Bonn, Germany (Museumplatz)
2 - Stuttgart, Germany (Killesberg Freilichtbuhne)
3 - Hamburg, Germany (Stadtpark)
5 - Lille, France (Salle Vauban)
7 - Crozon, France (Festival du Bout du Monde)
13 - Denver, Colorado (Botanic Gardens)
14 - Lyons, Colorado (Rocky Mountain Folk Festival)

U.S. TOUR DATES!


OCTOBER 2004
10/16/04
Center for Performing Arts
Governors State University
1 University Parkway
University Park, ILLINOIS
Tickets available for purchase as of August 1, 2004 at (708) 235-2222 or online at www.centertickets.net

10/17/04
McAninch Arts Center
College of DuPage
425 Falwell Boulevard
Glen Ellyn, ILLINOIS

10/22/04
Garde Arts Center
325 State Street
New London, CONNECTICUT
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

10/23/04
Plymouth Memorial Hall
83 Court Street
Plymouth, MASSACHUSETTS
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

10/24/04
The Egg
Empire State Plaza
Albany, NEW YORK
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

10/26/04
Lebanon Opera House
51 N. Park Street
Lebanon, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

10/28/04
The Birchmere
3701 Mt. Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VIRGINIA
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

10/29/04
The Birchmere
3701 Mt. Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VIRGINIA
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

10/30/04
Bardavon 1869 Opera House
35 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NEW YORK
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

11/01/04
Hill Hall
Chapel Hill, NORTH CAROLINA
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

11/03/04
Performing Arts Center
1400 Melbourne Road
Charlottesville, VIRGINA
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

11/05/04
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NEW YORK
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

11/06/04
Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancy Street
New York, NEW YORK
Special Guest Artist - Thea Gilmore

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