story by Don Bartlett
photo by L. Fletcher

Things have a way of coming full circle in life. Kristin Hersh is on her way to New York City with her newest band, 50 Foot Wave, to open for The Pixies. It will be a reunion gig, of sorts, for Hersh. In the mid-'80s a teenage Hersh and her former band Throwing Muses often toured with their 4AD labelmates The Pixies in the support role. But much has changed since then. Whether by necessity or by design, Hersh has always taken her own path in a prodigious career that has spanned three decades.

As the singer and songwriter of Throwing Muses, Hersh built a rabidly loyal following. Adored by a core of fans and critics alike, the band never broke through to a wider audience and disbanded in 1997 for financial reasons. Hersh responded by dedicating herself to the solo career that began with 1994's Hips and Makers, a sparse and haunting acoustic effort that would come to define her solo sound. Six solo records and one Muses reunion record later, Hersh now humors her type-A side with 50 Foot Wave (the band she is pictured with above). Of the band's retro-punk stylings, Hersh says, "I'm not sure that the Muses could ever go this far in this direction. It's just a very different band. This is just exactly what we want to hear right now, and I don't hear many other people playing it."

Rather than be nudged out by an industry that had lost its interest in any artist that couldn't fill an arena, the singer built her own industry over the years by doggedly tearing down the space between musician and fan. Her Web site www.throwingmusic.com is a model of the DIY ethos at work. In addition to an abundance of downloads, the band offers a subscription service called "Works In Progress" that allows fans to download different versions of songs in their formative stages. Hersh's own Virtuous Ticketing keeps fees to a minimum while also supporting various charities. She is also not shy about her support for file sharing. "We literally write on our records…'Give this away, share this music'," Hersh explains. "We do whatever we can do to make it free for people. Then they come to shows, and when they do, they buy a fist full of CDs."

HERSH'S INNER VIEW "The fact that music costs money is unusual in human history. The music business is just a few decades old. Music is something that should be played in bars and houses, and walked from town to town and played at parties. Music is something that should be free..."

Her less-than-capitalistic tendencies may not always endear her to some of her colleagues, but Hersh isn't about to back down. "The fact that music costs money is unusual in human history. The music business is just a few decades old. Music is something that should be played in bars and houses, and walked from town to town and played at parties. Music is something that should be free, and if anyone wants to support somebody by paying a musician, then God love 'em…that's great. But you're not a musician to make money. You should be willing to work at Starbucks to support your music habit. And most of us actually are! Look, it would be really fun to make money. It would be fun to win money in the lottery too. I can't imagine anyone thinking they're going to make money from music. It's rude. It's offensive. Music is in the ether and that's exactly where it should be."

Her independent spirit doesn't stop with the music. The perpetual nomad brings her entire family on tour in their own bus, and home schools her four kids while her husband drives. "My husband used to be label manager at Sire Records, and I have him driving a bus!" Hersh laughs. "We bring the dog and the cat and even the goldfish is swimming around in the sink. It can be kind of adorable, really."

Through it all, Hersh has maintained an unshakable faith in the future. "There are kids with a lot of energy who are just now learning their lesson about what can save your life in this world. Good music can do it, and realizing that there is good radio, there are good bands, there are good record companies, there are good publicists…there's a whole sub-music business which includes the mom and pop record stores where these kids hang out and find the stuff that is the sound of their generation."

As for her remarkable enthusiasm, Hersh shares with an infectious laugh, "I keep thinking I'm going to hit the bitter stage, but I just haven't been talked out of my optimism yet!"

Kristin Hersh :: Schubas :: January 21 and 22.

Listen to an mp3 of Kristin Hersh's "Sno Cat," courtesy of Better Propaganda.