Out in Virginia
By Greg Tomso
Wendy Repass--Harmonizing Hope and Anger
A Charlottesville Favorite Breaks Through
with a Powerful New CD
Catching up with singer and songwriter Wendy
Repass is not an easy task. One day she's spending time with
her father in Northern Virginia, the next she's in Charlottesville
jamming with trumpet player John D'earth, who toured with Bruce
Hornsby, and the next she's cruising down to Atlanta to check
out the local music scene. "Just to see what's going on
down there," she states matter-of-factly. "I'll crash
in my car for a couple of nights." But Wendy is more than
a casual observer of the musical scene in Atlanta, or in Virginia
for that matter. She's testing the waters as her first CD, Coming
of Age, is surprising Virginians and others with its sophisticated
sound and heartfelt, complex messages about out time.
The poetic lyrics of Suzanne Vega, the intense
independence of Melissa Etheridge, and the musical emotion of
the Indigo Girls have helped Wendy produce her new album which
showcases her sturdy, commanding voice and an aggressive, energetic
style that gives her guitar a voice of its own. "My dad
had this old guitar when I was young," she comments, trying
to recall how she first became interested in music," the
first song I ever wrote I can't even remember," It sounds
like Wendy has been a musician since childhood, but she admits
with an ironic laugh that she never got around to picking up
that old guitar until her second year in college. That's about
the time her mother died of cancer, and about the time Wendy
came out of the closet. Her first album includes songs which
explore familiar relationships and the anger of having to rediscover
what "love" meant after coming to terms with her sexuality
and her independence. When asked about the intense feelings
conveyed in Coming of Age, Wendy replies," I guess that
indicates what kind of mood I was in."
It took Wendy about a year and a half to
write the thirteen songs which make up her new CD. The first
song she wrote for it, "I Believe," confronts the
tough love that newly-discovered relationships engender. "I
thought I resolved to part from you," Wendy sings, "using
anger and indignation I thought you were due," Yet"
in the midst of my anger," she continues," I realized
that I believed." Her voice, like the emotions in the lyrics,
is pulled along by the fervor and intensity of the guitar, whose
tone Wendy controls with often astounding precision. Wendy admits
that her music often carries her into new territory, building
her emotional strength and asserting her independence as a woman.
After writing one song entitled "Glass Ceilings",
which deals with the oppression women face as artists, as business
people, and as individuals, Wendy reports thinking to herself
"God, do I really mean this?" Yes, she decides, the
music shows her feelings she harbors within.
Musically, the album has rich texture, notably
the accompaniment of a violin, mandolin, banjo, and African
percussion. According to Wendy, creating an album is like staging
a play; "I've written a script, and I need the right people."
Heavy rhythms couple well with often stinging lyrics while tight
harmonies and complex texture weave a musical fabric that envelops
both artist and audience. "I wanted a studio album,"
Wendy states; "I wanted to sit alone and try it on."
But she adds quickly that she would never give up performing
live, balancing her sense of personal satisfaction with the
honest pleasure of sharing emotion with her audience. having
passed up a chance to be a political activist in Washington
D.C., Wendy hopes that her music will create change by getting
others in touch with common feelings. She says her music is
meant to teach people how to listen-- and how to feel. "The
artistic term for [my music] would be expressionist," she
state, growing more serious," but I would call it emotionalist."
Taking a moment to talk about issues which
effect gays and lesbians and bisexuals, Wendy focuses on her
efforts to combat homophobia. Operating under the assumption
that homophobia is really a kind of sex-ophobia, Wendy emphasizes
how getting in touch with feelings that have been branded as
taboos in many cultures can help overcome hatred and fear. "
I see my music as an opportunity for people to feel open to
themselves, and feel." The message she sends is not one
of the conventional protest or activism, but it is nonetheless
compelling. Her message is about getting in touch with personal
and communal emotions, a process which leads to mutual understanding
and the will to change society. Wendy made history in Virginia
when she opened a rally last October for Sharon Bottoms and
April Wade. Her first song at the rally, the first political
gathering for les/bi/gays and their supporters at the State
Capitol, rang out: " I deserve better than this? I deserve
better than this/ All that shit I took before/ Well I won't
take it anymore."
Most importantly, it seems, Wendy creates
a space within her music for herself and her audience, both
male and female, gay and straight. One of Wendy's treasured
yearly experiences is attending the Michigan Women's music Festival
in August. She says she loves losing herself in such a diverse
crowd of women. And yes, she has been seen among the topless
crowd; "It's hot," she quips with a short laugh. Yet
Wendy remarks that the security guards and fences set up around
the festival are "reminders of the world we live in."
It's hard to believe," she adds, "that some people
have a hard time with women getting together for a good time."
Perhaps this is why the creation of a safe space within her
own music is so important to Wendy. To the extent that Coming
of Age creates such a space, it harmonizes anger and hope
into music that reaches deeply, and hungers for peace.
