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An out performer since the mid-'90s, Roberts has had her share of ups and downs. Asked about how the changing times have affected her, she says, “It's definitely changed. … When I first started, the climate was changing. At Queerstock, when that first came up, people were excited about it, but they were saying things like ‘Could you change the name?' Even the queer artists were like, ‘Can you call it Outstock or something?' And that just made me want to say it more. But I think the climate is much better. There are gay record labels now and more support for gay artists. There wasn't anything like that when I was coming out.”
While she is known for her politically charged music, she is also very charitable to those with differing opinions. Regarding Bush supporters and those from conservative states, she says, “What I've found is that Americans in these parts of the country—they're good people. They're underestimated, but they're underestimating people like me as well. And I think it would do our community a lot of good to actually see that, and to experience that as well. We are not our government.”
She puts out a call to progressive communities to take on the challenge of “meeting halfway.” And she certainly does more than her share: Roberts has been named the official spokesperson for the War on Apathy, an activist media campaign bringing together nonprofit organizations, media organizations, talent of all genres, corporations and people who care under one banner of empathy and action.
Her passion for the issue is readily apparent. “I think people only vote in the presidential elections and forget about the elections in between: the Senate elections which are incredibly important, and the congressional elections and mayoral elections,” she explains. “People just sort of wait for the presidential elections, and they get apathetic because the votes aren't counting.”
It's a subject that hits close to home for the artist. “I put out a CD in 2000 [Radio Doria] on the day of the presidential election, because I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen,” she recalls. “I was really worried about my own survival as an out, poor, black lesbian, and a musician in that kind of administration. So I put out a CD that was like an exercise in free speech, to make sure that my voice was heard in any way possible, because I didn't feel like it would be heard once Bush got into office. And I was right.”
Doria Roberts has a full schedule ahead, including a tour to promote War on Apathy and increase voter registration, a tour of colleges that includes a series of lectures on activism, and the release of another Radio Doria album (a sequel of sorts to the aforementioned 2000 project) on the day of the 2006 congressional elections. She recently performed at the Gay Games, plans to perform at Vancouver pride, and is looking forward to “finally” doing an Olivia cruise: “Oh my God, it's not until March, but that'll be a little Christmas in March for me!”
It is easy to feel as if Roberts really is a force of nature. She speaks with wit and wisdom, and seems to get the work of 10 people done by herself. She possesses a keen sense of her self, something that is hard-earned in a world that puts labels on everything. “What's been happening in the last few years is I've been trying to integrate, and just make me ... me,” she says. “It's really about taking all those parts and bring them into one united whole.”
It seems that the Zen sensibility that started Doria Roberts' musical journey is still very present. She exclaims, “It's my life, it's my time to be here, and I don't want to waste it!”
For more information, visit doriaroberts.com and myspace.com/waronapathy.
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