Jane Siberry Simplifies

My friend, Bill, recently emailed to say he'd discovered the musician, Jane Siberry, who "has done a couple interesting things lately that I thought you might like."

He said that when she left on her latest tour she decided to sell everything (home, car, most of her clothes, etc.) and live out of a suitcase on tour (in fact she auctioned off her guitar and uses one provided by the clubs where she is playing).

I found most of this recounted in the 11 March 2006 article, Imagine no possessions, by Andrew Eaton, at Living Scotsman.

If I'm allowed to quote a paragraph on simplification that I love, it follows:

"Since the yard sale, she says, 'sometimes I feel pretty shaky.

A lot of people say, oh gosh, I'd be terrified to do what you did, and that makes me nervous.'

But, she adds, 'there's a recognition that it's brewing somewhere in their consciousness. I feel like a barometer of what's in the air.'

She believes people have too much 'material baggage', and know it.

At first, she says, 'I kept one letter from each person I love, and one or two photos, then I thought maybe I should let go of that too.

I threw out thousands of photos.

It's odd with photos, you think, here's 20 of this little girl I adore, let's reduce it to two, and then one, and then I think, well, why do I need any?

I can just go to her mother's house and look at them.'"

I also found a 28 November 2004 San Francisco Chronicle article titled Wander Woman by Sam Hurwitt that says she had two years previously "rented her home out and started couch-surfing to pay for the recording of 'Shushan,' ... and in the meantime Siberry has gotten used to her nomadic lifestyle and is trying to sell her house."

There is a quote in the article from Siberry:

"I stare at homeless people, and I try to see what the least is that you can live with," she says.

"I try to imagine how people I know would be homeless: Some people would be messy, with their shopping carts; some people would be really organized and have really nice signs."

Technorati tag: urban camping