Martha Wash Interview

INTERVIEW WITH MARTHA WASH FROM TheCelebrityCafe.com ARCHIVES

DM) Martha, what is going on with this latest project?

MW) It was a concept of a gentleman by the name of Jim Papoulis and his wife. He wanted to put out this CD of songs, not necessarily based on children but dealing with children in this new millennium, and show how children can fall through cracks of society. Not enough is being done to help children now. And these are the songs that he wrote, dealing with life through children's eyes.

DM) How did you get involved in the project then?

MW) I had worked previously with Jim and have known him for almost five years. He called and asked if I would be interested in recording one of the songs. And during that period I was free, said yes, and recorded, "Listen to the People." And it was the first single from the CD itself.

DM) How's it going so far?

MW) It seems to be going pretty good. People are still getting the word on the CD itself. The single has been doing quite well on the charts and also on the video charts, so that's good.

DM) And how does it compare to your old stuff... the stuff that your fans know you by?

MW) Well, with the remixes, those are the ones that I'm performing at the clubs. The original version was more of a pop version. When they remixed it, they leaned it more towards a dance audience.

DM) How do your dance audiences respond when they hear this one?

MW) Very, very well. It's something that they're beginning to recognize now. The response is very, very good for "Listen to the People."

DM) How much of the project is important to you musically, and how much is important to you as a social movement?

MW) Probably about 50/50. I know Jim and his wife are very, very nice people and they care quite a bit about society, especially since they have two little girls, and they're very focused on making the foundation work. They want to help local as well as international charities. The international part is going to take a while, naturally. Meantime, they've helped a community center in the Bronx so far. Where we did the video was up in Hunt's Point so they became involved with them and the community leaders there. The video we shot was with the neighborhood children and with the people and the children that live in that community. They were just absolutely thrilled.

DM) DM) You've had a couple of different points of career, where you did solo. You did the Weather Girls, you did this. What's next for you?

MW) Honestly, I don't know. I'm still trying to feel my way through as to what direction I'm going in. I've done a little bit of theatre so I kind of leave my avenues open. This year has been kind of difficult, because at the end of last year I lost my manager; we'd been together for more years than we care to admit, so it's been really, really hard. I've kind of taken it slow to see where I want to go and what I want to do.

DM) Which of your careers is the one period you enjoyed the most?

MW) I think all of them.

DM) You enjoyed each one equally?

MW) Yeah. Your career goes in stages and sometimes in one particular stage, it's not the best, but it's also kind of a learning experience, too... when you're in that area in that particular time of your career.

DM) What are you learning from this experience?

MW) How to move forward and rely on myself more. When I had a manager, I relied on him more and now I have to rely on myself more.

DM) A lot of times when you see a story written about you, it always seems to mention "It's Raining Men" and a few other of your 'signature' songs. Is that something you feel more happy about or are you more haunted about?

MW) I'm not haunted by them, because they were the songs that I recorded and "Raining Men" has become one of those songs that was a cult classic. It'll never die; that's just part of Martha Wash and what she's done.

DM) Earlier today I mentioned to two different people that I had an interview scheduled with you. One person instantly knew your name and the other person had no idea who you were until I said, "It's Raining Men... Everybody, Everybody from C&C" and then they went screaming about how much they loved you. It seems funny to me that at times people might not associate the songs with you.

MW) Exactly! (laughs)

DM) Why is that?

MW) I think it just is. I really do. It's nothing new. What you're telling me is nothing new and it's not surprising. They know the songs but they don't know the person singing the songs.

DM) There was one record producer I spoke with who said that dance music focused more on the production while pop focused more on the singer. Do you think that's true and if so, is that what's going on here?

MW) I do kind of think it's true. The DJ's have really come up more. I think they're more than the artists themselves nowadays. The DJ's, the remixes have come a long, long way. I think it's just part of being in this business so far. It goes through cycles. Musical tastes and things like that. And for the last few years, it's been the DJ's and the remixes. My feeling has always been that if you're going to record a song and it's got more music than vocals, then it should be an instrumental. Don't put the vocals on it. If you're going to record a song and let the vocalist sing, then let the vocalist sing. The music should be equal to the singer and not overpower the singer.

DM) When you sing the songs that make everyone else feel good, do you feel good yourself?

MW) Yeah, because I see the response in the audience.

DM) So you feed off the audience more than the song?

MW) Yes, yes, I would.

DM) A lot of the audience probably say that when they feel down, they listen to your music. What do you listen to when you feel down?

MW) Hmmm.... probably gospel music.

DM) So not dance music? Why not?

MW) Why? (laughs)

DM) DM) Well, I expected that, since that's what you're doing for a living, the dance music...

MW) You know what, people know me as a dance music artist, and that's the category that I've been pigeon-holed into, but I'm not just a dance music artist. And I've always maintained that. Always.