On the August day that Aretha Franklin died, with the country embroiled in the divisive hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the #MeToo movement reaching a pinnacle of sorts, an image went through Tucson singer-songwriter Katie Haverly’s mind.
She saw a group of women, dozens of them, artists and politicians, businesswomen and civic leaders, educators and mothers, celebrating their contributions to Tucson. She wanted to feature them in the video for her latest single “Titanic” to highlight the roles women play that are often overshadowed by their male counterparts and to give them a chance to “take up space and claim the power” that the Kavanaugh hearings seemed to steal from women.
“I sent a very long email to around 70 women imploring them to trust me and join me in this effort even though I had no idea how it would happen,” Haverly said in an email interview. “A brave 38 souls came to my home a month and a half later. We grieved the (Kavanaugh) ruling together by looking the ignorance square in the face and combating it with joy, community, dance and expression.”
The end result was a music video directed by Haverly that features “changemakers and/or powerful artists in our community” who Haverly felt made strong contributions to the city and deserved to be seen, highlighted and appreciated.
On Saturday, Haverly will screen the video during a concert at Exo Roast Co., 403 N. Sixth Ave.
In her email interview, Haverly shed some light on her hopes for “Titanic.” Here are excerpts:
Music is the message: “Lyrically, ‘Titanic’ is a warning that a resurgence of the divine feminine, to balance (not topple) the masculine energy that has crippled our planet, is critical to turn this massive vessel (earth) before it’s too late. And that some, due to the level of the deck they are sleeping on, have more power and responsibility to turn the wheel, than others. When I read ‘Revolution’ by Russell Brand, I couldn’t get out of my head the image he shared of a bus with the richest 80 people in the world having more wealth than the collective assets of half of the world’s population. I am singing this song to them.”
Only the beginning: “This video reflects what I hope for, and what we are starting to see, in government, business and the arts — women reclaiming the power that we have been socialized to forget, ignore, diminish and doubt. And this reclamation is and will have a profound effect on our planet, the health of our environment and our communities.”
Highlighting women’s accomplishments: “My hope, too, is that the viewer becomes acutely curious about each of these amazing women — and that curiosity leads them to exploration — and then a connection to the important work that each of them do. Tucson is a dynamic, magical and beautiful city, and many of these women are the reasons why. In the credits of the video there will be details on each video star so you can click easily on their websites to learn more about them.”
