TRANSVOCALIZERS — Beth Isbell, Part 2

This month, Transvocalizers features Part 2 of our interview with Beth Isbell. Ms. Isbell is best known as a solo artits, who has several albums out under her own name. She is also part of the band The Dead Prophets. She lives in Oklahoma, where she is a practicing attorney who specializes in gender rights issues. Along with her work, her activism, and her music, she also found the time to release her newest album, Aardvark, earlier this year.

TGForum: Having been to Oklahoma several times, I really have to ask…what is it like working as a gender rights attorney there? I also would gather that you’re very politically involved.

Beth Isbell: As an aattorney, I practice employment law, with a focus on discrimination and civil rights. I’ve had my share of success, big verdicts, and important cases that have changed the law for the better of society and working folks, but I have not done a lot of legal work or lobbying on transgender cases. I have done a little…I’d love to work for a non-profit with an emphasis on transgender issues. The law is generally against true accommodation of transgender persons, so that is a hard, usually losing battle as an attorney. Change is going to have to occur on a legislative and societal level first. But the science is starting to come around and victory is now foreseeable.

TGF: Are you still part of the band The Dead Prophets, and do you play electric or acoustic with the band?

BI: That’s actually an interesting question, and I’m not sure of the answer. I guess the answer is that we broke up when I moved up to Oklahoma, but we are technicallky still together in the sense of still being available for shows and have been talking lately about getting together to record a new CD.
I love (band members) Mike and Carol. I play acoustic guitar only in this band, and sing. I have been the main songwriter, but Mike and Carol are good ones. We think of TDP as a three piece with me on vocals and acoustic guitar, Mike on lead electric guitar, and Carol on drums. We do pull in bass players for recording or live shows, but they are not technically part of the band. My playing acoustic in this band is a trade off because we are only a three piece, and consequently my job is to fill the rhythm guitar and bass sonic spectrum while Carol drives the beat and Mike lays down the psychedelia. I’m actually excited about the prospect of doing something new with TDP.

TGF: If you don’t mind, talk a bit about your newest project, Aardvark.

BI: The little aardvark is just a gift to me and to anyone else who feels like they don’t fit in. The aardvark says, ‘Hey, I’m here and proud to be different’.

On my website, there’s a really great funny old Sesame Street video about aardvarks which very nicely sums up how and why this CD came to exist.

I do have to warn folks before they adopt one…these baby aardvarks do love to rock, use bad language, and punch happy people in the face! They come with their own sleeping bags and I’ll even sign his/her belly for you.

TGF: What advice would you offer to any musician, trans or not, who is starting out, or just plain struggling?

BI: Listen to everything you like and respect. Watch and study how and why it is done in a certain way. Most things look or sound more complex than they actually are. Keep practicing. You make progress when you least expect it.

When performing, stick to what you’re good at, particularly if you care in any way about being popular, it will happen much quicker. That’s a hard lesson learned from years of doing the opposite in an effort to get good. I’ve had the attitude to try things, experiment and learn, even on stage. It stems from the desire to want to be truly great, beyond good.

But screwing up often in public, as will certainly happen, does not help anybody to like you or your music and usually has the opposite effect. Eventually you learn to do your best, and to be stisfied with sticking to that material in public.

Behind the scenes, the sky is the limit. Don’t avoid things that are difficult, practice them first. Always be listening. Always be observant. Try harder. The reality is that you are going to fail a lot before you succeed. So get busy, and start failing now! Eventually, you will fail less and less…Music is like anything: the more you do it, the better you get at it, if you can manage to live through the frustration. On the other side of it is a lot of fun.

TGF: Anything you’d like to say to the trans community as a whole?

BI: When you first start transitioning, it’s your entire focus. After you’ve completed the transition, you focus on living your life. So after your transition, you’re not nearly as hyper-focused on these issues. It’s fun being a girl. But it’s very hard emotionally. Some folks will never accept you. MOve on, focus on the ones who do and will. They greatly outnumber the ones who won’t. Always be true to who you are inside.

Some advice: Don’t smoke and take hormones. They tell you about the “risk” in a vague way at the doctor’s office, but the reality is that if you do, you WILL suffer a pulmonary embolism. There is no “if” here. You will.
If you transition as a child or in your teens, you are far more likely to develop the voice and body of a natural female. If you wait until your 30s or 40s, you will notice some changes, not nearly as dramatic, and you can manufacture a body that appears female. The voice is the most difficult. Testosterone does turn FtM’s voice and body very male. But estrogen does not work that way. It does affect your mind and body, but will not change your voice.

As a performing singer, I’ve just had to accept that my singing voice will never be completely female. While I can put on the female voice act sometimes in conversation, on stage I’ve found that I just have to be me…and that even includes singing like a guy. So my story is sort of the antithesis of what most MtFs desire, but that’s the price of pursuing what I love to do-writing, playing, and performing. It has certainly made my transition for more public. I can’t hide in the corner or on the fringes of society like some MtFs do before or after their transition. I’m fully out there. What I’ve found, however, is that most folks learn to accept you. Particularly if you’re nice, genuine, and strive to be good at what you do.

Politically, there is an interesting dichotomy. From the studies I’ve seen, there is actually far more evidence that trans-genderism is a medical situation resulting from hormonal imbalances in the womb or possibly even genetics. while that may be the case for gays and lesbians, the medical evidence is far stronger with transgender. On the other hand, the public seems to be more willing to accept gays and lesbians and provide them equal rights, than transgender persons. I’ve had personal discussions with leaders and attorneys with the big US GLBT political organizations. In my experience, they are often willing to sell out the transgender community as a compromise to get reform. Frankly, we should be angry. True reform will never occur unless and until we change this paradigm. In my view, the science and law actually favor us. And in my experience, once the public knows that is true, their views of us change dramatically.

It’s a scientific fact that there is more than one variety of gender. This occurs naturally at birth in the case of inter-sexed persons like the recent South African sprinter who won the world championships, or even later due to hormone or genetics. The world is full of color, variety, and varying shades of gender or sexual preference. It happens naturally. There are gay penguin couples and lots of examples across most species. It’s just a matter of society accepting fact and science. It will in time.

TGF: Any future plans you can share at this time?

BI: Nothing I can mention. I’m sort of in transition at the moment, and may move out of Oklahoma City…either back to Texas or maybe the coasts. I’ve been working on new material, learning covers, and getting better at guitar playing.

My twins, Abby and Bella, who are the love of my life, live here, so I’m really conflicted about moving.
I will be playing some festivals and shows all over the country next summer.

TGF: Final thoughts?

BI: Transition will not “solve” any of your problems. It may lessen some or transform others, often in very unexpected ways. On the other side, you face new mountains and new valleys. Eventually, you just have to accept your shortcoming and realize you may never be able to change some of them, and then begin to run with them. Make who you are an advantage.

Check out Beth Isbell at www.bethisbell.com and www.myspace.com/bethisbell

ALSO THIS MONTH

This is kind of a last minute inclusion which was just sent via email from Robert Urban. Since Robert is such a strong supporter of the trans community, this is gig information that many East Coast readers would probably like to know.

Robert will be performing as part of the 2nd Annual Jeff Buckley Tribute show, Nov. 15th, at Arlene’s Grocery, 95 Stanton St., New York, N.Y. Other upcoming dates includes a performance as part of the Transgender Day Of Rememberance, Nov. 22nd, at UCC Church of Centerport, Centerport N.Y., and on Dec. 3rd, a performance at St. Vincent Hospital as part of their World AIDS Day event.

Category: Music, Transgender Fun & Entertainment