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(continued)
So the LGBTQ community decides to move it — to Fourth Avenue downtown. I was really bummed because being in the gay area was more comfortable for me. Fourth Avenue is where Seattle has all its other parades: Torchlight, Seafair, etc. People bring their kids and it's really diverse. I understand now why we moved our gay pride parade to downtown Seattle. Attendance has quadrupled. It's finally one of the parades; you see tons of straight people, media, and kids. What you're seeing is the perfect combination of multiculturalism and assimilation: a real celebration of diversity where everyone is celebrating, not just the diverse.
I would like to see this happen everywhere the way-pavers — the Indigo Girls, Elton, k.d. lang, Melissa Etheridge, etc. — have paved the way. Now we get to enjoy the privilege of living honestly and with opportunity and to demand nothing less. Some of the kindest work is done from the middle of the road.
When did you realize you were gay?
I was 15, and I came out when I was 15 as well.
How did your family respond?
Tentatively but supportively. I'd never met a gay person in my life when I came out to my parents, so I just continued living the way I always lived. I was out with everyone; I was out at school — I was the only out person in my high school.
What was that like?
They were tough times. I felt a lot of indifference, actually, from other students and teachers. I didn't really feel a lot of the hatred and discrimination that I think kids feel today in small towns. For some reason, it just didn't happen to me.
What has fan response to your coming-out been like?
Nobody has responded to me about talking about being gay in the L.A. Times. Most fans just assume that it's been a part of my life since I began.
Sarah McLachlan is bringing back Lilith Fair — are you interested in participating in that?
Yeah! I have a desperate interest in participating in it. When Lilith Fair was here in Seattle, I went to every one. All three of them, and not just the three concerts but like two of the Lilith Fair years were double dates, so there were two dates at the Gorge, and I went to every single concert they ever had. It influenced me in a huge way to play guitar and do what I'm doing. So I have to be involved.
What's next for you?
I'm going to do a second leg of the tour. And I'm going to do more dates with Amy [Ray] too.
And after the tour is over?
The tour is over in March, so I don't know, plans for the summer? I guess I'll probably rent a car and follow Lilith Fair around. [Laughs]
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