Interview with Folksinger Eric Himan

On the surface, singer-songwriter Eric Himan seems a jumble of contradictions: a full-on tattooed rocker who is also a folkie; a young music star and gay man who writes songs about his lack of interest in one-night-stands; an openly gay artist in a business that denies career oxygen to anyone who dares to begin with that kind of honesty.

Over the past six years, Himan has built a career on his serious guitar chops and powerful, richly textured voice, as well as his compassionate and insightful songwriting. He has toured tirelessly, and along the way he created his own record label, Thumbcrown Records. Last year was a big one for Himan, who appeared on three CDs: his critically lauded fourth album, Dark Horse; a live album, One Night Stands; and a track on HRC’s Love Rocks benefit compilation. He also made Out magazine’s Out 100 and appeared on Logo.

This year, Himan has found new love and birthed a new album, Everywhere All at Once. We began by talking about some of the songs on the new release.

AfterElton.com: “Love Shouldn't Have to Hide,” a song about representing as gay people, especially when you’re in love, feels like a real anthem. Have you found audiences responding to it that way?
Eric Himan: They are. … especially at Pride events. I just played Richmond Pride [in Virginia] and everybody was really digging that song. You know … I never really felt gay until I was in a really successful gay relationship. Or, I was never perceived as gay, even though I’m an out performer and playing Pride events and whatever. But somehow being in a relationship shows you just how straight the world can be. When your partner wants to move in with you, and your landlord is like “What’s going on here?” You spend half your time just explaining. Whereas when you’re [not in a relationship] it’s like innocent until proven guilty, you know?

AE: “What I Can Give,” a song that you wrote for your partner’s mother who is dealing with cancer, is such a personal song. Does it feel odd to hear it on the album? Do you sing it in public?
EH: I sing it live. People are responding to it. I’m getting some people asking me to play it now. … But that song, it’s the most quiet of the bunch. And it’s just really honest. You know, you meet somebody who’s just so happy with their life. And then you hear later on that this is the second time they’re battling cancer, which is something that takes a lot of lives and is very dismal.

To see somebody so upbeat, and really taking their life to mean everything. And she’s just such a positive woman [referring to his partner’s mother] that I thought … I didn’t want to give her pity [in the song]; I didn’t want to write her something really cheesy. I thought all I could really give this woman is a song. It may not be a lot of money, it may not be a bunch of tears, it may not be this really depressing thing. It is what it is.

AE: And how has she reacted to it?
EH: Oh, she cried. She loved it. I think it was more the sentiment than anything. And then the fact that it wasn’t like a pity [thing] or a false [thing] like, “You’re going to get better.” It was more like just — this is it. And you really touched me because you’re just who you are.

AE: About “Heart Clean” [a rocker where Himan rebuffs the advances of a man pursuing easy sex] — it’s a real shot of adrenaline. I bet people are really loving that song live.
EH: It gets more reaction than anything, funny enough. When I put it on MySpace the messages came pouring in. I was like, what the hell?

AE: I felt a little sorry for the guy [in the song]. Are you always that hard on these guys?
EH: No, I’m actually not. And you know what I think? That was just the last straw with that song. … Like I’m playing straight bars and gay bars, but at the same time, I’m not eluding anybody. I’m talking about my feelings. …

I would sing a song called “One Night Stands,” which is all about “I want more” [than just sex], and these guys would — you know, 2 o’clock would roll around, and they wouldn’t have heard anything I’ve said. And they would be like “Hey, where are you going later?” It just seemed like no one was paying attention. And somebody would hit on you and you wouldn’t want it. So I kind of wanted to say thanks, but no thanks.

AE: You also said in an editorial you wrote that it wasn’t just gay people, but straight people as well felt a lot of pressure to be more sexual than they felt comfortable with. And that these songs sort of gave them an OK to not go that route.
EH: Especially gay men. … What blows my mind is, you can be gay, but not part of gay culture. And I think a lot of people find it very hard to be gay and not be part of gay culture. Not to pick on them at all. But I’m just saying, when you come out, it’s not like your parents are like “Oh, here you go,” this is the direct way to be who you are and positive. Nobody’s on your side except the people who are like you, and the people who are like you have a culture. And whether or not you agree with a lot of that culture, a lot of people find themselves assimilating into it because there’s nowhere else to go.

AE: So do you feel these songs — “Heart Clean” and “One Night Stands” — really validated a sense of diversity in the community?
EH: Definitely. I think our culture is starting to change. I don’t know. It’s a different generation. More activist. And more willing to challenge gay culture instead of just going through it.

AE: More committed to being their own individuals?
EH: Yeah. Definitely. I see that a lot. Especially in gay youth, you know, coming out earlier and earlier. If they do come out, it’s not like they can participate in gay culture the way that a 21-year-old could, so it kind of forces the youth to find different routes to identify with being gay and not be part of the typical drug, sex thing that happens with a lot of gay culture.