One good window into what's going on politically among students at a college like Webster University is to ask a musician on campus... even better is when you can talk to one as socially conscious and socially connected as Ian Fisher. A political science major at Webster University in suburban St. Louis, the studious, serious, 20-year-old Fisher’s found in school’s cyber café, sitting next to the center on the school’s basketball team, Brad Robinson. When he gets up leave for an interview, Fisher exchanges a heartfelt handshake with the hoopster. A few minutes later, he’s greeting a teacher. Then a group of female students from Asia. And, then, a pair of professors.

His varied interests play a big role in his familiarity with everyone on campus, as he’s not just a student, but also performer. He works around St. Louis as a solo musician and as part of an acoustic trio, offering both a standard set of folk tracks, as well as a set of material that’s definitely pulling on his interests in politics and history. Fisher’s got a second disc of songs currently being recorded. He’s also planning a move back to his hometown of Ste. Genevieve, MO, where he hopes to build his bank account back up, so that he can finish his studies with a year in Europe, at the London and Leiden (Netherlands) campuses.

MTV: The fact that this blog exists in the first place owes to an electoral cycle. Would you say that you hear much conversation at this point – in May of 2008 – about the presidential election? And if so, where are they falling?

Fisher: At this school, it’s hard to say. In a liberal arts school, the majority of people would support Obama for President. As I would, myself, even though the Democratic and Republican parties don’t take the best interests of the people, in my opinion. I do believe the majority of people would probably vote for Obama. One thing I’m scared of is that if Hillary gets the nomination she won’t be different than the warmongers of the “new American century” line. It seems the common sentiment here is a hope that Obama gets it. It seems he’s disconnected enough from the whole power structure that exists in Washington that he’s able to do something about it. But we’re talking about change from the top-down. That’s really not going to change a society. To change a society, everything has to change, including the economic system. The government doesn’t have it in itself to change that.

MTV: Mentioning the war, do you get the sense that it’s of importance to students here, or is it an abstraction?

Fisher: I think it’s of great importance to everyone. However, a lot of people here – a large percentage – who are fairly removed. It doesn’t effect them. A lot of people who go to schools that charge $30,000 a year are people who don’t go to war. Not to say those people are inferior, but a lot of times a person going into the military makes less money than someone going to college. That’s the slight disconnect that I see between those at Webster University and those dying in Basra. That is a big deal, but a bigger deal is gas prices or having a job when they have when they come out of school. If McCain gets it and there’s a draft, or if the economy gets bad enough, or if they start fighting the terrorists at home – which is anyone like you and me discussing the war – then they’ll start worrying. Until then, they’ll be talking about gas prices and getting a job.

MTV: When you’re talking amongst your peers at Webster, our peers just generationally, are they interested in what you’re saying, lyrically? Or do they just assume it, as part-and-parcel of you?

Fisher: It depends on who you’re talking to. When you say my peers or contemporaries… the people I respect who are my age are creating art that means something. They completely understand what I’m doing. When you’re talking about the typical person my age, they’re conditioned to not engage. They’re taught that those things don’t exist. “Oh, leftist politics, that stopped when the Wall fell.” They’re taught to not even fathom the possibility of social change. In that sense, a lot of people are apprehensive to talk or even think about some of these things. Among artist and others who are conscious, they’re in tune with what I’m saying.


MTV: For starters, give us a sense of how you started in music.

Fisher: I’ve been playing music since I was 13, or so. I came from a small town where there wasn’t much to do aside from play music or be on the football team, so I decided to play music. I taught myself how to play bass, then I taught myself how to play guitar. I started singing, because no one else in my band would. And I started writing songs. That was that. In full, I’ve written about 15 notebooks worth of songs. As far as full songs go, I’ve written between 300-500.

MTV: With the social edge of the songs you write, do you eve find yourself pulling away from a track because of the overt commentary of a track?

Fisher: I try not to hold back. It depends who you’re writing for. Are you writing for a deejay on the radio or a commercially-friendly thing, then you’ll write whatever. Unless you’re someone with just nothing to say. But for me I usually just write what’s on my mind. Quite often I don’t write stories, per se, but fluid, philosophical things. They can include characters, but not often. As far as socially, I view the role of artist as someone there to pull the collective consciousness to a different level. The artist stands atop the pyramid and pulls the rest of the people up above the apathy and the darkness. So the artist’s role is to enhance consciousness. Everything on the radio does the complete opposite, in my opinion. As far as my songs, I try to make them as conscious as much as possible.

MTV: As far as performance in public settings, what makes a good night for you? If it just having a good performance, or is it having a discussion after the fact?

Fisher: I play two different types of show. There’s the job show and the show that I really put my heart into, playing the songs I’ve written to people who really listen. The majority of shows are those job shows. Just because right now I do need the money to pay off all these things I have to pay for. I’d much really do that then work a job where I don’t have to think, or that won’t foster the skills that I enjoy. The shows I really do like are shows played to crowds that listen. I often find myself talking between songs, explaining the meaning behind it and people seem to listen. Especially when they come up to you and say “I liked that song about the factory takeovers,” or “I liked that song about the theory of common sense,” something like that. It makes people more connected to the song when it means something.

To hear Ian Fisher’s music on that global community, visit: myspace.com/ianfishermusic. In a week, or two, we’ll also feature some of Fisher’s socially-conscious material in this space. Watch for it.