Ten Shekel Shirt

I knew I wanted this interview as soon as I heard they were back. Ten Shekel Shirt first made their musical mark on my collection at the beginning of this decade with their beautiful harmonies and strong folk/pop sensibilities. Yet after 2003’s Risk, there was nothing more to be heard. But it seems there was more important work to do.

In 2002, frontman and founder Lamont Hiebert created Love146 - a charity to work with human trafficking, abuse and slavery. This became foundational work for Hiebert and music took a proper backseat. Luckily, that time to emerge came again with a new Rounder Records release entitled Jubilee. We recently caught up with Hiebert via phone to discuss the new album, his charitable work and how you can get involved with it all.

Soul-Audio: Was that a hard decision to make in terms of coming back musically with Ten Shekel Shirt or was it inevitable? Did you know you were always going to make another album?

Lamont Hiebert: I knew I was going to make another record. It was delayed a bit by the founding of a charity, but I did know I was going to make another. I think it was a surprise in some ways when Rounder Records sought me out and ended up signing me. That was a fun bonus, but I was planning to get my thoughts out on disc or mp3.

SA: What happened with Rounder and their pursuit?

LH: Well, I was working in the charity I co-founded, sitting in our office in New Haven, Connecticut and the label called me up and said, ‘Hey, can we do lunch?’ It was a few days later and they met me in New Haven for lunch and they told me they really liked the old stuff and saw us live and wanted to sign us. I laughed out loud actually. I just didn’t see it coming. I was very involved in the charity and thankfully, we ended up hiring a lot of people smarter than myself here and in Southeast Asia where we’re working. So that freed me up to do music again, so I signed with Rounder and it was a lot of fun.

SA: If Rounder hadn’t pursued you, how long would have it been until we heard from you musically?

LH: You probably would have heard from me maybe nine to 12 months ago. Indie stuff you can put out a lot faster, but to have the proper infrastructure and to get all that in place took a while. But if I went indie, I would have had it out a little quicker, but it wouldn’t have been as good.

SA: Rounder has Allison Krauss, Martha Wainwright and others. It’s an incredible roster. Was that a total surprise or did you already have some sense of them being around?

LH: Totally out of the blue. They had come to one concert. I will say though that while it was a surprise, but it is what I always preferred - to be on a label that’s a bit different. I like that. They are a bit different. They have a past and a future, so things went well together.

SA: How was it to have waited five years to release a new album? Were there a lot of songs waiting to come out?

LH: Absolutely! Some of the songs are dedicated to survivors of exploitation, abuse and slavery. Because of my work as an abolitionist, I had to get those songs out of my system and to the masses. Then there are other personal things I’ve been chewing on for years and it’s nice to have that much time to work with.

SA: The theme of Jubilee… can you speak to that?

LH: The original meaning of the word Jubilee actually has nothing to do with a schmaltzy Las Vegas show or wedding anniversary or the Queen’s birthday or anything like that. The real meaning has to do with emancipation of slaves. So I combined the meaning of the word with the true story of a girl who entered into one of our partner’s safe homes. When she came in, she fell to her knees and just wept. She had seen this place in her dreams. So I wrote this song for her and for all those as a celebration of those who have been emancipated in recent history.

We think of slavery as something from long, long ago but really it’s something that’s very real. There are 27 million slaves in the world today which is more than were brought over from Africa. So that’s the theme and I think that song represents the overall album as well - with freedom and restoration being the theme.

SA: Was that something you’ve always been passionate about? How did you end up starting a charity?

LH: It’s called Love146 and the website is love146.org. In the mid-to-late-’90s, I started hearing reports on child trafficking and exploitation and I learned as much as I could from whatever sources I could and I eventually started working with other organizations like International Justice Mission, which I still do some work with these days.

But as I got further into speaking about the problem, I realized I didn’t just want to be a spokesperson for the cause when children that were enslaved couldn’t be rescued because there was no place to put them. So this was really about getting them safe homes and trauma counselors and caregivers - places to be restored and learn to heal and hope again. So we did that during the making of this album and a lot has changed with the charity and the band since then… all for the good.

SA: How long has the charity been going?

LH: We founded it in 2002. It was originally called Justice for Children International. We eventually changed it for some clarity reasons from other organizations. So we changed it to Love146.

SA: There’s been so more arrows pointing to the need for abolitionists with the new film Trade, the Amazing Grace movie, Zach Hunter’s work and more. Have you seen such a boost in support?

LH: Yeah there’s been a number of things, both unrelated to our organization and then directly related. Paramore is now a spokesperson for our organization. But our hits go up if Law and Order does an episode featuring a trafficking victim. I will say this: I think it’s a bit dangerous if we just hear something and don’t do anything about it. I don’t want it to become the new thing or the buzz. This is a real issue with real kids and real names and real difficulties. Thankfully, so far the awareness has turned into action and I hope that continues. But it is getting a lot more press.

SA: How did Paramore enter the picture? That’s a giant stage.

LH: Absolutely! It’s the nature of what we’re talking about. We don’t have a big team going out and soliciting artists - usually they come to us.

SA: Are they the biggest act promoting the organization?

LH: Absolutely. Yes, they are.

SA: It sounds like so much of the band comes from you, but how much is that really true?

LH: The first Ten Shekel Shirt album was really a moniker for my solo career. I enlisted my good friends to play with me after I really did the album. Then the second album, Risk, was a band album. All of us were putting our ideas in there. I was the songwriter, but musically all of us were helping. This record was really a solo project again, but I did enlist the help of Jonny Rodgers, this great guitar player who lives in New Haven. He helped write and record with me. I also used some friends on drums and a producer friend from Nashville. So when people ask me who Ten Shekel Shirt is, I usually say it’s Lamont, Jonny and a community of friends.

SA: So what’s happening now musically for the band?

LH: We have our album release show tomorrow night in New York City at a place called Crash Mansion. We had some private parties booked for some human rights events and then we hit it in September in support of Jubilee.

SA: And for people to get involved with the charity?

LH: Yes, they should go to love146.org. And I would encourage anyone who cares about this issue to learn as much as they can. There is a bunch of great resources and great websites out there. I would encourage them also to join something. They can sign up to be an abolitionist with us or join a local group and then they can act. They can pursue a career in law or criminal justice to combat these criminal gangs. Or maybe they can pursue counseling or social work. Our organization can’t unfortunately handle all the things that people want to do to get involved, but we can be a starting place and place to learn. We’re making a difference and we need people to do that.

• www.tenshekelshirt.com
• www.myspace.com/tenshekelshirt

↓ One comment

#1 Zach Hunter on September 25th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

Lamont is the real deal — I completely agree with him that the need isn’t just to raise awareness — though I’m surprised by the number of people who are still unaware that slavery exists. But, we must act. We must put our influence, our money and our talents behind ending the sale of human beings and we must stop supporting the trade in humans by being wiser consumers. I’m really thankful for Lamont and for the way he has chosen to give words and melodies to the suffering and to the hope victims are waiting for.

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