By: Mariah Thomas
Photo By Esther Canata
Q) How would you describe your sound?
A) I feel like I am more like an all-encompassing radio orgy, not one particular lover station. I am the sound that lives between the numbers. I am the turn of the dial, but the frequency somehow always still aligns with a soulful essence. I can dance between genres, but even when it’s a folky guitar hymnal, there is still some deep gutter blues in there.
Q) Who are some artists that inspired you growing up?
A) I was definitely in love with Madonna, Michael Jackson and Janet [Jackson]. Mariah [Carey] was a revelation for me. But I was also a big Barbra Streisand fan. And 70s musicals like Hair, Godspell and The Wiz were huge on how I appreciate song, story telling and epic sound.
Q) How does your solo music compare to the work you’ve done with Scissor Sisters?
A) I think we are very simpatico – camp, cheeky, with undercurrents of revolution funk. But I think my music has a bit more whimsy to it and a different edge that comes with growing up in NYC when hip-hop was the fire in our veins.
Q) How has being a pivotal figure in New York’s cabaret, drag, burlesque, and performance-art communities influenced your view on music as well as your personal sound?
A) My live shows are very much shaped by these worlds. So, when I am writing a song, I am already imagining what kind of fun costume reveal I can do or what audience interaction or participation can occur. I see music from a theatre perspective and want to create every song with some sort of surprise, AHA! Or HAHA! TADA! Like a gag or a magic trick.
Q) “Red Carpet” is obviously a cheeky, fun self confidence anthem. Did you go into the writing process with the ‘red carpet’ double entendre concept or did that happen after?
A) I definitely got the idea for the “Red Carpet” double entendre first and then looked at all these other motifs and emotional landscapes I’ve been navigating as a performer for so many years. The need for validation, the dream to be on Broadway, the fear of aging etc…I had one idea called “Floozy,” which was more about getting older and still feeling sexy, even sexier than I did when I was younger but I realized it was all connected. Once I find the theme or the heart of a song, it opens up the flood gates. There were a lot of ideas that didn’t make it into the song. It was going to be a full seven minute musical theatre number if I had kept going. But I tied it up in a bow and I am really proud of what it captures. I didn’t know that I would end up talking about community in the way I do, “getting down with my Judys”- the song revealed to me the healing I needed which was honoring the worlds that I come from and screw the gatekeepers.
Q) After having the concept for the song, how did you decide on the 70’s R&B/Funk sound to it?
A) I was singing at my local steady club gig where I hosted a burlesque show in NYC called Duane Park. We do this sick cover of “Closer” by NIN and the groove is very funk like “Wild Cherry,” not at all like the original. I started hearing the verses over that. Every night I would just feel so empowered singing, “I want to fuck you like an animal,” and then it bled into “Baby I’m Broadway”…Also, because so many guests say, “Why aren’t you on Broadway?” So, this became what played in my head quite often. We also have this amazing aerialist named Sister to the Sun and as she was twirling in the air all these other melodies came to me and the “roll it outs,” as she spun and spun. So, I started recording this moment in our show and I built the whole bass line, energy over it. Of course, it kept growing from there but that’s how it began.
Q) I love that this song doesn’t shy away from sexual themes and body/artistic autonomy. Why was this song important to you to be put out first?
A) As a kid I was fascinated with sexuality. I experimented in high school and then in my 20’s I got shook, heartbroken, ashamed. Too many unwanted experiences, traumas and I was scared to let all of that shine and flow. When I started getting into the burlesque and performance art world in my early 30’s it began to open me up but still took me more time to fully embrace my full sexual being onstage. Now in my 40’s it feels like my literal superpower to be a woman of a certain age, twerking, shimmying and loving my body in full force as it changes in the most intense ways internally as well. On the outside I am in the best shape of my life and I think it’s important to celebrate that journey because I spent so many years not really truly loving myself.
Q) What inspired you, The Brothers Nylon and Alex Chermy to go old school doing a one-take recording of the horns, synths and background vocals?
A) I have a lot of self-produced music and others I have done with music producers who are beat based which I love. I love experimental low fi. But I really wanted to capture something in one take. No electronics. Just humans. To tape. In the face of AI. Go old school. And the Brothers Nylon and Alex are the kings of that. So, I needed to make that moment happen. We have more songs that will be released at the end of this year and next.
Q) A song as fiery and fun as “Red Carpet” needs a music video. Do you have one in the works or plans to do one?
A) YES! I have been editing it myself, while I am on tour with Scissor Sisters, so it’s taking a little bit longer than I had expected but as soon as it’s done I will make sure to send it your way. It really is a love letter to my roots in the NYC artist community.
Q) The single cover for “Red Carpet” is as fun as the song. What was the process like in planning this photoshoot?
A) Ah! I love it too! SO MUCH. Shout out first to my dear friend Rod Thomas aka Bright Light Bright Light. I told him about the song and he said, “You have to do a photo like sitting on a throne and your long red carpet coming down [laughs.]” And I kept getting these signs from the universe, too. My horoscope the next day literally said, “Roll out the red carpet!” So, I started to plan it. I knew I wanted to be on a stoop to honor my dad’s Brooklyn roots. So, I put out a call to friends who might have stoops. And this was magic. A friend reached out to one of her peoples and it turned out we went to high school together, so she said OF COURSE. And we made a night of it. I was honored to get the amazing Karla Moheno to shoot it and Jaclene Sini to do the graphics and Dusty Childers for font and styling.
Q) Is “Red Carpet” a prelude to a full album or EP?
A) I am focusing on singles right now as I am preparing to make an album for a one woman musical I am currently writing. There will be a few more songs coming out and then I will plan for an EP after that.
Q) Who are some artists you would love to collaborate with on music in the future?
A) Well, I have just absolutely fallen in love with two QUEENS, Lola Young and Meek. Such great songwriters and voices. Erykah Badu will always be a dream. I love Carrtoons, Shabazz Palaces, Khuranghbin, Sault – oh the list goes on! But also, of course, Scissor Sisters. I hope we continue to make more music together.
Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your music?
A) Most importantly, thank you. Thank you for being here. We just never know as artists who’s going to come to the party. Every song, every video, every show is like your birthday party. You send out the invites, some people RSVP, but you never know who’s actually going to show up. And sometimes three people come and it feels like the whole world is with you and sometimes a hundred come and you’re all alone inside yourself. I think it’s just beautiful to make something and be received and knowing that you moved someone, made them feel good on a shitty day, – that’s everything. So, thank you.
Watch The Video For “Red Carpet”