spotlight
Strong women such as yourself and the others who find and manage to maintain success in the music business in spite of the rampant misogyny, fascinate me. Has it changed much, in your opinion? We’ve come along a bit, but we still haven’t come far enough. There are
still not many women in positions of power in the
industry...And certainly not enough. Thank you for all of your incredible support of the LGBT community over the years. It has meant so much to me personally and to countless others. You have truly helped change the realities around being gay in such a positive way. What started you on your journey as an activist? When I learned that up to 40 percent of youth experiencing homelessness in America are LGBT, when only seven percent of the general youth population is LGBT, the decision to focus my energy to help them was easy. These are our kids! They are our future teachers, doctors, parents and so much more. It is our job to stand up for them and make sure they can be the happy, healthy and productive adults that they want and deserve to be. I have had the honor to meet so many young people over the years and to work with many young people through the True Colors Fund, they are the most resilient and inspiring people you will ever meet. It’s a broad question, I know. But, can you please tell me about your top five moments as an artist that you are most proud of? The first time I ever heard myself on the radio was so exciting. My first Grammy, my first Tony, my Emmy and recently I was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame—that was amazing—and when I got the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with my good friend Harvey [Fierstein]. I adored Kinky Boots. Talk about a runaway success... Tonys and Grammys... Oh My! What was the experience of creating the show like? It was awesome. I got to work with the best and the brightest of Broadway
and I got to work with my good friend, Harvey. We have been friends for a long time and I’ve always wanted to work with him, so when he called to ask me if I wanted to write the score for Kinky Boots I didn’t hesitate. I had the chance to write for all those other voices, not just my own. It took about four years from the phone call with Harvey, to the day we opened at the Hirschfeld Theatre and I loved every minute of it. It was hard work, but so rewarding. Who are you most impressed with as young artists in the music business? I really love The Struts and think Chastity Belt from Seattle is really good.
I’m a huge fan of Matt and Kim, they rock! I Love Tegan & Sara, who have been around for a few years, but are still really young and keep making great records and the same goes for Florence Welch. She’s a great songwriter and I think Florence and the Machine is terrific. It’s a great time for music and there is a lot of great new work that’s happened in the last five years. I loved that you’ve put together a country album. It reflects your willingness to embrace new things. When did you decide to do Detour and why? The process was quite simple. Seymour Stein is a legend and I have always
wanted to make a record with him. When I first met with him, we were just hanging out listening to songs, I wasn’t sure what direction I was heading at the time. When I started listening, I found the songs that I was moved by, were songs from the same era as the blues records. Seymour explained to me that the golden era of country was happening at the same time as the era of the Memphis Blues, which all of the songs off Detour are. I really liked the idea of doing a companion record that looked at music from both sides of that street.
The funny thing is... We all have
similar struggles and experiences. Love and loss is something every- one has, so I kind of feel like I tell
universal stories in my music.”
Tell me about the tour with Boy George, you two are such a perfect match. Yes, I think so too! (Laughs) The Detour tour starts in May and I have been
super-busy with rehearsals right now. I can’t wait to hit the road and Boy George is also going to do seven of the shows. I’ll do some of my hits, fan favorites and of course, some songs from Detour. I also have a few surprises! You’ll just have to come and see for yourself! Count on it. So, what’s next for you? I am busy with Detour right now and the tour will keep me running until the
fall. Though, I am working on another musical, which I am pretty excited about. Kinky Boots still keeps me quite busy, too. We just won three Oliver Awards for the West End production and it’s opening in Australia, Japan, Germany and Sweden. It’s already in Toronto and Seoul, so I need to stay on top of all of that. And of course, I have my family to take care of, so it’s a pretty full life! Proving that this girl does so much more than just “shebop! “
Detour, Cyndi Lauper’s new album due out Friday, May 6, is filled with a plethora of those rich Memphis Blues she was talkin’ about. It’s brilliant, so get out there and snap one up!
For more information about Lauper’s upcoming tour in support of Detour and everything else Cyndi, go to
cyndilauper.com. For more information regarding the amazing work of The True Colors Fund, go to
truecolorsfund.org.
26
RAGE monthly | MAY 2016
photography by chapman baehler
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