Lauper’s true colors have always been there, front and center and thankfully, they continue to be.
I love to start interviews by asking what a performer’s earliest memories of music are. Could you please share yours? I come from a family of music lovers. My entire family adored music and my taste
is so eclectic because so many shared their favorite music with me growing up. At my Mom’s house it was Broadway musical cast recordings, at my Grandfather’s it was Italian crooners like Louis Prima and at my Aunt Gracie’s house it was Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Kitty Wells and Johnny Cash on the AM radio she listened to while she was working in the kitchen. Back then, no one labeled it “country” music, it was just hit music. It wasn’t until
FM radio came along that radio became so categorized. I was listening to all genres of music from a very early age. When I got a bit older, my cousins and I would hang out in their room listening to ‘60s rock and roll and from there I first heard the blues. So, my memories from my childhood and teenage years were filled with music. When I first found out that you grew up in Queens many years ago, I was surprised. For some reason before that I’d associated you with European origins. I guess it’s because of the early punk influences. How much did that movement impact your music? (Laughs) That’s funny, because I have such a strong Ozone Park accent. I’m a
N.Y.C. girl through and through. Punk definitely had an influence on me, not just U.K. punk but the U.S. punk scene too. The attitude more than the actual music influenced my sound—if you know what I mean—Punk taught me to be brave and listening to the music was so freeing. I want to have that abandon in my own music and I wanted my audience to feel the power that punk fans felt listening to it. For me, one of the appeals of your music is that there is a underlying sense of pain and empathy that runs through your work. What do you look for in a piece when writing and has that changed over the years? I always try to be honest when I write. I don’t always write songs based on my own experience; sometimes the experiences of friends and those around me inspire me too. The funny thing is, we all have similar struggles and experiences. Love and loss is something everyone has, so I kind of feel like I tell universal stories in my music. You made many attempts at success early one with various bands, Flyer and Blue Angel, are two that I came up in my research. How much did they define your early style? We are all made up of our experiences. So, I’m sure there’s a little Flyer and Blue
Angel still in me. (Laughs) She’s So Unusual was such a runaway success, the first debut female album to chart four top-five hits and then winning a Grammy. Can you describe what that time was like and was there a moment when you thought, “I have entered a completely new world?”
Making that record was magical, it just felt so right and when it was received so
well, it was just remarkable. I was 30 when the album came out and had a record deal before it with Blue Angel, so just because you have a deal, it doesn’t mean you are across the finish line. It was so exciting to hear the music on the radio, see the videos on MTV and play in front of really big audiences. It was such a magical time and was just great since I had been working hard at it for so long. To have it pay off and be commercially successful was completely and utterly satisfying.
MAY 2016 |
MAY 2016 | RAGE monthly RAGE monthly
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