Christopher Dallman – The Interview.

Everything indeed does have a place, and the place you were born was Milwaukee, what was it like growing up there?

In hindsight, Milwaukee was a great place to grow up. It’s not a small town and there are things to do, but it’s also not a big city, so you don’t grow numb from over stimulation. When I lived in Milwaukee, I had more real conversations than I do now. It’s pretty effin’ cold, though, and I don’t think I could live there again.

When did you first start getting into music and writing songs?

I started writing legit songs when I was 17. When my first real boyfriend gave me my real heartbreak, I started to write songs about it and performing them every Friday night at a local coffeehouse called Sunset Boulevard.

Whom or what were your early influences?

Musical influences in my early songwriting are Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco. I was really attracted to their emotional extremities and I wanted to write songs like theirs, songs that can punch you in the gut and then flip around and be so beautiful. I think you can still hear their influence every now and again in my songs, but for the most part I think I’ve shed that from my songwriting instincts and found my own thing.

Was there a pivotal moment in your life when you knew and decided to be a singer / songwriter?

Not exactly. I saw the realization coming and frankly I fought it really hard. I grew up really comfortably. My father is a lawyer and my Mother is a teacher. I went to a private school where I wore a coat and tie. It wasn’t exactly expected for my path to be that of a starving artist.

But, I can’t imagine doing anything else and I’m comfortable starving for it. I have love and a really fun life.

You have a lovely, silky smooth breathy voice that’s been described as transcendental, soulful, melted honey like, and aural wallpaper (I added that last one!) You’ve also been likened to James Taylor and David Grey and James Blunt – how do you feel about that?

Ha! Thank you. I’m at a nice place with my voice. I think that I understand it better than I ever have and am writing songs now that suit it better than in the past. It’s not the voice that I thought I had a few years back. I think I really wanted to be a screamer but have only recently come to terms with the fact that my real power lies in the softer moments.

Your songs, are without doubt touching, heartfelt and intimate, where do you draw your inspiration from?

100% from my own life. I write from where I am at the moment. It’s why my songs are honest and authentic. It’s also why it takes me a really long time to write them.

As they are so authentic and personal, is there one about the others that you’re most proud of?

On my first record, I’m most proud of ‘Over My Head.’ The song lived in limbo for a long time with verses and a chorus, but, once I stumbled upon the bridge, everything came together and the first time I played it was a great moment. I think I’ll be playing it forever.

Otherwise, I’m always most proud of the song I’m currently working on

Do you feel your sexuality plays a key part of your music, your songs and your life?

Not really. I embrace my sexuality, but I don’t rely on it. It plays into my music in that I’m very open and I always have been. I don’t feel like my audience is largely homosexual, though I’m always trying to reach more gays I definitely have something to offer them!

And I feel an obligation to be 100% open about who I am.

OK, let’s take a little more in depth look love and some of your songs now, the soft melancholic feel to Green Camaro is so atmospheric , how did that track come about?

That song is about my mother and the connection we share. The song is born from an old photo I have of my mother taken just after she and my father were married. They married young and they are no longer together. My father’s parents gave them a brand new green Camaro as a wedding present and in the picture, my mother is leaning against the car. She is so pretty and so young and she’s smiling but her eyes are so sad.

You paint a wonderful picture with sound and words, there’s also an enchanting, haunting, hypnotic sound to Driving to You, where did you draw that from? Were you really driving down highway 42?

I wrote that song in the car. I’d had a falling out with a very dear friend and we hadn’t spoken in years. I woke up from an intense dream about him and immediately got in my car and drove while the sun was rising 3 hours to where he lived. And I was really on highway 42. What I love about it is that it’s entirely about the journey there and was prompted it, but it never goes into what happens when I arrive. And it doesn’t really matter.

Is the story behind Hollow High, autobiographical?

Shhhhhhh

Now, forgive me for being a tad emotional here, but Has Been from your Never Was EP, is just so sad, so sweet and delicate, that a tear always forms in my eye when I hear it, how did you come to write that?

Ya know, there are many twists and turns on the path of trying to make a living off of your art. Twists and turns and ups and downs and it’s easy to lose faith in yourself. I wrote Has Been on the road after a really tough show when I wasn’t digging touring and was super homesick. I felt like a has been and then thought that was so funny, because how can you feel like such a has been if you’ve never even really ‘made it.’

There is a story behind each of your songs, they are all, authentic, heart felt and honest, are they easy or hard to create?

Easy in terms of being satisfied with the particular expression of the story, no. That is tough. It’s my heart, my life, my feelings and not every song I write is good. It’s hard to write a good song.

If you mean is it easy for me to be open and honest, the answer is yes. I’ve been doing it for so long that it comes second nature to me. Holding back is the challenge.

Another powerful track is Anthem, what prompted you to write that?

I live in Los Angeles, and when Prop 8 passed, I was moved in a really unexpected and powerful way. I had just assumed that it wouldn’t pass. It seemed like a no-brainer to me. And shortly after finding out Barack Obama had been elected president – which had been a moment of high emotion – we found out that Prop 8 was most likely going to pass and it was like the floor dropped.

I’ve been with my husband for 8 years now. We have a really amazing relationship, a true partnership and it’s COMICAL that we don’t have the same rights as a straight couple. The song came from that outrage.

It really is a great Anthem for marriage equality, when do you think the fight for gay marriage or a same sex civil partnership law will become legal all over America?

Who knows. While the fight is obviously very frustrating, I think we need to take a step back and look at how much has happened over the last few years. 5 years ago, I don’t think anyone expected that the issue would have progressed as far as it has.

NOH8 founders Adam Bouska & Jeff Parshley invited Chris to pose!

Lot’s in the news right now about, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which might be repealed soon, is that important?

Yes.

Any plans on coming over to Europe?

No plans yet, but I sure hope I can. I toured in Ireland for ‘Race The Light’ and had a blast. Unfortunately, the guy that booked that tour for me is no longer in the business. It’s really about money. I’ll go anywhere if I can afford it.

What’s best for you, is it the recording or performing live?

Live. The energy of it. The connection with audience. The fact that it’s different every time.

How hard is it to break it in the music industry?

Maybe I’ll let you know when I’ve ‘broken.’

The hardest part is getting people to listen. I find that once I have their ears, I can usually work it out and connect. But there is so much noise in the world and it’s tough to cut through it and make people pay attention.

Is it difficult to make money/cover costs without a major record label behind you?

Not if you do it smartly. I spent an arm and a leg recording ‘Never Was’ and ‘Sad Britney,’ and while I don’t regret it, I’ve definitely learned that its in my best interest to be more cost effective. My next EP which will be out at the top of the summer is recorded on the cheap in my producer George Stanford’s home studio. And it sounds fantastic. It won’t take me long to recoup my costs. But ‘Sad Britney’ and ‘Never Was’ have a long way to go before I’m out of debt.

Oh that’s exciting, so you’ve got a new EP in the pipeline, please, please tell us more about that Chris?

The new EP is still untitled. I’m super excited about it. The approach is very different from ‘Never Was’ and ‘Sad Britney.’ WIth those EPs, we recorded the voice and guitar live and then added the other instruments around that. It was really time consuming because it’s a bitch to get a perfect take. I would do it again that way in a heartbeat because I think what was captured was really magical and is very true to my live sound.

For the new EP, I’m working with George Stanford. If you haven’t heard his own music, drop what you’re doing and check it out. He’s uber talented. Anyhow, with George we are taking a more traditional approach– laying down the tracks for each instrument with the vocal being the final touch. It’s a totally different vibe. In a good way. While a musician has his own particular style and each record usually follows that path, I think it’s cool to do different things. And different songs call for different approaches.

This EP will have a reworked version of my marriage equality song ‘Anthem,’ ‘Subterranean,’ (which I leaked back in August because it was done and I loved it and I couldn’t wait to put it out) and 2 other songs that I have been playing for the last few years but hadn’t managed to record yet. I think I will release it in June, but I change my mind all the time. It definitely feels good to have the next project almost done, though!

What is or has been the greatest inspiration in your life?

I can’t think of anything to say. Isn’t that awful?! My husband? Music? My family? All huge but none the single greatest.

OK, we’re pretty much wrapped up now, but just before you go, can you tell us a little secret?

Once at a party, Lindsay Lohan told me I was ‘hot.’

And I for one am not gonna argue with Ms Lohan! If you’ve not heard Christopher’s music before, then you really haven’t lived! I strongly urge you to do so, I guarantee you’re in for a treat. He has the ability to not only entertain, but also move you with his breathy, seemingly effortless vocals, his deep and meaningful lyrics and his easy sound and melodic tunes. .

You can download him on iTunes.

Alternatively here:

Never Was EP

Race The Light.

Antham EP

Sad Britney EP

More info about everything at his website www.cjdmusic.com

Or you can catch him live at one of these forthcoming shows and live appearances:
Up coming shows

8:00pm Tuesday March 23

Room 5 Lounge – Double Trouble Tour w/ Aiden James
143 N La Brea (Above Amalfi) LA, CA

7:00pm Thursday March 25
Dolores Park Cafe – Double Trouble Tour w/ Aiden James
501 Dolores St. San Francisco, CA

7:00pm Saturday March 27
Alberta St. Pub – Double Trouble Tour w/ Aiden James
1036 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR

7:00pm Sunday March 28
The Skylark Club – Double Trouble Tour w/ Aiden James
3803 Delridge Way SW Seattle, WA

April 17-18 2010
Phoenix Pride
Phoeniz, AZ

June 10, 2010
Evocative Sounds House Concert – open to the public
Cedar Rapids, IA

June 12, 2010
Milwaukee Pridefest
Milwaukee, WI

Another exclusive from Jason Shaw on GayAgenda.com

Jason Shaw GayAgenda.com’s UK correspondant.

Jason’s own blog The Seafront Diaries, the continuing stories of one slightly mad and forgetful Brit gut running around from one midlife crisis to another!

Silverman’s Wild Mustache Ride

Funny lady Sarah Silverman established herself as a serious gay ally when she publicly vowed not to marry then-boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel until all Americans can legally wed, so it’s fitting that an LGBT network saved her Comedy Central sitcom from cancellation. Thanks to a financial partnership with Logo, The Sarah Silverman Program, for which she earned a 2009 Emmy nomination, returns for a third season February 4. Never one to skirt controversy — remember that AIDS episode or her jabs at Paris and Britney as host of MTV’s 2007 VMAs? — the 39-year-old Saint John of Las Vegas star embraces lesbian stereotypes and chastises straight liberals who continue to get married.

Read the interview at: Advocate.com!

Janet on Gaga and Rihanna

From XemVanAdams:

Recently, the LEGENDARY Music Icon, JANET JACKSON, posed and sat down with a reporter from WONDERLAND Magazine to discuss everything regarding her music career, immediate career goals, and emotions surrounding the past year of her life.
Most notably, Janet was asked several questions regarding her opinions as it pertains to the Up & Coming Pop Phenoms, LADY GAGA & RIHANNA.

Personally, I feel that when reporters and other journalists present these questions to women of Janet’s caliber and accomplishment, they’re doing so as to say, ‘How Do You Feel About Those Who Are Now Sanctioned To Replace You?’ Thats what this is all about, beneath the surface.

Janet Jackson is a refined veteran artist, with years of solid accolades and success to solidify her stance in the entertainment industry. IF the woman never sells another album in her life, she will always reign supreme for decades of innovation, creativity and supreme artistry. Honestly.
However, Janet ANSWERED the presented questions, and did so with a sense of grace and decorum, I might add…

More at: XemVanAdams!

‘Giddy On Up’: Laura Bell Bundy Speaks OUT!

Courtesy of Blue Streak Consulting:

“I wish we could have a gay male country star,” says a typically irreverent Laura Bell Bundy when talking about her kinship with the gay men that helped shape her career as a singer and performer. “Until then, I’m the closest gay male country artist you’re going to find!”

Turning serious, Bundy explains that the fearlessness that led her to buck Nashville trends with her new album Achin’ and Shakin’ came partly from witnessing the struggles of her gay friends to live without having to conforming to anyone else’s ideas of how to live. “I understand that struggle,” she says. “I’ve never really found a place where I completely fit in, and I’m happy about that. I never needed to be the homecoming queen. I’ve always done things my own way.”

Bundy is certainly blazing a path of individuality with Achin’ and Shakin’, her Mercury Records debut release. The singer-songwriter has bypassed the tried-and-true Music Row approach usually taken on country albums and instead created a bold concept album that is essentially two separate albums within one project.

The album’s title aptly describes the project’s division: Achin’ is a collection of slow and sultry country songs, and Shakin’ is a group of sassy songs that are equal parts humor, confidence and attitude. One side presents a modern-day mixture of Loretta Lynn, Minnie Pearl and Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw; the other unveils country’s answer to Norah Jones. The first single, “Giddy On Up,” is an irresistibly upbeat and saucy kiss-off to a cheating lover, while the romantic “Drop On By” oozes sensuality as she beckons a lover to visit.

It’s no surprise that the Lexington, Kentucky-born Bundy is shattering the usual industry formulas because nothing about her entertainment career has been normal. Like two of her idols Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, she traveled the musical highway that spans from Nashville to Broadway. She originated the lead role of Elle Woods in the Broadway musical Legally Blonde, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She also originated the role of Amber Von Tussle in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Hairspray and played Glinda in the smash hit Wicked. Prior to that, at age 9, she originated the role of Tina Denmark in the successful off-Broadway production Ruthless!, The Musical!, for which she received the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk nominations.

After a successful run on Broadway, she moved to Nashville in the fall of 2008 and spent 18 months creating Achin’ and Shakin’, an album that combines the traditional influences of her Southern heritage with the uniquely modern perspective that has been fueling her artistry since she was a child performer. “Songwriting and recording are my passions; this is my love,” she says. “There’s a part of myself that has come out that I really like, and it’s very important to me.”

Here, the singer talks about her journey from Broadway to Nashville, her “gay sense of humor,” and her touching debt to Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods.

Q: Tell me about the progression of your career from Broadway to country music. How did this come about?

Laura Bell Bundy: I kinda think that it was less of a segue than everything happening at one time. I’m from Kentucky, and I grew up listening to a lot of country music. My grandfather was a radio DJ, and he had a large collection of country songs. My mom was a big fan of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, and we also listened to a lot of countrypolitan, which has been a big influence on this album. And my father is from Muscle Shoals, so I learned about Southern soul music from him. All of that has inspired the combination of country and soul that you hear on this record.

Q: But career-wise, you started doing theater first.

LBB: Yes, when I was a young kid, I moved to New York to do theater. I was fortunate enough to be in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at 9-years-old. Then, I was in the musical Ruthless! The Musical, which became a cult show in the gay community. Britney Spears and Natalie Portman were my understudies. But then I moved back to Kentucky to be normal and go to high school. After doing a show with drag queens and being raised by the two gay men who composed the show, I was having an identity crisis.

Q: When did you start writing songs?

LBB: When I was 18–and everything just came out country. I formed a country band, and we got gigs in various clubs. But I was also still pursuing acting at that time. I moved back to New York, did a soap opera, and then got Hairspray, my first Broadway show. So, I was doing both theater and country simultaneously. Theater took off first for me because I wasn’t living in Nashville. You get a Broadway show, you’re going to do it.

Q: I know you have actually put an album out before Achin’ and Shakin’ called Looking for a Place Already Gone.

LBB: Yes, after I did Wicked on Broadway, about six months before Legally Blonde, I put out a country album independently. I missed writing and signing country music. I called my style “Y’allternative.” I’m happy with that album as far as it being a jumping off point for me. But I’d like to think of Achin’ and Shakin’ as my first album. I devoted a year and a half to this, and it’s the culmination of all of my experiences and the emotions I’ve always felt.

Q: I’m curious—why didn’t you choose to do a pop album or an album of standards, as people might have expected you to do?

LBB: I never gave it a thought that I would be signing anything other than country. It was already what I had been performing. Maybe there’s been the idea that my songs could crossover, but this is the kind of music I’ve always wanted to do.

Q: Are you a fan of show tunes?

LBB: I love musical theater, but I don’t listen to it; I don’t have any cast albums on my iPod. Though I have to say, I’m actually writing a musical now. But the music is going to be the way it used to be, where the songs that were in shows actually became the popular music of the day. But for me, ultimately, the stuff that makes me really go wild is country, soul, classic rock, and indie rock.

Q: What was the idea behind making a “two-sided” album—half of it “Achin’” and the half of it “Shakin’”?

LBB: The “Achin’” side is traditional country meets soul ballads. Tammy Wynette meets Norah Jones and Ray Charles. It’s for when you’re in a reflective mood, like when you’re trying to drown your sorrows. The songs on the “Shakin’” side you can really dance to, and they have more of a sassiness and a sense of humor. They two styles represent the different parts of me. I’m not bipolar, but I have both a crazy wild side and a more reflective side that really likes to get to the source of my pain. I wrote or co-wrote every song on the album except one, so they really come from my own personal experience.

Q: I know the first single “Giddy On Up” has been remixed for clubs. What do you think of it?

LBB: When I heard the first version of it, I was freaking and jumping up and down. It’s so much fun. They had to speed up my vocals, so I sound like a country chipmunk. I love it because my favorite way to blow off steam is to dance. I love going to gay clubs because I can throw caution to the wind. Some guy is not going to be coming up and grinding on me. And I’ll always get someone telling me how much they like my dress. Gay men have taught me some of my best dance moves.

Q: You have a sizable gay fan base from your Broadway and Off-Broadway work. Why do you think gay people are drawn to you and your work?

LBB: I think I have a gay sense of humor—it’s off-the-cuff, it’s kitschy, it’s campy. Maybe that’s because almost everything that has ever been written for me was written by gay men. The most creative people in my life have been gay people. It was gay men who taught me to sing and to hone my talent. It began when I was doing Ruthless! Off-Broadway when I was 10-years-old. The show was very campy. But even before that—when I was 8, my favorite movie was Hairspray. And of course, I loved all of the films that are iconic to gay men: All About Eve, The Bad Seed, Mommie Dearest. Overall, there’s just something about the gay experience–particularly coming out of the closet to live life as you really are–that I totally relate to.

Q: How so?

LBB: Gay people have taught me there there’s really no “right” way to live—it’s all okay. That’s helped to bring me to the place I’m at now where I’m not afraid of anything anymore. I’m the most fearless I’ve ever been. It’s interesting for me to be in the country music community—you don’t know how open-minded people are going to be. But I think it’s important to treat people equally, regardless of color, sexual preference, or religion. I love people from the South, and I love traditional values, but I will not repress my love for gay people. It makes me really happy that my music is being marketed to the gay community. It’s like I’m getting my own coming-out party.

Q: What’s your stand on gay marriage?

LBB: Besides my grandparent’s marriage, the strongest examples of committed long-term relationships in my life have been between gay couples. I don’t see how my idea of marriage could be threatened by the committed, loving relationships that many gay people have.

Q: OK, we’ve basically skipped talking about Legally Blonde, but I’m curious—what did Elle Woods teach you?

LBB: The experience of playing that character every night was so positive and so much fun. Elle taught me not to be afraid to be myself. She also taught me that a person can have a bubbly personality and not be stupid. She was also so open, loving, and accepting of all. I actually get a little emotional talking about it. I grew up with that character, and she grew up with me.

Lucy Lawless Brings Back the Bad Girl

Courtesy of OUT:

The first thing you notice when you meet Lucy Lawless — even if you consider yourself 100% gay and completely immune to the charms of the opposite sex — is how ridiculously, supernaturally gorgeous she is. The second thing you notice is how tall she is. And the third thing you notice (if you’re not too captivated by the first two) is how easy and graceful her presence is. It’s as if you could plunk her down anywhere — a cocktail party, a Congressional hearing, Taco Bell — and in five minutes she’d have the entire room under her spell.

Earlier this week the New Zealander, most famous for playing the titular role in the campy mid-’90s lesbian favorite Xena: Warrior Princess, sauntered through the halls of Out magazine oohing and aahing over cover shots of Lady Gaga and Donatella Versace and making jokes about “knowing a thing or two about what gays like” before sitting down to chat about playing the crafty, conniving Lucretia, who owns a gladiator camp with her husband, on the new series Spartacus. In the video above and the following interview, Lawless talks about behaving badly on screen, overdosing on simulated gore and sex, gayness in the ancient world, and whether or not she’ll ever pick up Xena’s sword again.

Read the interview at OUT!

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