Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Pussycat Dolls' sophomore album, Doll Domination, comes out September 23, and all I can say is I've never been so excited about pussy(cats) in my life! I have a documented obsession with "When I Grow Up" and with the PCD girls, in general - I'm not alone ... you gays know "Buttons" is classic - so I'm expecting campy greatness next month.
Earlier this week, I chatted with the Dolls' sexy resident redhead, Jessica Sutta. Along with her PCD videos and performances, Jess has collaborated with dance music maven Paul Van Dyk, and, of course, she loves her gays! Jessica and I chatted about PCD's mega-gay following and the time her own drag impersonator took her down in a game of Faggot Feud - she even gave a preview of her solo track on the upcoming album!
What do gay men mean to the Pussycat Dolls? Where would you be without us?
I think it’s when you have a huge gay following, you know you’re successful. They’re the best audience; they’re the best fans; and – you know what? – in high school, they were my only friends. So I owe everything to the gay men.
Oh, right - 'cause you've been a dancer forever.
Since I was three. And I went to the New World School of The Arts, and my major was dance. Girl dancers are always the worst, and I didn’t really get along with them! But I always had my boys.
Other than straight men who think you guys are hot, what do people love about the Pussycat Dolls? I couldn't know this, but I think you're very empowering to women...
You know? I believe it’s female empowerment: five girls who love what they do. And we try to inspire women to follow their dreams. But I feel there's the gay following too. We’re empowering them to be who they are and to never regret anything they’ve done in their lives ... to just go forward and live the way they want to live.
And it’s funny, back in the day at The Viper Room, you would think the straight men would come. No - it was gay men and women who were in the front row! [laughs.] You had your celebrities who would be there – you know, the guy celebrities – but other than that, we’ve always had more of a women and gay men following.
And why do gay men like the PCDs so much?
They appreciate it. It’s something that’s eye-catching and it’s fun - and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. I think that’s one of the things that attracts people to the Pussycat Dolls.
Now, did you play "Faggot Feud" a little while back at xl in New York?
Yes! We were so bad at it too! We played against the Pussy-less Dolls. It was awesome. It was the funniest thing ever, but they beat us really bad.
So they’re a drag queen troupe that performs as you guys?
Yes. They had each version of us. And it was awesome, but, of course, my girl beat me, so… I’m ready to do it again!
Do the Jessica drag queens ever get it exactly right?
Ehh… I haven’t seen one yet get it right. I have a couple of friends in Miami that go to the shows and they’ll say, “There’s this girl; she dresses like you; she’s awesome.” And then I can’t wait to come to town and see. I’m totally gonna, like, size her up, “OK, let me see your lips.” [laughs.]
So what would your tips be for a Jessica drag queen?
OK. I really like black eyeliner. You have to get the cat-liner right. That’s important ... and really nice lashes. And I like red lipstick, so line your lips really well… And now I have bangs, so get the bangs right.
Oh, yeah - I love you’re the PCD redhead now.
I know! I love being a redhead. I’m officially Jessica Rabbit.
And I read the money from Faggot Feud, you guys donated that to the Ali Forney Center [for homeless LGBT youth]. That's so awesome.
Oh, I know. I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about it right now. Growing up, I lived in Miami, and, like I said, a lot of my friends were gay. And one of my really good friends, his dad was trying to beat the gay out of him one night - and I saw him the next day, and it just broke my heart because … it disgusts me how people are towards... They’re so stupid. They think they can change somebody’s way of life, and that’s just ridiculous.
So that charity was really close to my heart; it was something personal that I had gone through. To spread that awareness - that you have to be who you are and not listen to other people – is just so important to me.
Now LOGO's been playing the dance video you did with Paul Van Dyk for a while now. What drew you to that project? Was it the dance music? Or Paul himself?
Oh, it was everything. I love dance music. That’s the music I listen to, primarily. I’d been doing music with DJ Dave Aude – he’s got a couple hits out there – and I guess Paul found out through the grapevine and then was like, Well, can Jessica do a song with me? And I was like, Heck, yeah!
You know, coming from Miami, it was such a huge dance background. I was like, For sure. So we collaborated, and it was awesome. It was the best experience ever. I really want to do dance music in the future.
It was so fun to hear your vocals too. You guys mostly do backup for PCD...
Thank you! It was fun to hear them too. [laughs.] But you know what? On the next album, I actually have a song called “If I Was a Man” – on the extended album. So make sure to get that!
Oh, right! You guys each get a solo track?
Yeah, this go-around we did.
"If I Was a Man"? What would you do? What are some of the lyrics?
Well the chorus is, “If I was a man, just for a day - I’d take my time on you, that’s what I man would do.”
And then, “Fun Monday night, Tuesday night, Friday night - every night! Why? ‘Cause I can. New York and Japan – with a stop off in Milan. After all, I’m a man. ... I’ll get to know you’re family, get your friends to fall in love with me. It happens just so easily.”
So it just talks about, you know, taking on the other side – if you’ve been treated bad in a relationship – taking their side and treating them the way that they treated you. I can’t wait to do it live.
You'll perform it in concert? You’ll each get to do your own tracks?
Yeah! That’s what’s going to happen. It’s going to be so much fun. I can’t wait.
As far as Doll Domination, if it's another PCD I'll be ecstatic, but is there anything really different about it?
It’s definitely a different album. It has a lot more R&B influence to it and a lot more ballads. And it just shows a really grown-up side to the Pussycat Dolls. And it’s going be great for the live show, ‘cause we have PCD, which has more of a pop element, and then we’ll have this. So it’s just going to show how well-rounded the Pussycat Dolls can be.
For the "When I Grow Up" video - those dance moves were intense! What was it like shooting?
That scaffolding number - when we were on Hollywood Blvd. – that took about a day to shoot. And they didn’t get any permits to close off the streets of Hollywood. It was actually a random construction site that we went to. So when they would shoot, they would just stop the traffic! And then we would do the number, and if you messed up you were just sooo screwed, because they weren’t gonna take it – and then they’d let traffic through. So it was a really intense day.
Wow ... I was going to ask if you caused any accidents, but it's good to hear they stopped traffic.
[laughs.] I hope not! I hope no one got injured.
I've seen you dance on a lot of things: poles, chairs, scaffolding... What’s your favorite prop to dance with?
Personally, I really love to dance on a ballet bar. It’s really fun.
Like in "Buttons"!
Yeah. I kind of have that idea for my video if I get to shoot a video for “If I Was a Man.” It’s fun to, like, move around with it, and you can get into quirky positions - and you can dip and… jump on it… Good times.
Oh! Stripper poles are fun too. I’m ordering one for my house. I get it next week. I can’t wait.
You’re getting one installed?
I’m getting one installed. Gosh… What is my mother gonna think?
28 August 2008
Jessica Sutta Interview With NewNowNext!
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