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She's
got Katharine Hepburn's hemlines, Eminem's venom and Liberace's
spirit-and that's just what you encounter the first few minutes
upon meeting Singer/Songwriter/Pianist Nellie McKay. As
McKay takes the bench, demurely tucking her 1940's-style dress
around her, she strikes the keys with conviction igniting a blast
of influences from various musical eras that she carefully arranges
with futuristic forethought. On top of jazz, rap, and Tin Pan
Alley-inspired sounds her raspy, rhyming, crooning, cooing, velvety
voice soothes one moment and morphs into a vitriolic rant the
next. No topic is safe from McKay's lyrical eye as she delights
in muckraking to raise consciousness for the issues she values.
On her debut double CD Get
Away From Me,
McKay issues a feminist cry in "I Want To Get Married,"
tugs you through the drudgery of routine on "Work Song,"
contemplates the perfect soul-mate in "Clonie," and
scratches at politics, animal rights, poverty, self-discovery
and more. In a speaking voice reminiscent in timbre to Dorothy's
from the Wizard of Oz, 20-year-old McKay discusses her musical
approach, the artistic compromises she's encountered working with
a major label for the first time and feminism.
WOMANROCK:
As
a little girl you enjoyed imitating Rosalind Russell, Marlene
Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Rita Hayworth and Doris Day. Now you dress
like them as a grown up for your performances. Will you talk about
your attraction to the clothes and manners from the time periods
where these ladies reigned?
McKay:
Well
in private I dress just like everybody else, but in public I always
try to be different. In high school if you're always different
you say, I'm just going to be as different as possible and it's
a pretty common reaction among 'weird kids.' So I just wished
that stuff could be more like the movies…Stylistically when
I look at the 60's I tend to go for the people I would not have
been like-the suit wearing, pearl wearing Doris Day, Jackie Kennedy
types…I am a hippie who really likes conservative tailoring.
WOMANROCK:
Is
there one time period you prefer stylistically over others?
McKay:
I'd
have to say style-wise that the forties would be up there. I think
it was when women had much more pride than I think they do today
even. All of a sudden they were wearing pants. They were working.
The movies were dominated by women…There's something about
the fifties that seems so backwards. I think their manner and
decorum and stuff seems to be hiding something very secret and
very disturbing. Whereas the forties it seems the panache and
the style and wit of it was still from the thirties. It was still
not censored and filled with McCarthyist propaganda.…Did
you see The Stepford Wives? It was fluffy, but the whole
thing is that I feel that feminism is always hanging by a thread.
There's always a subconscious or conscious longing to go back
to a time when women were women and men were men. I just think
that the movies carry great weight. If you think about women who
romanticize Eminem or other rap stars or chauvinist rock n' rollers,
it's almost like masochism in an incredibly widespread way.
WOMANROCK:
Tell
me about your relationship with Sony during the making of the
album. You've said, "The label hires you for being one thing
and then they're mad at you when you are that thing." Was
that your experience with Sony Music?
McKay:
That's
exactly it. The main thing I got out of The Stepford Wives
is I feel like a Stepford wife all the time. They like you and
then they get you and then they want to completely change you-just
keep your general bone structure…What the f*ck did they hire
you for? Thanks for bringing up that quote. It's one of the few
quotes I hear and don't cringe.
WOMANROCK:
Legendary
Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick signed on as your producer. How
was it working with him?
McKay:
We
disagreed on quite a few things and the main thing though is that
he supported the album when Sony wasn't and he was all right with
not being paid $25,000 to complete the album. My manager, Geoff,
and I were the only three people who believed in the album. We
were standing up against a lot of people. We had as much fun making
the record as we could. I also felt like I was going to die a
lot though. I don't like working creatively under that kind of
pressure. This is another thing that people at record companies
can't fathom; is that money makes things worse. It just means
you have a bigger studio to work in. You've got heavier doors.
You've got a bigger console. It only complicates the process.
It was such a high-pressure thing; we had a very limited amount
of time to make the album...we were constantly being leaned on.
There were constantly these nasty messages from my liaison at
Sony. I can't say enough how much I like the people there as people,
but when it comes to what I'm trying to do, I do feel that there's
a lot of double dealing and head patting and just plain getting
in the way. I just don't understand why anyone works for a creative
institution if all they're going to do all day is try to stop
creativity.
WOMANROCK:
You
seem to have won your fight for artistic integrity more often
than not. Can you talk about some of the songs on the CD?
McKay:
I
like "Waiter"…when you're in a car and you look
out the window, I like hearing that 'boo bah boo bah' beat. It
feels like everything is flying by and you're going to do something.
And the fact that it's an anti-war song gives it a good sense
of purpose…I like the fact that "Inner Peace" practically
growls. And then I would just have to say "Suitcase Song,"
because I feel it's just very representative of me. Not that it
makes it a great song or anything, but I guess that means when
I listen to it that I'm reminded of me.
WOMANROCK:
Is
your neighbor David aware that you wrote the track "David"
about him?
McKay:
While
I'm glad I wrote it and it looks like it will be the first single
to go to commercial radio, which we're working on now, I do feel
that that song was a product of watching too many Elvis movies.
He wants a girl, so he sings her a song. So I thought it must
work the same for women, which it turns out it doesn't. But it's
OK, because I've rather moved on and I have a very healthy social
life apart from my neighbor.
WOMANROCK:
But
it served your art well?
McKay:
Oh,
it certainly did. I don't know if he knew I wrote that song about
him. It's weird because who it's about changes. I mean the actual
premise of the song is just about longing for someone or something
to get you out of your mess. So I think of all kinds of different
people when I sing it. I think you have to write about something
you know. And that was something I knew.
WOMANROCK:
Will
you talk about Get Away From Me musically?
McKay:
Everything
that you listen to influences you. I am getting sick of being
called a crooner or being placed just in the jazz category though.
I can't imagine that these people have listened to the record
when they say that…Certainly I feel jazz creeps in there,
but it's not intentional. I'm always trying for different styles
that I feel are more in sync with today…I think this first
album was the first step towards that.
WOMANROCK:
You
once told me that you dressed up as Liberace for a presentation
in your freshman year of college, but got an "F" on
it. You said, "That was really a turning point for me because
if you can't appreciate Liberace, how can you call yourself an
artist?" What do you think of Liberace?
McKay:
Well
I've got a huge picture of him on my wall and he's grinning down
at me as I speak to you. I think there's something fascinating
about Liberace and something to be aspired to. It was kind of
that triumph of the soul through showbiz kind of mentality.
WOMANROCK:
You
just played Bonnaroo, toured with Sting and now have another string
of dates coming up. How's the frantic pace of the road treating
you?
McKay:
I
want a private jet and I want my own tour bus. I don't need to
own a private jet. I'm happy to rent a private jet, but at the
moment I can't do either, so that's kind of out.
Aside
from the traveling, I love touring. I love playing for the different
audiences and it's been great meeting these people, particularly
Cyndi Lauper. I'd like to think we're kind of friends now. I opened
for her back in December and we recently did an Interview Magazine
piece together. We've traded emails and nothing much but I really
feel like she understands me and we talked about a lot because
she is a consummate artist. I think it really helps to be with
like-minded people. They help you get through a lot of it. She
just said, "Don't worry about it. Just keep your chin up
girl," in that voice and it's just really heartening.
Find
out when Nellie McKay is playing next at www.nelliemckay.net.
Tina
Whelski is a NY-based freelance writer/photographer who has
written for the Village Voice and currently contributes a regular
music column to the Aquarian Weekly/East Coast Rocker. She's also
a drummer.
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1999-2004. WOMANROCK.com. All Rights Reserved.
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