So much for just having fun. Cyndi Lauper's been doing anything but lollygagging lately – appearing on "Celebrity Apprentice," promoting AIDS awareness and gay rights, and releasing a new album, "Memphis Blues," which ditches the all-dance vibe of her last studio offering "Bring Ya to the Brink" for a classic, old-fashioned sound. That's not all: She's writing dance music for the stage version of 2005's British indie "Kinky Boots," working out a reality show and touring through the summer.
Lauper found a few minutes to chat about all her projects – and also, what to make of past and present diva beefs, whether she'll duet with Lady Gaga anytime soon, and why she's "giving a damn."
How do you go from dance to blues?
Blues is the basis of all music – the basis of dance, the basis of rock. It's the beginning of all the music I sing. It's just the roots.
You've wanted to do a blues record for a while – is that right?
For eight years.
How come it didn't happen sooner?
Because I was on Sony, and they didn't want to do it. They didn't even really see the dance record; I was just doing it. But they had some interesting people there at that point and then I don't know. You know, it doesn't matter. It's not like I'm not writing dance music. I'm writing for a play and a lot of it is dance music.
Which play?
I'm writing for "Kinky Boots," and it's all kinds of music. It's kind of wonderful.
But the blues – you know, I studied music. When I started singing I was bored with what I was singing so I became a student at Lennie Tristano's school of music. I studied with Betty Scott, his singer, and it was jazz. But before jazz was the blues and out of blues came jazz. If it weren't for that kind of study, I wouldn't understand it as well.
Besides your voice obviously, what do you think your gay following will appreciate on this album?
You know what, I give my gay following more credit than most people. I think that this music, they'll relate to, because I chose music that people could relate to. It's fun, and it's also written in code – and if the community understands anything, it's code.
Do you feel like you're taking a big risk with this album because it's not pop, it's not dance, it's not commercial?
No. I think I gotta make music that I always dreamed of making, and I gotta do stuff like this because I want to leave behind a body of work that's as great as I can do. This is some of the best singing that I think I've ever done.
This is a live CD. Everything was live. It took two weeks to record, and we recorded it on an 8-track machine. Bill (Wittman, her longtime collaborator) kept saying, "The Beatles could record 'Sgt. Pepper' on 4-track. We could do this blues record on 8-track."
You mention issues at Sony, but do you feel like you can get away with more now than you could earlier in your career?
Well, I'm the boss now. And I said that I could do it (laughs). Listen, right now America is singing the blues. We are all singing the blues. It's hard. So I tried to pick songs that speak about the times that we're living in now. The things that are timeless issues.
Do you have any plans to take any classic songs, like "She Bop," and give them a blues makeover for the tour?
I already did. But I'm not saying, because it's really fun. It's so funny, but kind of cool.
You've been working hard on the "Give a Damn" campaign. What do you hope to achieve with it?
To raise awareness. Bring the straight community in to support our brothers and sisters in the gay community.
You've been a supporter for a while, but what was the moment where you really started to "Give a Damn"?
Well, I always did. But I realized that you could actually do something, and so I tried. It was step by step by step that I realized, Oh, that's what's happening. Well, I can do this to help that. So now I'm here.
You established a relationship with Lady Gaga while working with her on the Viva Glam campaign for MAC to spread AIDS awareness.
Wonderful artist. Very inspirational.
What do you make of this Gaga and Christina Aguilera rivalry?
Well, that's because they're both blondes. You've got to let that stuff go. That's just people not having enough to write about in the paper. It's like wrestling – good guy, bad guy. Like me and Madonna, I doubt that it's real.
Do you remember any tension between you and Madonna?
No! Are you kidding? She was always inspirational for me. I always felt like she was my sister from another mother (laughs) because we were kind of partners in crime out there, in an odd way. When I saw the "Like a Prayer" video, I was like, "Yes!"
Because you were feeling the same way?
Well, every Catholic schoolgirl does.
Have you entertained the idea of doing a duet with Lady Gaga?
Nope. She's really, really, really stretched right now. She's got a lot of people on her.
If it does happen, you'll send the gays to homo heaven. And say it did, have you thought about how it might sound?
No. I told her, "Listen, know that my door is always open." You never know. What the heck! She's in her moment right now – let her have some time, space, happiness. Let her do her thing.
Are you thinking ahead to which genre you want to explore on the next album?
No, I'm not thinking that far ahead. I'm doing this and I'm writing the music for "Kinky Boots" with different partners, and I'm just thinking about what I need to do right now. I know I'm going to do other things. I signed a production deal with Mark Burnett. I'm looking forward to working with him and I hope that that happens soon.
That's the reality show, right?
Yeah, that's a reality show, but I kind of want to make it funny, too, like a comedy.
Your life must be pretty comical then, huh?
Sometimes I think all that's missing are the dancing bears rolling through.
Cyndi Lauper
8 p.m. July 1
Sound Board at MotorCity Casino
2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit
$45-$49
http://www.motorcitycasino.com
