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Still mad about Belinda Carlisle

Iconic singer releases new tracks, slated to perform in D.C.

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She’s got the beat! Belinda Carlisle performs in D.C. next week.

Belinda Carlisle is the definition of a music legend. From her beginnings as drummer Dottie Danger, an interim member of L.A. punk band the Germs, to co-founding the all-female band the Go-Go’s, where her trademark vocal belt and distinctive dance moves made her all the rage, Carlisle grabbed our attention and never let go. After three albums with the Go-Go’s, Carlisle launched a successful solo career, even earning a Grammy nomination for the song “Heaven Is A Place On Earth.” She regrouped with her former band members for 2001’s “God Bless the Go-Go’s,” reissued in an expanded edition in 2021, and has toured with the band (who were the subject of an acclaimed 2020 documentary) on and off for years. The host of “Mad About Music” on SiriusXM’s 1st Wave channel, Carlisle, the mother of a gay son, is also known for her activism for the LGBTQ community. For her new five-song EP “Kismet” (BMG), Carlisle has teamed up again with Diane Warren (writer of Carlisle’s hit single “I Get Weak”) for a delightful set of tunes. Belinda made time for an interview in advance of the EP’s release.

She is performing in D.C. as part of “A Capitol Fourth,” PBS’ annual Independence Day celebration on the U.S. Capitol’s West Lawn.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Your new EP is titled “Kismet,” which is defined as destiny or fate. Would it be fair to say that it was kismet that you would work with Diane Warren again?

BELINDA CARLISLE: It was complete kismet [laughs] That’s what it was. I mean I wasn’t planning to really do anything new. My son (James) ran into Diane at a coffee shop in L.A., and she asked, “What is your mom doing? Let’s call her.” She called me and said, “Come to the studio. I have some songs for you.” I was like, “Oh my God! Do I really want to do this? It’s a big commitment.” But you can’t say no to Diane. I went to the studio, and she played me the most amazing songs. It was almost like the universe saying you’re not meant to slow down right now. So, here I am talking to you.

BLADE: Your history with Diane goes all the way back to your 1988 hit single “I Get Weak.” What makes Diane the kind of songwriter whose compositions are a good fit for you?

CARLISLE: She has a really good sense of what I am, who I am, how my voice sounds, and everything. I have a good sense of that, too, thank God. As with any songwriter, including Diane, I just know it right off melodically. There’s a type of melody that’s a little bit melancholic, but very beautiful in the same way that “Big Big Love” is on “Kismet.” She played me songs that I just knew would be good for me, and that she thought would be good for me, too. She was right! We were both in agreement on most everything creatively with this.

BLADE: Last summer, “Entertainment Weekly” included your rendition of “I Get Weak” on its list of “The 20 best Diane Warren songs.” What does it mean to you have made that list?

CARLISLE: It is an amazing song, and to be on that list…I had no idea. She’s written for everybody, so it’s quite a compliment I would say.

BLADE: I really like the song “I Couldn’t Do That To Me,” and I’m glad you included a power ballad on the EP. Can you say something about how you approach ballads, as opposed to more rhythmic or rocking tunes?

CARLISLE: That is really hard to nail, generally, not just vocally, but usually production-wise, too. I’m working with Mati Gavriel, who produced everything. It was like that song had to have a little bit of restraint and then build it, but it was strange because we didn’t know what kind of approach we were going to take with that song. It kind of revealed itself in the studio when I was doing the background vocals on that song. It started reminding me a little bit of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” I wanted it to have that element of restraint. I think we achieved that. I think it’s an amazing song and it’s one of my favorites off the EP.

BLADE: “Big Big Love” sounds like it could become a summer tea-dance classic…

CARLISLE: …[laughs] I hope so!

BLADE: Especially in the hands of the right DJ or remixer. What would it mean to you to have the LGBTQ community embrace the song and take it to the top of the Billboard Dance chart?

CARLISLE: That would be it for me! To be able to walk into a gay bar seeing it on the monitor or blasting? That would be amazing. My son, who you probably know is gay, is like, “Mom! This could be amazing in the clubs.” I hope so!

BLADE: “Sanity” is by far the most dramatic track on “Kismet.” It’s the kind of number you could imagine a drag queen having a field day with. Have you encountered drag queens doing Belinda Carlisle numbers over the years, and if so, did you have a favorite performer and song?

CARLISLE: I haven’t really seen somebody as me singing, no. But I would love that. “I Couldn’t Do That To Me” would be perfect, or “Sanity” or “Heaven (Is A Place On Earth.” I mean there’s plenty to pick from through the years. That would be epic.

BLADE: Speaking of drag queens, the LGBTQ community, especially the drag and trans communities are under attack from conservatives across the country, and around the world. As the mother of a gay son, as well as a longtime ally, do you have any thoughts about that?

CARLISLE: I don’t understand non-acceptance. It’s hard for me to get my head around. I think it’s very sad. My son came out when he was 14. What kind of world is he going to live in? What kind of world is it going to be for him? Since then, it’s been like 10 steps forward and then five back. We’re in five back period right now. It’s heartbreaking. But I think you just have to keep at it. Hopefully, we’ll get to a place where there’s acceptance of everyone. That’s all I can hope for.

BLADE: Back to “Kismet,” for a moment. Is there any possibility that these songs might be incorporated into a full-length album, or that you have a different full-length album in the works?

CARLISLE: I have a completely separate project that we started doing before the pandemic with Gabe Lopez, who is a great songwriter. He works on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and all sorts of stuff for RuPaul. He’s a great artist, himself. I have a project with him that I have to finish, which I’ll probably finish early next year. I don’t ever plan things. I just kind of wing it as I went along. Working with Diane and Mati was such an amazing experience that I’m totally open to doing something else. I don’t know what that is. I don’t know when, because my life is pretty full, but if something comes along that I love, I’ll make time for it, for sure.

BLADE: Do you have plans to perform live shows in support of “Kismet”?

CARLISLE: I have a string of dates on the East Coast in July, and I have a string of dates on the West Coast in August. I have Australia at the end of the year. People can go to the Facebook page and see what those dates are; they’re up there.

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Music & Concerts

Underdog glorious: a personal remembrance of Jill Sobule

Talented singer, songwriter died in house fire on May 1

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Writer Gregg Shapiro with Jill Sobule in 2000. (Photo courtesy Shapiro)

I’ve always prided myself on being the kind of music consumer who purchased music on impulse. When I stumbled across “Things Here Are Different,” Jill Sobule’s 1990 MCA Records debut album on vinyl in a favorite Chicago record store, I bought it without knowing anything about her. This was at a time when we didn’t have our phones in our pockets to search for information about the artist on the internet. The LP stayed in my collection until, as vinyl was falling out of fashion, I replaced it with a CD a few years later.

Early in my career as an entertainment journalist, I received a promo copy of Jill’s eponymous 1995 Atlantic Records album. That year, Atlantic Records was one of the labels at the forefront of signing and heavily promoting queer artists, including Melissa Ferrick and Extra Fancy, and its roster included the self-titled album by Jill. It was a smart move, as the single “I Kissed A Girl” became a hit on radio and its accompanying video (featuring Fabio!) was in heavy rotation on MTV (when they still played videos).

Unfortunately for Jill, she was a victim of record label missteps. When 1997’s wonderful “Happy Town” failed to repeat the success, Atlantic dumped her. That was Atlantic’s loss, because her next album, the superb “Pink Pearl” contained “Heroes” and “Mexican Wrestler,” two of her most beloved songs. Sadly, Beyond Music, the label that released that album ceased to exist after just a few years. To her credit, the savvy Jill had also started independently releasing music (2004’s “The Folk Years”). That was a smart move because her next major-label release, the brilliant “Underdog Victorious” on Artemis Records, met a similar fate when that label folded.

With her 2009 album “California Years,” Jill launched her own indie label, Pinko Records, on which she would release two more outstanding full-length discs, 2014’s “Dottie’s Charms” (on which she collaborated with some of her favorite writers, including David Hadju, Rick Moody, Mary Jo Salter, and Jonathan Lethem), and 2018’s stunning “Nostalgia Kills.” Jill’s cover of the late Warren Zevon’s “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” on “Nostalgia Kills” was particularly poignant as she had toured with him as an opening act.

Jill was a road warrior, constantly on tour, and her live shows were something to behold. My first interview with Jill took place at the Double Door in Chicago in early August of 1995, when she was the opening act for legendary punk band X. She had thrown her back out the previous day and was diagnosed with a herniated disc. To be comfortable, she was lying down on a fabulous-‘50s sofa. “I feel like I’m at my shrink’s,” she said to me, “Do you want me to talk about my mother?”

That sense of humor, which permeated and enriched her music, was one of many reasons to love Jill. I was privileged to interview her for seven of her albums. Everything you would want to know about her was right there in her honest lyrics, in which she balanced her distinctive brand of humor with serious subject matter. Drawing on her life experiences in songs such as “Bitter,” “Underachiever,” “One of These Days,” “Freshman,” “Jetpack,” “Nothing To Prove,” “Forbidden Thoughts of Youth,” “Island of Lost Things,” “Where Do I Begin,” “Almost Great,” and “Big Shoes,” made her songs as personal as they were universal, elicited genuine affection and concern from her devoted fans.

While she was a consummate songwriter, Jill also felt equally comfortable covering songs made famous by others, including “Just A Little Lovin’” (on the 2000 Dusty Springfield tribute album “Forever Dusty”) and “Stoned Soul Picnic” (from the 1997 Laura Nyro tribute album “Time and Love”). Jill also didn’t shy away from political subject matter in her music with “Resistance Song,” “Soldiers of Christ,” “Attic,” “Heroes,” “Under the Disco Ball,” and the incredible “America Back” as prime examples.

Here’s something else worth mentioning about Jill. She was known for collaboration skills. As a songwriter, she maintained a multi-year creative partnership with Robin Eaton (“I Kissed A Girl” and many others), as well as Richard Barone, the gay frontman of the renowned band The Bongos. Jill’s history with Barone includes performing together at a queer Octoberfest event in Chicago in 1996. Writer and comedian Julie Sweeney, of “SNL” and “Work in Progress” fame was another Chicago collaborator with Sobule (Sweeney lives in a Chicago suburb), where they frequently performed their delightful “The Jill and Julia Show.” John Doe, of the aforementioned band X, also collaborated with Jill in the studio (“Tomorrow Is Breaking” from “Nostalgia Kills”), as well as in live performances.

On a very personal note, in 2019, when I was in the process of arranging a reading at the fabulous NYC gay bookstore Bureau of General Services – Queer Division, I reached out to Jill and asked her if she would like to be on the bill with me. We alternated performing; I would read a couple of poems, and Jill would sing a couple of songs. She even set one of my poems to music, on the spot.

Jill had an abundance of talent, and when she turned her attention to musical theater, it paid off in a big way. Her stage musical “F*ck 7th Grade,” a theatrical piece that seemed like the next logical step in her career, had its premiere at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre in the fall of 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The unique staging (an outdoor drive-in stage at which audience members watched from their cars) was truly inspired. “F*ck 7th Grade” went on to become a New York Times Critic’s pick, as well as earning a Drama Desk nomination.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of Jill’s eponymous 1995 album, reissue label Rhino Records is re-releasing it on red vinyl. Jill and I had been emailing each other to arrange a time for an interview. We even had a date on the books for the third week of May.

When she died in a house fire in Minnesota on May 1 at age 66, Jill received mentions on network and cable news shows. She was showered with attention from major news outlets, including obits in the New York Times and Rolling Stone (but not Pitchfork, who couldn’t be bothered to review her music when she was alive). Is it wrong to think that if she’d gotten this much attention when she was alive she could have been as big as Taylor Swift? I don’t think so.

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Music & Concerts

Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’

Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

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Singer Tom Goss is back. (Photo by Dusti Cunningham)

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co. 

Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.

For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

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Music & Concerts

Kylie brings ‘Tension’ tour to D.C.

Performance on Tuesday at Capital One Arena

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Kylie Minogue visits D.C. on Tuesday.

Aussie pop icon Kylie Minogue brings her acclaimed “Tension” world tour to D.C. next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital One Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.

The show features songs spanning her long career, from 1987 debut single, “The Loco-Motion,” to “Padam, Padam” from her album, “Tension.”

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