Lady Gaga is the next rock/pop/electro superstar – or maybe she is the first. Mix one part Blondie with one part Madonna, swirl it in a bath of the Scissor Sisters and Junior Senior, throw in some glitch and sprinkle with glitter and you come close the recipe. Winter Music Conference was her launching pad and the industry took note of her. Working with Akon and Red One, the Lady Gaga has crafted a debut CD full of beats and melodies set for release later this summer. Until then, watch for her music video "Just Dance" and live performances as she tours the US.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: Listening to your music, I don't want to do a traditional Q&A
interview. I'm going to say a bunch of names and you tell me what
impact they've had on your life. Let's start with the Pussycat Dolls.
Lady Gaga: Well you know, I love a girl in her underwear, first of
all. Secondly, I've been writing for them, so Nicole Scherzinger has
been in my head for probably the past three months. There's something
that's very humbling about being able to write for a powerhouse group
like that. Probably the biggest influence that they've had on me is
making me want to be a better writer for them.
RS: That's awesome. How about Akon?
Lady Gaga: Akon is a very talented songwriter to work with. His
melodies, they're just insane. It's funny, I think about him a lot
when I'm doing my melodies because he's so simple, and he's just been
great. He keeps me on my feet, very grounded, but he also puts me on
a silver platter, which is always very nice. So it's been an
incredible influence. It's like every time you work with somebody
that's better that you are, you become greater.
RS: Really cool. How about the Scissor Sisters?
Lady Gaga: Oh, I love them, I can't breathe. I remember the first
time I heard them, it was on the radio, and I was like, 'who the heck
is that?' They are a big influence. I love the disco, their outfits,
and they really care about their performance. Conceptually I just
think they're very smart in their approach. I'm also a big Elton John
fan, and you can hear the influence on every record, so I love them.
They were big – I really thought about them when I did "Dirty Rich."
RS: You can definitely hear that. How about Red One?
Lady Gaga: Red One is like the heart and soul of my universe. I met
him and he completely, one hundred and fifty thousand percent wrapped
his arms around my talent, and it was like we needed to work together.
He has been a pioneer for the House of Gaga and his influence on me
has been tremendous. I really couldn't have done it without him. He
taught me in this own way – even though he's not a writer, he's a
producer – he taught me how to be a better writer, because I started
to think about melodies in a different way.
RS: So where does the name Lady Gaga come from?
Lady Gaga: Queen's song "Radio Ga-Ga."
RS: You are coining all kinds of great words. Tell us about retrosexual.
Lady Gaga: Retrosexual – I came out with that a long time ago. Me
and my buddy Tom were hanging out one day in the studio and we were
talking about metrosexuals, because he had bought a pair of boots and
I said 'Those are very metrosexual.' And he was like 'I don't know, I
think they're kind of retro.' And I said 'So you're retrosexual.' It
was kind of a joke. The more I thought about it – I'm so obsessed with
all things retro, the 70s and 80s. I don't know, that word just kind
of flew out of my mouth one day, and it stuck with me. I often do that
– if I coin terms, they'll become like the centerfold of my entire
project or an entire record.
RS: Very cool. What was it like filming the video for "Just Dance?"
Lady Gaga: Oh it was so fun, it was amazing. For me it was like being
on a Martin Scorsese set. I've been so low budget for so long, and to
have this incredibly amazing video was really very humbling. It was
really fun, but you'll see if you ever come to a video shoot of mine
one day – I'm very private about those things, I don't really talk to
everybody. I'm not like the party girl running around. I might even
seem to be a bit of a diva. I'm sort of with myself, in my work head
space worrying about costumes, and if extras look right, and
placement. I don't just show up for things, you know. That video was a
vision of mine. It was Molina the director who wanted to do something,
to have a performance art aspect that was so pop but it was still
commercial, but that felt like lifestyle. It was all those things, I
love it.
