Queen Esther supports us at our debut New York Night Shift. We put her through our rigorous speed interview and she performed admirably.
How did you get into music?
I didn’t get into music – music got into me. Or rather, it was already in me, waiting for me to realize that it was there and find ways to let it out.
What do you fear the most?
Not realizing my potential. I have a lot of music in me, a lot of ideas, and I don’t want to take any of it with me when I go. My biggest fear is that I won’t be able to leave all of it here when I leave this world.
What is perfection?
As a performer, perfection is when a profound connection happens with the audience that causes all of us to forget ourselves. It is spiritual, transcendent. I know it is happening when I am no longer there, when I feel as though I am coming back to consciousness, when the applause causes me to resurface, or a remark someone makes from the back of the room.
In the best case scenario, I stay gone for the entire performance.
Which mobile number do you call the most?
My permanent boyfriend, Douglas. We’re married but saying that sounds fairly one dimensional – and weird. Probably because I don’t feel especially married. I feel like I finally got a really beautiful, smart, cool artist boyfriend who won’t leave me because we have some dumb argument.
Actually, we don’t argue. We laugh a lot. But that’s another conversation…!
When you’re not practicing/performing, what do you do?
I got into boxing awhile ago and recently, I’ve taken up karate. I’m lousy at it but I love the way it makes my body hum when I leave the dojo. Interestingly, boxing has that same buzzy effect. I also love to bake – I tend to win pie contests! – and I like reading history books and (auto)biographies and watching documentaries, because like reading, research is fundamental.
Who’s your musical hero?
I have two: Dolly Parton (the one in my head) and James ‘Blood’ Ulmer (the one in my life). Actually, Blood is my mentor, so I suppose that counts twice.
Everyone knows that Dolly Parton is a living legend (she’s written over 3,000 songs, plays half a dozen instruments, is the most awarded country artist ever, etc). I admire her because she’s one of the only artists in this business – and definitely the only woman I can think of – that has always owned her publishing. She used that to start a production company with her manager when she went to Hollywood and produced Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV) and the Father of the Bride franchise (film), amongst other things.
This is something I’d love to do – to make film and tv and theater that tells my stories. Because at the end of the day, that’s all I really am. A storyteller.
And yes, I own my publishing.
Do you have any pre-concert rituals?
Prayer and fasting.
If you could choose to work in a different profession, what would it be and why?
I’d be either a medical examiner/forensic pathologist – the person who figures out what happened to the dead body by examining it – or a cold case detective, the person who solves crimes that are decades-old. And of course, both are closely related to what I do as an artist.
Constantly digging for details and asking why – and insisting on a straight answer – is the kind of exploration I’m used to as a theater actor and playwright. The thing is, I can go as far down that rabbit hole as I dare. With crime, it stops when the case is solved. With my art , that rabbit hole keeps going.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m reading Anais: The Erotic Life of Anais Nin after having just read Anais Nin: A Biography because I wanted to cross-reference them and compare. It’s been great fun, getting lost in the art/literary world of the 20s/30s/40s and glean some insight into certain lives with letters, photos, etc.
When I became a diarist as a kid, she was my patron saint, of sorts. Now I can’t think about her without cringing. What a self-absorbed, crazy, narcissistic mess. *sigh* If people only knew…
Who’s your favourite musician/band at the moment?
That changes every moment, actually. I tend to drift. Stuff like Pixies, The Louvin Brothers, Alejandro Escovedo and The Wiseguys are on permanent rotation because, like everyone else, I pretty much listen to the same 25 albums over and over again.
Right now, I’m into Teddy Wilson and that means I’m into Irene Kitchings, his ex-wife. She’s the one who introduced him to classical music and challenged him to improve as a pianist. When they got married in Chicago, she gave up her career as a pianist and bandleader to support him. Benny Goodman hired him, his star rose and their marriage fell apart — but not before she wrote several classics with lyricist Arthur Herzog Jr, including the ethereal beauty Some Other Spring .
Her story would make a great movie, wouldn’t it.
The Night Shift is at Littlefield, Brooklyn on March 1 tickets/more info
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