Fabulous @ 50 - Traci Lords!

Happy Birthday Traci!
Traci Lords

That's correct peeps the one and only Traci Lords turns the big five-oh today. Can you believe it?! So what's an Icon to do for her 50th? Why give her fans what they want most. New music and more Traci! 

I got Traci to slow down long enough to chat with me about her latest tune "Come Alive" and what it feels like for a grrrrrrl turning 50. After all that's what friends are for! It's time to lick it up!  

MS: Happy 50th, welcome to the tribe, how does it feel to be Fabulous & Fifty?

 TL: It’s about damn time!  I am so proud of everything I’ve accomplished and the life I live today. I can straight up tell you that I am happy, healthy and ready to finally take my place at the #elderbitches table! Bring it. 

MS: I wanted to tell you my sister's Birthday is the day after yours and she will be turning 50 as well.

TL: How funny!  Tell that Taurus woman that I wish her a very Happy Birthday!!!!

 MS: Any big plans to celebrate the beginning of another decade of living?

TL: I’m celebrating my 50th over the next year!  I’m going to do 5 things I’ve never done before. All of which must somehow terrify me! I’ll be traveling a lot, recording more music and really savoring time with  my husband and my little  boy! He’s growing up so fast and I love that I haven’t missed ANY of it. And yes, I will eat the cake. 

 MS: It's your party, what made you decide to gift your fans with the new single "Come Alive?"

TL: I really appreciate and love my fans.... without them there is no audience.  They have given me so much of their attention over the years and they have been relentless in their pleas for new music. But it’s been difficult for me to wrap my brain around. Thing is I  love to write and record  but I’m not in a band and I don’t consider myself an amazing singer. I’m more of a vocal stylist. Having said that, I’m excited to be collaborating with different people this year. I’m in an exploring stage.

 MS: Tell me what inspired the song. 

TL: "Come Alive" is about surrendering to what you ache for. When I write, I try to paint a picture. This story is really about the 17 year old Traci who created an ultra ego to dominate men and make her world okay. It’s about being out of control ( Control has always been my obsession! I am a Taurus!!!!). but somehow finding power while flailing.  It’s  about the stories we tell ourselves to deal with the shit life hands us. You know surviving.

"Come Alive" 

MS: Well I really like it. Are you planning a video for it? (Can I be in it?)  

 TL: Thank you so much Michael. The lyric video for "Come Alive" will be up on YouTube Today, my Birthday. 💋 The rest I’m not sure about yet! 

MS: What's the latest 411 on your Pin-Up Girl clothing line. 

TL: My Line at Pinup Girl is doing fantastic! I’ve had such an amazing time working with Laura Byrnes and my team. There’s so much creatively that’s going on in fashion right now. And I have several new pieces due out for summer that are truly classic vintage must have staples. Also, season 2 of our hilarious comedy series Swedish Dicks is landing on Pop TV this July 26. My character Jane McKinney is dressed head to toe in original Pinup Girl designs. We will be releasing the Jane collection as the show airs! 

MS: Tell me one thing that you want for your Birthday that money can't buy.

TL: Tomorrow

 MS: Who are you listening to at present (pun intended) 

TL: These days, no pun intended, I am listening to myself.That's the great part of being an elder bitch. (laughs) Musically though, for real  I am listening to Avicii remixes. I'm blown away that he is no longer on the planet, he was gone so young. I'm feeling a little nostalgic at the moment. I've been listening to the Pet Shop Boys, with a little Pat Benatar and some Blondie thrown in. "Yes" I'm in an eighties state of mind.

Elder Bitches in the Driver's Seat
Me & Traci

MS: Invite some famous people to celebrate Fabulous Fifty with you living or not, who would they be?

TL: Cleopatra, Brian Wilson, and Sid Vicious

MS: Any exciting acting gigs coming up?

TL: Season 2 of Swedish Dicks airs July 26 on Pop TV and my new indie film Steam Room Stories will start playing the festivals this Fall. 💋

"Come Alive"on iTunes at: 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/traci-lords/61320

Keep up with Traci on the www at:
https://www.instagram.com/tracilords/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/thetracilords?lang=en
www.tracilords.com/

Shave & A Haircut 100

Will You Accept This Rose?
Nick Heyward
Photo: Steve Ullathorne

Hey, Hey, Hey...It's Nick Heyward!

When you have the comfort of working on your ninth album without the rush to meet a deadline, you really want to take your time, especially if it’s your first solo outing in 18 years. For singer songwriter Nick Heyward Woodland Echoes, his forthcoming album out November 3 on Red River/BFE Entertainment, served as a reminder of things he is grateful for. “I’m glad I’m alive, I’m glad that I’m writing and putting records out.”  His appreciation for making music is reflected on all 12 tracks on this breezy, smart pop gem.

Nick has been putting out great pop songs since his band, Haircut One Hundred, blasted on to the scene in the early 80s earning four UK Top Ten and two US Top 40 singles with “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl),” “Love Plus One,” “Nobody’s Fool” and  “Fantastic Day” from their debut album, Pelican West. While enjoying the early days of success, differences in style and direction led Heyward to leave his post as front man and lyricist to begin his solo career.

An artist who has always been well received by both critics and fans, Heyward released three solo albums in the 80s, three in the 90s (including a 1998 release on Creation Records at the behest of Alan McGee) and two 2 collaborations in the aughts.  A 2013 announcement of new music was met with eager anticipation, but supporters would have to wait until 2015 for a preview of what would become the music on Woodland Echoes. 

Recorded at his son Oliver’s studio, on a houseboat in Key West, and Zak Starkey’s Salo Sound studio deep in the UK countryside, Nick deliberated over the music until he felt it was ready. “At first, I wanted it finished straight away.” he says. “But then, ‘that’ll do’ became impossible for me; in fact, it was the opposite – as soon as someone said something would do, I knew it wouldn’t!”

It’s that precise attitude that makes Heyward’s music so special. This album, like all of his work, is made with the same passion, introspection and grace found in all of his music. An avowed lover of nature and the outdoors, you can hear that influence in all the tracks, particularly “Beautiful Morning.” “Love is the Key By the Sea,” which opens the album, is a bold and harmonious love song, and the jazzy snap-your-finger fun of “Who” is most certainly a tip of that hat to Mr. Paul McCartney. “Baby Blue Sky” is a rapturous beach song with a dash of Oasis thrown in to the mix, and lead single “Perfect Sunday Sun” is the most perfect 70s era pop song.Heyward, who has always been singled out as a strong and thoughtful lyricist, continues his streak of songwriting success on Woodland Echoes, which feels warm and intimate.

All things being equal though, the Nick Heyward of 2017 isn’t the same person as the Nick Heyward of 1982. “You have to find peace and love; it’s a process – my early songs were always bittersweet – the verse would be going through the struggle, but then it would be ‘it’s a fantastic day’; but there was always that struggle. On this album, that struggle is gone. The songs on Woodland Echoes are reflective of the past 10 years.”

It’s a treat to have Nick Heyward back making premium pop music. In 1985, Nick told Smash Hits magazine that “I want to make the kind of LP you can wrap up and give to someone as a present. No duff tracks at all, just 12 shining wonderful singles, I suppose.” In 2017, with Woodland Echoes, he has finally achieved his goal. 

"Baby Blue Sky" video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0w_vlmNNlA

Check out Nick performing some of the new "Woodland Echoes"  tunes as well as some classic Haircut One Hundred music here: https://vintage.tv/episodes/nick-heyward-live-at-the-water-rats-2/

Social Media Links:

Official Website: http://nickheyward.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nickheyward

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickheyward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickheyward/

Serving Donna Summer Realness: Lady Gaga

Dancing Queen
Lady Gaga

"It wasn't love, it wasn't love
It was a perfect illusion (Perfect illusion)
Mistaken for love, it wasn't loveIt was a perfect illusion (Perfect illusion)" - Perfect Illusion, Lady Gaga

After a powerful ballad, 'Till It Happens To You that should have won the Oscar over that anemic Bond Theme crooned by Sam Smith, and a cracker jack collaboration with Tony Bennett - Lady Gaga is back to pop music with a vengeance. Her latest single Perfect Illusion has dropped!

This is powerhouse dance, pop stuff with a twist of rock thrown in for good measure and the smartest thing our Lady has done? She took a cue from the late great Donna Summer, let me explain.

I was never a huge fan of disco/dance in the eighties, but Ms. Summer was the exception to that rule. Why you are asking? Because of really excellently produced, written and most of all sung dance music, "yes" her powerful vocals were the focal point of the music, Perfect Illusion is that kind of dance music, simply the best the genre can offer.

You go Gaga! If this is any indicator of what the rest of the album is going to be like, well count me in! Teaming up with Mark Ronson does a Lady good!!!

Listen to Perfect Illusion after the jump!

Go Gaga at:
www.ladygaga.com/