Macy Gray is living up to the title of her 2010 album, The Sellout, but in a good way. Tickets for the Grammy-winning soul diva’s shows at Legacy Taipei this Sunday have already sold out. The Taipei Times caught up with Gray on the telephone earlier this week while the singer was in Tokyo as part of a short run of shows in Asia. The 43-year-old talked about her controversial decision to play in Israel, her love of rock ’n’ roll and her signature raspy voice.
Taipei Times: You made headlines last month after asking your fans on Facebook and Twitter whether you should cancel your shows in Israel over the country’s treatment of the Palestinians. More than 4,000 people responded, and you decided to go ahead and play in Tel Aviv. Looking back, do you feel that was the right thing to do?
Macy Gray: I don’t know, there’s a lot of things going on there that are definitely not ideal for people, and definitely a little shady. But I don’t know if a boycott is the answer. I don’t know if cutting off entertainment is the way to fix every problem. It’s very deep and very complicated.
Photo courtesy of Yukwang Music
Now that I’ve been there, I don’t know how soon I’d run back to play there, but I don’t know, compared to South Africa, the cultural boycott wasn’t the only thing that ended [apartheid]. That was the only thing I didn’t agree with — that a boycott was the answer.
TT: How did the concerts go in the end?
MG: They were great.
TT: Moving on to your latest album, why did you name it The Sellout?
MG: It was more of an ironic title because I was doing just the opposite of that. I made the record on my own. I was without a label at the time, so I did it on my own, and I had a lot of people in my ear, telling me what I should do and what I needed to do to sell more records this time and I did the opposite. That’s where the title came from and it just kind of stuck.
TT: What are some tracks from The Sellout that you enjoy performing live?
MG: Kissed It — I love that song, and Lately. There’s a ballad called Let You Win, and I have a duet with Bobby Brown called Real Love. I think Kissed It is the best song live. It’s about oral sex, like how sex can save relationships. [The story of the song is] actually pretty deep, but it’s fun.
TT: How do you get into your zone, creatively? Do you have a process for songwriting?
MG: I do everything in the studio. I write all of my songs once I get into the studio and I’m inspired by a lot of things, but the actual writing, once I get in that little cave, a lot comes out, and it comes really fast and really naturally. That’s really the only process I have. I don’t really have a process, but when it comes, it comes all the time.
TT: The album, as a format, has fallen to the wayside with the advent of MP3s and iTunes. What are your thoughts on how music distribution has changed?
MG: I think a long time ago, somebody figured out how to get it for free and ever since then it’s been really difficult. I think a lot of people took that really seriously and a lot of the value went out of the music and they found so many ways to get it for free. It doesn’t work for the artist, because no one feels sorry that an artist is going to make less money, but it’s affected the quality of music because of course if you’re making less money, you’re going to spend less money on your records. And so you have all these producer-driven records where you pay one guy and he makes your record, so all of the musicianship you used to hear is gone. When’s the last time you heard a guitar solo [on a pop song], you know what I mean?
TT: Do you see a possible solution?
MG: I don’t know yet, I feel like it’s changing for sure, but I don’t know which way it’s going. It’s never going back to the way it used to be. I don’t think you’re ever going to see an age of music like in the 1970s or even the 1980s. [Today’s music is] really dance-oriented and it’s like this one guy doing a steady dance electro-beat, that’s kind of what it’s all about right now. So I don’t know, we’ll have to see.
TT: You do a great live version of Arcade Fire’s Wake Up, among other songs not normally associated with an R ’n’ B singer. What other unusual covers do you do?
MG: We do a ton. We do a cover of Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. It’s really dope. We do it as a ballad, it’s really pretty. We do Que Sera Sera by Sly and the Family Stone. I’m a big fan of rock music ... so we always do rock covers.
TT: In past interviews, you’ve said that you disliked the sound of your own voice at the start of your career. Do you still feel that way?
MG: Oh, no, I really like the sound of my voice. I’m really proud of my records ... I think my voice has developed a lot over the years. From touring, my voice has grown a lot. Maybe I like it because I’ve worked on it so much.
TT: You have three children — how old are they and are any of them interested in pursuing a music career?
MG: My son is a really good musician and he already has his own band. He’s 15. And my daughter is an artist, she draws constantly all day, and my youngest daughter, she’s already an accomplished photographer. She’s 13 and she’s done three photo shoots. They found their passions really early.
TT: What advice do you give to your son?
MG: I just tell him to master everything you know. You know the trick is just to be really, really good at what you do. Be really excellent, and at that point everything falls into place.
TT: What’s something you haven’t done yet artistically or as a musician, but would like to?
MG: I just want to make a ton of records. I want to put out three albums this year.
TT: What can your audience in Taipei expect for Sunday’s show?
MG: It’s a big picnic party, a lot of drinking and having fun and wavin’ your hands in the air. It’s pretty intoxicating, we have a lot of fun. It’s raw. You know, they [the audience] just scream and holler a lot. It’s definitely a good show.
This interview has been condensed and edited
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