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 The Brisbane Powerhouse is gearing up for a truly unique event later this month when it hosts two performances by lesbian icon, guitar hero and all-round rock star Kaki King.
If you miss this performer, you’ll miss out on a night like no other. Kaki has built up an exciting reputation through a combination of blistering raw talent and hard work. In recent years, she has been beamed into homes all across America via performances on the popular talk shows Late Night with Conan O’Brien and the Late Show with David Letterman. She’s also collaborated on the new Foo Fighters and Tegan & Sara albums.
She’s not just resting on her laurels though, and is about to contribute music for a new Sean Penn film. Despite what seems to be quite a hectic schedule, Kaki took some time on the eve of her third visit to Australia to tell Queensland Pride about her music, her increasing recognition and what it’s like to be an out and proud lesbian performer.
Kaki has been influenced musically by early 1990s British shoegazing bands and her sound is best described as hard, intense and personal. She describes her sound as “music for the disenchanted, for the lovesick, and for people who like to be alone with other people.” She’s truly an amazing guitar player and has even been listed as a ‘young guitar god’ by no less an authority than Rolling Stone magazine. While she’s obviously delighted to win such recognition, she’s maintained a sense of humour about her increasing fame.
She told us that “being a guitar god isn’t like being a regular god. You don’t get to change the laws of gravity or raise the dead or get to the front of airport security lines.” On a more personal note, Kaki’s own favourite career highlights have been “getting hired in the band for the off-Broadway musical Blue Man Group at the age of 22 and having Robin Guthrie (ex-Cocteau Twins) MySpace me and tell me he’s a fan.”
With achievements like that, the shows at the Powerhouse promise to be quite mind-blowing. When asked what fans can expect, she told us, “I will be in drag but I’ll be pretending to be a man in drag, so I will still look like a girl. The effect is stunning. And I’ll sing some songs and talk about random stuff on my mind at the moment.”
Kaki has been very open about her sexuality and we asked her how this has impacted on her career. She said that being gay is no longer as controversial as it once was and in fact, “being gay isn’t as cool as it used to be … gayness is almost in a slump. Practically boring.” At Queensland Pride, though, we find it hard to believe that anything associated with Kaki could be considered boring! As if to prove us right, she told us that the photo shoot for her forthcoming 2008 album was an interesting affair. “We did a photo shoot for the album artwork, and once again, I ended up nearly naked. I am the easiest person to talk into taking my clothes off. Should I be worried about this?”
If that isn’t enough to intrigue you, Kaki certainly had a unique message to pass on to her Australian fans. She told us that, “I like mango-flavoured things, and it seems like you Aussies have more mangos that you can shake a stick at. So if anyone reads this and brings me a mango or mango-flavoured candy, I will give them a short and forgettable massage.” Kaki fans, you have been told! Just remember that you read this in Queensland Pride first.
Kaki King is playing Thursday 22 – Friday 23 November at the Powerhouse Visy Theatre (119 Lamington St, New Farm).
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Goddess of the guitar
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