Fresh from a triumphant ransacking of the New York performing arts scene (and the cover of the Village Voice) with her show Rock Bottom, Bridget Everett is taking her avant-cabaret instincts out on the road and bringing full-voiced passion and unashamedly filthy jokes with her. Start with a Brundlefly of Sophie Tucker and Patti Smith, but with a healthy appreciation for the "tear the club up" anthems of classic 2 Live Crew and the barroom bluster of tunesmith Jerry Ragovoy, and you’ve got a sense of the unconventional power this diva is packing.
Cutting her teeth as one of the hosts of Our Hit Parade, a monthly show that saw Everett and several downtown denizens turning contemporary Top 40 Radio hits into no-holds-barred cabaret experiences, as well as popping up on episodes of Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, Everett has built a diehard fanbase that spans the worlds of comedy, music, and fashion. She brings her acclaimed live act to Nashville for two shows only.
I can’t begin to tell you what a treat it will be to have you in Nashville.
I love Nashville ... That hot chicken, I'll tell you what.
Yes, that and Moon Pies are Tennessee's indigenous culinary delicacies — and you can't go wrong with hot chicken.
I don't think I've had a Moon Pie; I'll have to try that this next time.
We'll bring you some to your show.
Excellent. When I was in San Francisco recently, someone brought me a room temperature take-out of fried shrimp and calamari, and I thought, "Okay, thanks ..."
I first got to experience your particular magic when some friends showed me the “Sex Tips” sketch on the Inside Amy Schumer show. It’s such a remarkable piece of character work, both really funny and also rooted in something unspeakably relatable. Did you do any writing on that sketch, or was that something that they drafted with you in mind? The way you deliver the phrase “You don’t know what I’m going through” hit in such a way, and I said to myself, "I will follow this woman anywhere."
(laughs) Amy had actually wanted me to be in another sketch, but there was going to be a snowstorm, so they had to cancel it. And she said, "Well, why don't you come on down and we'll write you into this one sketch." So they fit me in at the last minute — and they're really good about letting you improvise, so I'd say about half of that was scripted and half was improvised ... it's such a great show to work in. She and I are very good friends.
You can tell.
And she wants everyone around her to shine and to feel free, and everybody went out of their way to make that happen ... People come up to me and quote that sketch all the time.
What was your favorite song to sing back during the Our Hit Parade days?
I used to do a cover of Miley Cyrus' "The Climb," and I still do it sometimes. I love singing anything Rihanna. We used to do a cover of "Only Girl in the World" that was lots of fun, but it got taken off YouTube because of content. It was a lot of fun — I wore this weird teeny dress thing, spitting out hot dogs, that kind of thing. It was really fun. That show was great because it always forced you to do something new and different every month. And now that I don't do that anymore, I don't challenge myself quite as much anymore.
But you give it all onstage; you're challenging yourself on a nightly basis. I don't know how you do it, but I'm glad you do.
Well, you never know when it's going to be over, so you might as well go for it, and do it all while you have it there. I feel really blessed to be able to do it. So I want to go 150 percent, and I don't think I ever do less than that.
It’s inspirational, really; you’ve made your New York Dreams come true, and that’s something that few people can genuinely say.
Yeah. It's hard to see at some times, but — I mean, the guys at Joe's Pub, they gave me a poster for Rock Bottom that had all the quotes from the reviews, and to see it ... it's in my house right now, and it feels kind of weird to have it there, but it's a great reminder to be thankful for everything, and how far I've come. Because for a long time it was just late-night karaoke bars — those were the only place I could do what I do.
Given that you’ve made a name for yourself in the alt-cabaret field, do you still have thoughts of taking on a more traditional Broadway-type undertaking?
Yeah. I've been doing this kind of stage show for a long time; the show I'll be doing in Nashville is different, it's my other show. Rock Bottom is hard to travel with because there's so many people. But I always want to keep trying new things even though I hate change ... The only reason I did Rock Bottom was because the Public Theatre gave me a grant to do it — and I asked, "Can I just take the check and go?" And they said, "No, you have to write a show," and I was like, "Fuck." And it's ended up being one of the most rewarding things in my life and career ... You know, you just have to push yourself.
I have a vision of you and the other Public Theatre divas, like Betty Buckley and Diamanda Galás, just hanging out and playing poker or something.
Well, I have gotten Patti LuPone up onstage a couple of times, and she's just great, and we do hang out sometimes, and I got to meet Betty Buckley once while we were both doing our shows at Joe's in October. It's so amazing to meet people like that, because you’re just, "Holy shit! How is this happening?"
I’m still blown away by how you can keep two separate shows up and running at the same time. Is there any overlap between your touring show and Rock Bottom?
The only real overlaps with Rock Bottom are my two encore songs, which are "Titties," which is probably my most well-known song, and "Living The Dream." Some of the songs are kind of hard to sing, so it's hard to just add them in on the road.
The moment that made the Bridget Everett experience crystallize for me was “Get Over You,” which is one of the most devastating ballads I've ever heard. At that moment, I understood what it must have been like to see Bette Midler at the Continental Baths — it was seeing a diva break into the collective subconscious with a perfectly executed mix of the bawdy and the beautiful.
Well, thank you. For me, it's important to balance out songs like "Titties" and "Put Your Dick Away" with other material, because I am a person with a lot of different interests and feelings, and I want to represent that, but I don't always do a ballad when I play a comedy club, though there is a place for it. I appreciate that, though, because that song really means a lot.
Nashville is such a great town for songwriters, and you've got such a dynamic voice and a hell of a songwriting pedigree, it's my sincerest hope that you'll come away from this two-night stand with a month's worth of co-write opportunities.
That would be amazing.
You've got such a great voice for belting country, and there really aren't current C&W divas who do that.
It's funny, my friends Jim and Larry just spent their honeymoon there, and they had a great time going out and trying to find the secret gems of where to go, and seeing some songwriter showcases — I love that kind of music, music with feeling. And I do love Nashville, and I'm really excited to go back there.
Now is this the Larry of the House of Larréon (the brilliant and unreal designers of Everett’s inimitable outfits)?
You bet. They just got married, and he made their clothes for the wedding. I love his design aesthetic so much, because it's fun and whimsical, but it also celebrates the human form in whatever shape it may be.
And it's got such a wonderful sense of history as well.
Yes — he's been sending me pictures from all over the place; we're getting ready to shoot a Comedy Central special, and he's designing my outfits. And he sent me a picture of something that Dottie West wore, and it was at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum, and it was designed by a guy who specialized in sparklewear.
Manuel!
Yes!
He's a genius.
Yeah, and he said there was a Little Richard outfit in there that was just incredible. And doesn't he live in Nashville?
Yes, he's here.
There's a performance of his that just changed my life.
You know, I'll tell you, if you've got any spare time in the city, you should definitely check out Katy K's Ranch Dressing on 12th Avenue.
Oh yeah, I've been there and Larry's been there too.
Okay, last question … What is your favorite Manilow jam?
Wow ... You're really hitting it hard, aren't you? It's gotta be "Daybreak." You know, he's going on his farewell tour. Those tickets go on sale Monday (Nov. 24), so keep your eyes open ... But definitely "Daybreak."
I love that song. I love how it gets used in John Waters' Serial Mom.
I didn't realize that it was in a movie.
Oh yeah, it's what Kathleen Turner plays on her car stereo whenever she goes off to murder someone.
Well, I've got to watch that. That'll change my life.
My personal fave is the last song on Even Now — it's called "I Was a Fool (To Let You Go)" and it's just the most amazing bar room subtle torch song, and it's so good.
I've never thought of the word subtle in conjunction with any Barry Manilow song, but I'll have to give that one another listen.
That one, and the Jim Steinman song, "Read 'Em and Weep." I think everyone should do a song with Jim Steinman. You should definitely do a song with Jim Steinman!
You can never say never.
