Macy Gray: in a cookie-cutter industry, she's a wild card amongst a crowd of mouseketeers

Interview, Nov, 2002 by Anita Sarko

At a time when many pop stars are as formulaic as mathematical equations, aren't we thankful for Macy Gray? Sounding and looking like a funked-up spawn of Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin, the Canton, Ohio, native has proven, with her two albums--1999's On How Life Is and last year's The Id (Epic)--that success, thankfully, Is possible even when Impossible to categorize.

ANITA SARKO: Macy, why is L.A. your lady?

MACY GRAY: [laughs] Why is L.A. my lady? It cant be my man?

AS: It can be your dog, for all I care. What do you love about it?

MG: L.A. is sexy and easy. it's easy to move around and get to know people out here. Everybody knows where to go and who to go with. The weather is real symbolic of L.A. It's sunny most of the time, and, at its worst, it's rainy and 60 degrees. I'm originally from the freezing snow.

AS: Which brings us to what you might hate about L.A.

MG: I hate it because you go to a party to be seen, to be cool, not to party. Everything is about where you go. Everybody has little cliques.

AS: What's your definition of a great L.A. day?

MG: Roller-skating, Saturdays at 5:00 P.M. I get the whole roller rink to myself.

AS: How can you do that?

MG: Because I'm me. They like me.

AS: You originally went to L.A. to study screenwriting at the USC Film School.

MG: Yeah. They had a great writing program.

AS: Did you finish?

MG: In my own way. [both laugh]

AS: What movie have you watched that made you think, God, I wish I had written that!

MG: Probably Cooley High [1975]. And I love all of Martin Scorsese's movies. Good Will Hunting [1997] was great, as far as the writing. And, of course, Training Day. That was the best-written movie. Put that down.

AS: You were in that movie--was that the first time you acted?

MG: Yeah. I know the director, Antoine [Fuqua]. When he was starting Training Day, he asked me if I wanted to be in it. I read the script and really liked it and I was like, "Denzel [Washington] and everything? Sure!" I want to do another. It's something I want to get good at.

AS: Have you thought about returning to your screenwriting roots?

MG: I have a production company and we've been developing a few stories. I have a lot of really great ideas, but I don't know if I'm going to end up writing them.

AS: So you'll get someone else to flesh out the ideas for you?

MG: That's the L.A. way. [both laugh]

AS: What are you working on now?

MG: I'm mixing my third album, The Trouble With Being Myself. It's a spoof on the times: Reality TV shows, the government, corporate fat cats. I'm producing along with Dallas Austin. Guests include Beck, Pharoahe Monch and Mark Ronson.

AS: You live in the Valley. Are you a Valley girl?

MG: I wouldn't call myself a Valley girl, but I have a really great house. And I have a bronze statue of myself, naked. I have these really big curls and water comes out of every curl. It's hot.

AS: Did you decorate your house yourself?

MG: Me and a decorator did it together. The main part of the house is a deep red and I have butterscotch carpet. And have a bathroom with leopard skin floor, wallpaper and toilet.

AS: Preparing for this interview I checked out a website where men discuss the famous women they love. This is why they love you: "She makes us laugh with her public appearances, and makes us groove to her tunes. And she speaks her mind.... She is so different from the norm she can't help but stand out." Isn't that nice?

MG: They didn't say how sexy and voluptuous and mysterious I am?

AS: Maybe I just didn't get to that part.

MG: Yeah, you missed that. [both laugh]

AS: Lyrically, you often go on about how nutty you are. Then there are rumors flying that you really are nuts. And there are the diva rumors. Is that just typical crap that goes along with being a successful woman?

MG: You know, my favorite rock star is Diana Ross. She kind of invented the whole "This is me--fuck you" diva rock star thing, so that might have something to do with it. And as a person--you don't have to be a rock star--if you don't like the situation you're in, you don't have to settle for it. Say you order roasted chicken and they serve it fried. That's not cool. You have to get it roasted like you want, or you leave. That's just life. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Satisfaction is crucial.

Anita Sarko is a frequent Interview contributor.