INTERVIEW WITH LISA DEWEY FROM TheCelebrityCafe.com ARCHIVES
DM) What is the story behind the founding of Kitchen Whore Records?
LD) Okay, well, first of all I named it Kitchen Whore because I used to work in a kitchen and I thought it was fitting. I have a lot of friends who have been on major labels and they weren't treated well, so in order to promote my music and the music of others, I started this label a little over a year ago.
DM) Where did you work in a kitchen?
LD) I worked at Bread of Life health food store in Campbell, California.
DM) Isn't it rather difficult starting your own record label?
LD) Yes, I am still trying to find grants. It's all starting to really happen though. I just got distribution through Dutch East India.
DM) Dutch East India?
LD) Dutch East India Trading Company is a worldwide distributor of music. Now, if someone wants my CD, they can go into a store and order it through Dutch East.
Soon, not just Lola CUKI will be out, but also my debut cassette, now on CD.
DM) Speaking of Lola Cuki, when I was first listening to the CD, and I admit it could be a little biased by the name of the label; it seemed to be a little... angry? Am I reading this wrong?
LD) It's not angry at all. It was a fun term that all of the people who worked in the kitchen called each other. We were very vivacious and outgoing, and we called each other funky things a lot and "kitchen whore" was one of them.
DM) What's the story behind the song, "Your Hands are So Dirty, I Can't Sleep"?
LD) That song is about my ex-lover who was raped while I was going out with her. I think that was one of most difficult times in my life. It was very intense, and I felt like I was dying.
DM) Ouch.... How did you get through that experience?
LD) I really do not know. I really freaked out, basically, and I ended up writing two small books' worth of poetry and spoken word. I think that helped a lot. One of my books will be out soon on Fifth Planet Press in New York. It's called "What Happened Here?"-- words by Lisa Dewey.I seriously fell into some weird state, and that is what kept me going. I wrote a lot of music during that time as well.
DM) A lot of musicians say that great music comes out of great pain
LD) Unfortunately, I would have to agree with that.
DM) In today's music, lesbianism seems to be considered "in vogue." Do you find that you get a negative or a positive reaction because of your lifestyle?
LD) I think that when people are going through difficult times, they tap into some part of themselves that helps them through. Well, since I have been "out" since I was in 9th grade, it's sort of weird for me. Sometimes it is hard to tell who's doing what and why. But, sooner or later, you find out if someone is genuine or not. Some people think they will be more accepted in the entertainment or art world if they are QUEER or BI, because that supposedly shows that they are "open-minded". Hmmm! I don't know about that. In the meantime, lots of hearts are being broken by people who can't make up their minds, and people who try something for a minute and mess with others' heads in the process. It's a strange world.In general, I think I get a positive reaction from people. But then again, not many know about my sexuality. It's not really discussed.
DM) A few friends of mine who were "out", lesbian singers, told me they constantly were harassed by men who were trying to "change them." Do you find this yourself?
LD) Oh yes, I am harassed all the time by guys who think that they could change my life and who say they are "the one" who can do it for me. But I don't like women simply because men don't do it for me. I like them because they are beautiful creatures.
DM) You said you were aware of your sexuality by 9th grade. Isn't that kind of early? How did you come to that awareness?
LD) When I was really young, around five, I remember not making the distinction between liking girls or boys. I just looked at everyone. And I still do. I knew that I was attracted to both sexes around that time. I didn't even know what being "gay" meant. It was just natural for me to look at both sexes.
DM) But what's different with that and just an "open attitude"?
LD) Open attitudes are fine. That's different than just trying things out to be cool and hip and hurting feelings in the process. If a person really believes that he or she is a certain way and it ends that they aren't, that is still different from people who haphazardly walk around saying they are queer or bi, when they have never even kissed someone of their own sex or been in any sort of intimate relationship with someone of their own sex.
DM) Does your family accept your lifestyle?
LD) Yes. When I told my mom I was queer, she said, "Honey, I've known that for years."My cat is psycho.
DM) Why is your cat psycho?
LD) She is weird. She bites me even when I'm nice to her. She wants me to pet her but then all of a sudden she just bites me really hard. I swear I'm petting her nicely.
DM) Ha ha ha, where did you get the cat? Are you sure you're not feeding him anything funny?
LD) The cat was abandoned by an ex-roommate. She just left her here. So she is mine now. I feed her good food--IAMS. Only the best for my kitty.
DM) Do you hold a "real job" besides the music, or is the music enough to pay your bills?
LD) I work with computers too. Right now, I need some supplement of income for the record company to grow enough to flourish. I should be able to just do this in the next six months. That is my prediction anyway.
DM) What do you do with computers?
LD) I burn CD's for the engineers in my company. I use Unix, Mac, and PC.
DM) Burn CDs?
LD) I make CD's of the hard drives of these computers, software CD's.
DM) I really appreciate your taking the time for the interview. Thank you very much for your time.
LD) Thanks for the lovely interview.
DM) Take care, Lisa.