Self-described as a soulful, chick cock-rocker, Dana Fuchs of the Dana Fuchs Band is bringing back the classic rock era with her Janis Joplin vocals and blues enthused beats. With two albums, sold out concerts, and a leading role in 2007 Golden Globe nominated movie Across the Universe, Fuchs is finally falling into the mainstream world where her name rolls smoothly off people’s tongues. Yet this is only the beginning for a star who wishes to make the biggest sacrifice of all-the sacrifice of everlasting fame.

Bringing you a little dose of Fuchs, here is an inside look on her music, her love for SIRIUS, and her view on acting.

GALO: Besides joining a gospel choir did you have any hobbies that influenced you to follow in a musical direction? What were your musical experiences like while you were growing up?

Dana Fuchs: Music was always a big part of my life. Being the youngest of six children I was fortunate to grow up listening to and appreciating pretty much every genre of music.  My oldest brother and sister had a popular band around town so when I was nine years old I would get to go listen to them and get on stage and sing. When I was 16, I started singing professionally in local venues around my hometown.  The rest of the band was all more than twice my age as was the regular audience. So I grew up pretty fast.  My hobbies were writing plays and songs and making all my friends and family suffer through the production.

GALO: Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?

DF: I don’t have a set playlist.  I have been writing songs for a while now and so to keep it fresh I like to change it up a bit.  However, I always perform a song I wrote for my late (and only) older sister: “Songbird, Fly Me To Sleep.” I also always perform another of my first songs called “Bible Baby.”  Lately I’ve been performing “Helter Skelter,” since it was one of my songs in “Across the Universe.”

GALO: What is your favorite part of a live show? Do you have any rituals that you do by yourself or with the band before going on stage? How about after?

DF: My favorite part of every show is the connection to the audience.  It is truly what drives me to keep going.  I feel so lucky to sweat, spit and stomp with such wonderful people night after night!  I like to do a good 20-30 minutes of yoga before shows.  (I never leave home without my yoga mat.)  I also do vocal warm ups, then listen to an inspiring artist.  (Last tour I was all about the Al Green!)  I always need to be completely alone an hour before show time.

GALO: Before Across the Universe, acting was not foreign to you, since you played the role of Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis. If given the opportunity would you immerse yourself in another movie or theatre production?

DF: I actually play a part alongside of “Method Man” (formerly of Wu Tang Clan) [in 2011’s The Mortician].  I play a prostitute (but a good-hearted one) 😉  A nice juicy non-music related role.

GALO: What fascinated you about the two roles you played? In other words, what made you ultimately decide to audition for the two roles and join the team of talented actors/actresses after being chosen by the directors?

DF: I was actually approached by both.  For Love, Janis, I was called in and immediately offered the part but had to learn all 19 songs and the entire script in eight days!  ATU came about after the director (Julie Taymor) was given my name by the producers of Love, Janis, and came to see a show I had with my band.  We met afterward and talked. Then a year later I was called in to play Sadie. After I was told I had the part, Julie called me at home to say she had written the part specifically for me.  In both I was quite surprised.  Both situations opened many doors for me to continue making my own music and touring the world. I feel so fortunate!
 
GALO: Often times you are compared to Janis Joplin vocally and because of your Broadway portrayal of her. What is your reaction to this? In other words, how does this ultimately make you feel?

DF: The Janis comparison is certainly an honor.  Interestingly enough I never listened to her until I played her in Love, Janis, but was compared to her long before this.  I discovered when learning the part and all of the music, that she and I were influenced by so many of the same artists. If the Janis comparison gets people to check me out, then I’m extremely grateful for it!

GALO: If you had to choose a quote (or a line) to describe what motivates you day to day, what would it be?

DF: 1) May not be where I wanna be, but I sure aint where I was.  2) Keep your eye on your own prize!

GALO: Describe what a regular day on tour looks like for you.

DF: Wake up, down some coffee (and maybe a banana) wash my face, brush my teeth, gather my things and get in the van to head to the next town.  Do a sound check, have some dinner, play the show, greet people, then end the evening hanging with the band recounting the fun stuff over some good wine. Lastly, a long, long shower (takes a while to get all the tangles out of my air) and off to bed.  Same thing the next day. Days off we see everything we possibly can and these adventures are almost the best part! Every now and then my guitarist and I will write a song in the middle of the night when we discovered that neither of us was able to sleep.  Sometimes the van ride is several hours long and that’s always fun (and often quite funny). Boys are so disgusting but so much fun!

GALO: What are your goals or aspirations when recording and performing cover songs and those of your own? In other words, what do you strive to bring across to the audience through the music that you perform?

DF: I always hope to connect with the audience through the songs, the story of the songs, and the music of the band.  My goal is to make everyone feel they are part of the show.  Because they are.  The audience is the outlet I need to plug into. The studio is a different animal so I try to imagine how the song will translate live and hope that people connect to it both live and on recording.  I write about things that move, hurt, inspire, frustrate or excite me.  I have to believe in what I’m saying and singing.  That’s the only way the audience is going to believe in me.

GALO: What serves as inspiration for you when writing songs? Do the emotions you feel on a day to day basis play a role in the music making process or perhaps current events in your own life? What about the places you have lived or visited — do they serve any purpose in the journey of creative inspiration?

DF: EVERYTHING I experience or witness goes into my songs and my performance.  I love traveling and learning about new cultures, lands and people in general whether it’s a next door neighbor or someone from another country, or someone on the subway.  I am obsessed with people watching.  I’m also a very emotionally charged person, so I feel so grateful that I get the outlet of writing and performing to work it all out.

GALO: What song(s) of yours are you most proud of? Why?

DF: I am probably most proud of the song I wrote for my sister Donna.  Mainly because I never tire of singing it and no matter what country or city I am performing in, the audience seems to like this song best too. Most of the time they start singing “Oh songbird fly” with me.  Unprompted.  So it becomes a beautiful moment.  In fact we played our first show in The Netherlands on a festival in front of several thousand people who had never seen or heard me before and when I finished the song, the audience started chanting the chorus. By the time thousands of them were singing it, I was crying, so the band started the song back up. This is one of my favorite moments of touring last year.

GALO: What are you currently listening to? (Genres, artists, etc.)

DF: This is your toughest question!  🙂  I am listening as I type to classic rock on SIRIUS.  I need a daily dose of old school r&b, classic rock, old school Jazz (Duke, Mingus, Ella and Louis, etc) some good ole blues and country; and then newer stuff like “My Morning Jacket”; Ray LaMontagne, Kings of Leon, etc. My diet of the past few years has always had Tom Waits and Bob Dylan.

GALO: In the near future, where would you like to go with your music? In other words, is there a particular sound you wish to achieve or do you wish to remain in the blues/rock genre?

DF: I think my next CD will have a bit of all my influences weaved in.  Soul, Rock, bluesy country, etc. I hope to go GENRE-LESS!  I tour all over the map and I want my CD to have that same lack of perimeters!

GALO: If you hadn’t chosen the path of a musician, what do you think you would be doing today? In other words, did you ever have any other career oriented dreams?

DF: A teacher. Period. I love working with young minds and I think teachers are the coolest people on the planet. Good ones that is. 😉

GALO: What would you say is the hardest part of being a musician? What would you tell those who are currently striving to become musicians?

DF: The hardest part of being a musician is also the best part: Vagabond life style.  Amazing but can get lonely when you drop in on a friends dinner party and everyone’s been hanging and keeping up with each other and you’ve been gone. (It’s a real alternate reality on the road, and back home, time doesn’t wait).

Anyone striving to become a musician should keep striving.  Listen to EVERYTHING.  Any new artist you love, find out who they loved; then find out who THEY loved and so on. Trace it back to slave songs and pagan chanting if you have to.  But go deep. Then forget it all and find your own voice and style. Then make peace with the sacrifice.

But what’s next for this energetic rock diva music wise, you ask? As her new album, Love to Beg, full of major genres and heartfelt lyrics finally hit store shelves in April, she and her band are ready to tour. Fuchs promises this will be an album and tour that no one forgets. For now we are left with an empty promise, but if her tour is anything like her recent performance at Highline Ballroom she will not disappoint her fans.

For a full list of tour dates visit Dana Fuch’s official site: http://danafuchs.com/

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