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GINA VIVINETTOK.D. Lang goes through life ready to take on every opportunity. Except a hip-hop album.
K.D. Lang first won the hearts of fans and critics in the late 1980s with her sublime country crooning. Since then, the irrepressible Lang has sung from the landscapes of pop, the American Songbook and whatever other genre has caught her ear.
Now Lang has embarked on a North American tour that finds her in front of symphony orchestras, singing from her catalog as well as standards.
Calling from her home in Los Angeles, Lang answered 10 Pressing Questions about her karaoke prowess (in Japan), her dream duet and her youthful crush on Anne Murray.
(1) You've referred to yourself as a "musical nomad." What won't we see you do? I probably would never make a . . . you know what? I'm not even going to say that. Knowing myself, I'd probably turn around and do the exact thing I'd say I won't do.
What about a hip-hop record? That I can't see myself doing. I have a really hard time being fast. (Laughs.) I'm very languid in my singing style. I doubt I could even do it.
You even dance pretty well. Oh, well, that depends on your opinion. (Laughs.) It's better than a chicken with no head, yeah.
(2) Tony Bennett called you "the best singer since Judy Garland." Would you compare yourself to Judy? I wouldn't, actually, but coming from Tony? I take it as the highest compliment that could ever be given. He is the sweetest person on earth. I am so lucky to have the experience I've had with him.
Are there any performers whose careers you admire or that you've tried to emulate? There's a handful: Ray Charles. Peggy Lee. Linda Ronstadt. People who are not bound by genre. People who are more interested in songs and not one style.
(3) With the orchestra, will you be doing songs from your catalog, such as Constant Craving? Yes, we'll be doing about 50 percent retrospective from my albums, and the other half will be songs from my new record (Hymns of the 49th Parallel), which is coming out in July.
Let me play devil's advocate: What makes you so sure, as a pop singer, you can pull off singing with an orchestra? We don't see Gwen Stefani and Britney Spears singing with string sections. Well, they're different than I am. I've based my career on a crooning style. I'm more of a classic singer. I'm not doing contemporary, cutting-edge stuff like other singers. My stuff has always been of a retrospective style. This is an opportunity - to tour and sing with the best symphonies in America - that I can't pass up.
Are you at all fearful? I have reservations, but I'm not fearful. I am fearful of the amount of work that's going into it, all the rehearsals with different orchestras in different cities. It's really taxing, but everyone is such a professional.
(4) Do you consider yourself more an artist or entertainer? Without sounding pretentious, I would like to be both. Real entertainers are artists.
Have you ever looked back on something you've done in your career and been filled with regret? Absolutely! I've made lots of mistakes.
Like what? Oh, just taking bad directions or making records that - well, whether or not the records are successful is irrelevant. Because everything allowed me to cultivate my own path, so, no, there are no regrets there.
(5) What do you think of lip-synching? I think it's a terrific art form. (Laughs.)
That's being diplomatic. Have you ever been asked to do it? It's a policy of mine that I will not lip-synch. I have sung to tracks of myself, but I have never lip-synched.
Are you into karaoke? I have done karaoke.
Have you ever done one of your own songs? I've done a Patsy Cline song that I've recorded, so in a way, yeah. I've done it in Japan, where no one knows me, to woo all the girls. (Laughs.) But I have never done one of my own songs. That would be like work.
(6) What women in history intrigue you? Are there a few who make you think, "They just don't make them like that anymore?" Amelia Earhart, she was definitely beautiful and cool, and brave. Mother Teresa. I think Mary Magdalene was a beautiful person. The truth has not really been told about her. There is an alternative version of the story wherein she was more Jesus' equal. But the very essence of women is that of a secretive nature, I think.
(7) Coffee or tea? Tea.
Checkers or chess? Neither.
Do you like board games? I do like board games. I don't have any favorites because I don't play that often. Maybe Scrabble.
Are you any good? No. I'm a terrible speller.
(8) Who was your first rock 'n' roll crush? You know who it was? Anne Murray.
I interviewed her years ago, and she as a riot. She took the credit - she was kidding, of course - for all the famous female Canadian pop stars after her, including you, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette. She was like, "Yeah, that's all because of me." Well, it is, actually. She was one of the first Canadian singers. Well, there was Joni (Mitchell). But there was something different about Anne Murray.
(9) Is there someone out there you want to do a duet with who you haven't yet? Probably.
Probably? That's pretty vague. You have to stay open. You have to stay completely open to what life presents or else it's no fun.
Okay, you don't have to stay open for this one: Who's dead who you would have liked to have sung with? Nat King Cole.
(10) Do you cook? I'm an awesome cook.
As a vegetarian, do you have special tofu dishes or anything like that? I do whatever. I've done the whole thing. Now, I'm kind of just down to al fresco.
Outside? Because you live in Los Angeles. Are you into the glam L.A. life?
No, no. I've found the L.A. I love. The L.A. where you can go for a three-hour hike and not run into anyone, and in a half-hour be at the beach or the desert. Believe me, it's not a bad place to live.
Gina Vivinetto can be reached at 727 893-8565 or gina@sptimes.com
PREVIEW: K.D. Lang performs with the Florida Orchestra at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $25-$65. (727) 791-7400.