Gaywired.com × December 01, 2006
Gwen Stefani Von Trapped by the Music
On her second solo album, Gwen Stefani takes on The Sound of Music by Ross von Metzke
If my mom ever slid on a pair lederhosen and channeled the Von Trapp family on national television, I’d like change zip codes. But when your mom is Gwen Stefani and her single is one of the fastest climbing song on the charts, things work a tad differently.
Of course, little Kingston, her son with husband Gavin Rossdale, isn’t even a year old, so he’s got some time before he needs to worry about being embarrassed by mom. And since Stefani is single handedly responsible for inspiring half of the fashion trends we see on runways around the world today, you’ll forgive her the sudden Julie Andrews outburst.
With Tuesday’s release of her sophomore solo album The Sweet Escape, Stefani will likely cement in American’s minds why she’s become such a cultural icon. We sat down with the singer/fashion designer to talk motherhood, the new album and why the love of her gay fans finds her humbled.
Let’s just start with the first single, Wind It Up. What does it mean to you—that phrase—and what does it mean in the context of this record?
Wind It Up basically is just the idea of the music getting you wound up. To me, that’s what the idea was. It’s pretty simple. There’s (laughing) not a lot of depth to it. It’s basically about trying to get the energy up and get people dancing on the dance floor.
Is that your goal in terms of a song like Wind It Up—to get everyone out there and ready to party?
It’s really weird because I basically was on tour and then I found out I was pregnant. And I had done the record like a year ago. So, I really wanted to put it out last Christmas. So, it’s kinda been sitting for a while. So, I’ve been wound up about this single for a long time. Now it’s finally coming out, and I was hoping I was gonna be this excited about it, knowing that I’ve had it for so long. I even played the song on tour. But it’s still just as exciting, and it never gets old.
And it’s, oh, so different from the last album and all my inspirations were completely different on this record, you know. I mean, the last record, it was all about ’80s-inspired music, the music I danced to when I would go dancing growing up. But this time, I kind of was over all that and felt like I was in a whole different place.
You’re getting known for these very unlikely combinations of songs from different eras and Broadway and what-not. How do you discover that these things will work?
Honestly, I didn’t come up with it. It was just an obvious—something that I’d talked about doing for a long time. It’s just something I’ve always loved my whole life. And then I thought, ‘Gosh, put a beat to the Sound of Music, that would be ridiculous,’ you know?
It was just somethin’ I said. And then when the fashion show came around, I just did it. And when I heard it, it was like, ‘I have it.’ I have it all on film, actually (laughs) because my brother was filming me at the time and we were doing the fashion show, and I just remember the first time I heard it. I know a lot of people probably don’t know the Sound of Music. And, hopefully, this is my way of sharing something that I think is really great. Maybe people will go out and watch it now. It’s a really good film.
Hollaback Girl and What You Waiting For? were inescapable in gay clubs all over the country for months. Were you aware that you were becoming an official gay icon?
I’m always in awe of the energy, love and support I get from my gay fans. I wasn’t surprised as much as I was ecstatic and humbled. I worked really hard on that album and to see it connect with everyone on so many different levels—it makes what I’ve worked so hard for, all the more worthwhile. I want the community to know that I feel ‘em and I’m glad they are feelin’ me.
Justin Timberlake was put on the spot to give his opinion when fellow ‘NSync-er Lance Bass came out of the closet. So, how would you react and what would you say if any of your No Doubt band mates ever came out of the closet?
I would support him, or anyone for that matter, 100-percent in coming out.
Let’s talk about fashion a little bit. Why do you think fashion and music mix so well?
I always look at it like this. You work so hard on the music. It’s such an emotional, kind of outlet and it’s kind of, for me personally, the hard part of everything. But it’s also the fire for everything because it’s so emotional. And when you’re all done with it, to get all made up and celebrate and show it off to everyone, that’s the obvious thing to do. It’s a self-expression of your personality and it shows who you are without having to say anything.
Were you able to test-drive some of these songs on the runway? Did you play them for your shows?
Yeah, last year, right when I got out of the studio with Pharrell, I had, I think it was four new songs with him. I took all those tracks and I did this big mash-up for the whole fashion show. And tracks like Orange County Girl and Wind It Up I played on tour ‘cause I was just so excited about them. And I really didn’t know if I was gonna do another record so I was, like, ‘Well, might as well play ‘em right now, they might get wasted.’ The one thing that’s always hard for bands is when you go out there with your new songs you’re so excited about—but nobody wants to hear them. They just want to hear the old ones. The response was just so good. I never had that with any other songs live, playing new songs. Usually it takes a minute, but those were really instant, which was fun.
So you had a good indicator. Is there a fashion trend that you just don’t get, no matter how hard you try?
Fashion trend that I don’t get? Not really. I mean, usually there’s a reason behind every fashion thing and, you know, even someone that wears… I dunno. I don’t even want to say something rude about anyone, so never mind.
With the writing of these songs did motherhood seep into the songwriting? Did it affect you as a mother? Did you dedicate the album to Kingston?
Yeah, I dedicated the album to Kingston, ‘cause I just want him to grow up and look back and just know how important he is. He’s just like, he is just like the most delicious… I can’t even—see, I have no words. I have no words for him.
It was definitely scary for me because I didn’t want to miss any of that. Because it’s just the greatest thing that you could ever experience. And it goes so fast. And everybody warned me, but it goes so fast. And he’s just growing up so quickly. It’s a shame that it has to go so quickly, you know. So, to be able to go into the studio and put the time in and the hours… I didn’t have the luxury that I had before where I would just be like, ‘Oh, I’ll just stay up all night.’ It wasn’t like that. I was really condensed and focused and like, ‘Okay, I’m going in, I have the nanny, she has to sit right there with the baby while I do this.’ He was in so many studios. He’s been in every studio in LA, every studio in New York, every studio in London. He’s been on a jet, he’s been on a helicopter. He’s seen me do my make-up four thousand times (laughs).
Leave a Comment