We ask her about making out with a porn star and working with Wayne Coyne.
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra's latest 'Do It With A Rockstar' video features many elements which facilitate the having of fun. Namely — ultra glam drag queens, shitloads of glitter/sweat, crowd surfing, and a bi-curious encounter involving a porn star playing a hipster. See below:
Julian Rikfin: Your video for 'Do It With A Rockstar' is awesome! What was your favourite part of the clip to shoot? Amanda Palmer: Well, shooting the sex scene in the hotel with Stoya was the most exciting but also the most nerve-wracking. I've done plenty of nude things but actually porny things for camera, not so much. It was impressive how pro Stoya was, I was in awe of her. Shooting the live footage was incredible too. The Oklahoma city club that Wayne booked called The Conservatory. They were so totally punk rock about their club. I was like "Are you SURE we can dump this many pounds of glitter on the stage? It's going to wind up getting into your monitor speakers and ruin them!" and they dudes at the club were like, "We've cleaned up way worse."
And filming the backstage scene at a club called Kamp's, one of the local extras got so drunk they threw up in the hallway... At like 6pm. That was wonderful. Also, even though we didn't use all the footage, we spent an afternoon shooting at Wayne's house, and that was surreal. His house is like my house back in Boston, just an open art commune with a non-stop stream of people free to wander everywhere and use all the space and resources. It's no wonder I can relate to the guy, we kind of live parallel lives.
He has a pretty sweet bedroom. What's your ultimate bedroom set-up?
I want one of those old-fashioned dark wood and red velvet canopy beds from the 17th century, with curtains that en-womb you at night. And outside the bed is a wild tropical jungle, complete with very happy birds, vines, humidity, and 88-degree heat. The bed needs to somehow be magically moisture-proof.
Who would you like to weird out next and what sort of weird things do you have in mind?
I'd like to weird out with more filmmakers. What they do is so much bigger in scope than what I do, and the process fascinates me. I'd never want to make a film, but I'd love to be slotted in as a composer or performer, because I love the idea of being grafted into a fictional world. Film is hard, though, you lose most control. But with the right person, I imagine it could be a fantasy. I'd kill to work with someone like Alejandro Jodorowsky, but he's still in hiding.
Name three things that you can see right now.
My new leatherman pocketknife. A pair of Flashdance movie-themed merchandise tights from the 80s, gifted to me lovingly by Meow Meow. And a pair of socks that I cut into hand puppets, with added paper eyes, that are taped to the wall. Neil and I used them once for marriage-puppet-therapy. Which actually, truly, really works.
It would appear that the internet loves you. Do you love the internet?
I love the people on the internet. But I sort of hate the internet itself. I worry that it's killing our souls.
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra Australian Tour Dates 2013
Sunday, 27 January — Q Theatre, Auckland (All Ages) Wednesday, 30 January — San Fran Bath House, Wellington (18+) Friday, 1 February — Forum Theatre, Melbourne (18+) Thursday, 7 February — Enmore Theatre, Sydney (All Ages)
Saturday, 9 February — The Northern, Byron Bay (18+)
Sunday, 10 February — The Tivoli, Brisbane (18+) Thursday, 14 February — Astor Theatre, Perth (18+) Sunday, 17 February — Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide (All Ages)
