Tony winner Levi Kreis' newest CD, Imagine Paradise, is based on a unique concept: All 12 songs are custom-written theme songs based on the life stories of Levi's most generous supporters. The development definitely makes the album personal in more ways than one.
Kreisa Southern boy-turned-Chicago residentrecently met up with Windy City Times. The openly gay singer was candid about not only his CD, but about his life as well.
Windy City Times: I really like this CDbut it's not what I expected. Because you were on Broadway, I was expecting something in that vein. But this CD has elements of pop, dance and R&B. What drove you to that particular mindset?
Levi Kreis: Thank you. The truth is that I've been living in that particular mindset for most of my life. I feel like when I look back at previous albums, I was influenced by what was happening at the time. Like with The Gospel According to Levi, that was around the time of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and was influenced by sounds like that.
I think I was more influenced by what radio and the press were thinking, rather than making an album I would listen to. This is the first album that I've ever enjoyed actually listening to. These are the songs I enjoyed listening to on my iPod on repeat; this is the stuff from my Soul Train collection.
WCT: There's some '90s R&B on heresome Jon B. and some Babyface.
Levi Kreis: Yes, yes! That's more true to my musical history. Broadway was, obviously, a very interesting occurrence. I didn't expect to be an actor but once I moved to L.A., and things started coming my way, and then there were the Tony Awardsbut that's not the world I'm from. The first record I remember having as a kid was one from [gospel singer] Mahalia Jackson. So I've listened to her, the Whispers' "Rock Steady"...
WCT: "Rock Steady?"
Levi Kreis: Yes! But, with this album, I wanted to approach it in a way that I could create songs that were classics. I mean, "Timeless" is timeless.
WCT: It seems like this is your most personal CD, in that sense.
Levi Kreis: It really is. By the way, where are you from?
WCT: I was born in South Carolina and raised in Virginia. You're a Southern boy, tooraised in Tennessee.
Levi Kreis: Yes. I graduated from a class of five people. I was valedictorian with a C average. [Laughs] It was me and four girlsor, I would say, we were five girls.
WCT: Have you reconnected with people back home?
Levi Kreis: I have started to. It's been a difficult journey.
WCT: And, from listening to the Windy City Queercast, I've gathered that your family has expanded.
Levi Kreis: You're bringing it! And it's so right for you to mention it because it was meeting my brother for the first time that has allowed me to open up in a way. My journey of not being accepted and embraced is at its end. If you accept me or not, it's none of my business because I know I'm an individualized expression of God just as I am, and that's just perfect with me. Being in that space allows me to come home and stand on my own.
WCT: Where's your mother in terms of acceptance?
Levi Kreis: Connie Lee is wonderful. She and I have always been close buddies growing up. She was always into music; she was the president of the Brenda Lee fan club. She introduced me to rock 'n' roll early on.
I think it's hard for any mom when they realize the son is not going to live out the dreams they have for them; there's always an adjustment period. As brutal as it sounds, I think parents do have to grieve the death of the child they thought they would have. Then, they have to reacquaint themselves with the real [child], and I've tried to allow for that with the greatest patience possible. But you know what? We're on the other side of it, and she's accepting of my partner. We're going to go stay and visit with her in July. [Tears up]
WCT: Well, some parents never accept so you've been very fortunate.
Levi Kreis: I've always held fast to the concept that a man is known by the fruits of his labor, and I have brought that to my parents' attention time and time again. I began to understand what my role was as an LGBT artist, and I began to talk with kids after Pride festivals. I found out how they are homeless or don't have support.
I tell them, "You stand in your power." I'm not going to tell you it gets better sometime down the road because your good does not lie in any condition that's in the future. Your good is knowing your power right here and right now so stand up and be the king or queen you are. Amen.
WCT: I do want to, of course, discuss the CD a little more. For the readers who don't know, what's the story behind Imagine Paradise?
Levi Kreis: Post-Tony Awards, I was considering not embarking on my sixth artist. Independent artists wear many hats; we have many roles, and it's a lot. It's life-consuming. That's why acting can be easier; someone else can be the machine.
Then someone told me, "Let the fans decide. Why don't you do a Kickstarter campaign?" So I put it together as thoughtfully as I could, and I tried to figure out a way to give back to them. I decided that I could write songs about their lives, which helped me get over the top. I became the third most successful Kickstarter campaign; Billboard did a feature on it.
So I was able to get on the phone with some of these supporters and hear their life stories. I also felt it was my responsibility to find the positive aspects of their lives. In turn, the album might be less autobiographical than some of my other things but, yet, it's so universal.
WCT: The song "Four-Letter Word" is cool-sounding, but it also has a [strong] message. It entertains and informs. It's about a soldier, right?
Levi Kreis: I'm so proud of that song. It's about one of my backers who, after years of being in a relationship, told me the challenges of keeping a relationship while being deployed during "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." There's the strain over five or six years, but we don't see that. We don't know how "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" affects your psychological or emotional well-being. He was also very passionate about [DOMA]. I loved breaking that shit downall you need to know is the four-letter word, "love."
And then there's a song like "Love Revolution." It's meant to tell our LGBT youth and those who've been in it for a while, "You might be able to hold hands down Clark Street but don't get it twisted, sister. We still have to speak up, still." We still need to get loud sometimes.
WCT: There's a line in one of your songs, "A Deeper Love," that goes "The world didn't give it/And the world can't take it away." Is that from a gospel song?
Levi Kreis: Absolutelyit's referencing the Staple Singers. And it's so powerful, too. You can speak it from a traditional Christian perspective but also from a metaphysical perspective. I basically say that I create my reality.
WCT: Even though these songs are for different people, something that seems to come through is that you're a romantic. What's the most romantic thing you've done for someone?
Levi Kreis: Ohwhat a good question! Well, what I consider romantic others might consider a fetish. When you mention "romance," I feel something very romantic about the exchange of being dominant and submissive. While I certainly am not [immersed in the] lifestyle, it's something I'm learning aboutand there's something extremely spiritual about sharing that dynamic. I think there's a spiritual and psychological connection in the world of BDSM. I think it's missed a lot of times because [the romance] is overshadowed by things like drug use, but I think people who really enjoy that spiritual/emotional/psychological journey do it cleanly and clearly.
WCT: Did you go to IML this year?
Levi Kreis: [Shakes head] I actually have not gone in four yearsand I have been sober for four years. May 27 is actually my sober birthday.
WCT: And that's actually my birthday.
Levi Kreis: Oh my God! [Kreis clasps interviewer's hands.] How cool is that! We're forever linked now. But I have to reacquaint myself with the journey as a sober man. Romance, to me, is being moved by a psychological/spiritual/emotional exchange.
WCT: Lastly, whose idea was it for you to pose nude on the cover?
Levi Kreis: [Laughs] I had two other concepts for the cover. While they were bold, they seemed to be more about me. It occurred to me that wearing nothing but the backers' name was [the height of] gratitude. Now it's like a puzzlewhere's my name? [Laughs]
Levi Kreis will perform at the Windy City Gay Idol finals Wed., June 26, at Mayne Stage, 1328 W. Morse Ave., at 7 p.m. See www.maynestage.com .