Billie Myers sang out for LGBT rights at the recent National Equality March by performing "America the Beautiful." She discussed her new album, Tea & Sympathy, and her thoughts on the Washington gathering with Nunn on One.
Windy City Times: Hi, Billie. You were found dancing in a club in the beginning and that led to a singing career, correct?
Billie Myers: Oh, yes. Goofing around at a club, a guy asked me if I could sing as well as I could dance, which is the worst pickup line known to mankind, but he was actually legitimate. What he actually needed was someone to front a group, but that was not my strong point. I was singing for his daughter a nursery rhyme in front of his house; he heard me and we started writing together after that.
WCT: How charming.
BILLIE MYERS: It was very fluky. The gods were obviously looking after me. After writing about five songs, he went to EMI and they wanted to sign me primarily as a lyricist. When I was in Miami writing, the president of Universal walked in and offered me a deal. It was all a bit of a fairy tale. You don't hear of that happening very much anymore. Literally, the first time I was in a studio was when I recording the album Growing Pains.
WCT: That's an amazing story.
BILLIE MYERS: It doesn't even sound real. The last thing you want to do is be in a studio for the first time with an uber-producer who is a perfectionist. I said to [ famed songwriter ] Desmond Child that this really was a baptism by fire. God bless him for being so patient. Everything took forever. I had no studio technique. He thought I had talent but that I did not know what to do with it.
WCT: Well, something definitely worked. "Kiss the Rain" went all the way to number four on the U.S. charts and then the Thunderpuss remix brought you a number one on the dance charts.
BILLIE MYERS: It's funny because people think it was an overnight thing, but "Kiss the Rain" was played in Des Moines, Iowa, for the very first time in August but did not take off until November of that year. It took four months for radio to like it. The guys weren't getting it but the female demographic really worked.
WCT: And the gay demographic…
BILLIE MYERS: Oh, yes. It was on the chart for six months in the United States. The dance remix had a lot to do with making the lifespan really long. When Universal first came to me and said they wanted a remix, I said, "No, I do not want to sound like a chi p.m. unk!" I had to eat my words. About three weeks later I was in a club in Mexico and heard a song that sounded strangely familiar. I thought someone had stolen the riff for "Kiss the Rain." It was a great place to hear it for the first time because I was in a gay boy club. There were 2,000 boys in there; I just watched as the hands were in the air and the shirts were taken off! The interpretation was completely different. They were kissing the rain in a whole different manner. [ Both laugh. ] God bless Thunderpuss; I was very lucky and had a gay following from the get-go but that cemented my following. Gay followings, I am sure you know, are very loyal.
WCT: Yes, I do.
BILLIE MYERS: Gay people are not usually led by Top 40 music. They are not fashion victims. Quite frequently they are ahead of the curve. Gay boys embrace Madonna and Lady Gaga and even Amy Winehouse so much earlier than the mainstream. To me, they are musical barometers of what will be.
WCT: You have performed here in Chicago at Market Days before.
BILLIE MYERS: I have performed twice!
WCT: Well, you have to come back again.
BILLIE MYERS: I would love to. It's such a great place to play. The first time I played there it was hot as Hades. I was not prepared for this, and had on a pair of beige leather pants and thinking I was rock diva at the moment. I think I lost about two pounds during that show. I did the first show acoustic and the second one with a full band. You can't go wrong with something like Market Days. You look down the street and it's full of people. You go on at 7 p.m. and people are a little drunk at that point and ready to have a good time. So it's perfect.
WCT: The crowds are always great.
BILLIE MYERS: Someone threw their bra at me in your town. I said sarcastically, "Oh, very conservative over here in the Windy City!" That was the first time someone threw a bra at me. It doesn't happen that often.
WCT: Well, not as often as you like.
BILLIE MYERS: Hello! I would personally like it to happen at every show. G-strings, bras—come on, boys; get those shirts off. There are a couple of songs that are sexy. I like to please everybody.
WCT: That's the beauty of being bisexual. You get the best of both worlds.
BILLIE MYERS: Yes, with every year you get older the offers get less. You take what you can get and you can't cut off one half of the population by being one way or the other because the offers would decrease by 50 percent. The days where I can pick and choose are long gone.
WCT: How would you like someone to approach you for a date?
BILLIE MYERS: If I am sober, just come talk to me and not be obvious about it. But if I am drunk, be as forward as hell! I get intimidated if I am sober.
WCT: Let's talk about the new album. Who are you writing about with the new single "I Hope You're Happy Now?"
BILLIE MYERS: It's about a relationship that goes a little bad. I think its fair to say that when a break up occurs there is always one person who is not necessarily prepared for it or does not want it at that moment. "Happy Now" was a relationship where I was really invested and in love. The other person wasn't. I found that out a little too late. They were in love with who they thought I was. It might have had to do with stage persona as opposed to me. It became a horrible time.
WCT: We have all been there.
BILLIE MYERS: Yeah, it took a little while. I have to be honest. When you get past the devastation of it then you go into anger. "I Hope You're Happy Now" was two folds. First, I hope you are happy and look what you have done to me. Secondly, I think you secretly hope that they are not happy. That's what it's really about.
WCT: You have your own music label Fruit Loop Records?
BILLIE MYERS: After the success of "Kiss the Rain" and after I was reportedly dropped by Universal, for two or three years for the life of me I could not get signed. I felt like the female singer/songwriter thing was cursed. I decided to try again and because I suffered from depression, it made me laugh to call the label Fruit Loop. That's what I called my pills that I take for it—Fruit Loops.
WCT: So making this album, Tea & Sympathy, was different?
BM:I was able to incorporate a more contemporary feel into my work. This album is fusion of who I am with a new feel. I used a female producer with this one. It worked out really well because I brought the bluesy guitars, the live drums and she brought her elements. It was a great fusion without losing who people think Billie Myers is.
WCT: Tell me about your recent experience in Washington at the National Equality March.
BILLIE MYERS: To stand with people who were all unified by one calling, the unequivocal right to equality, was mind-blowing.
[ Gay musician ] Dave Koz summed up best when he said, "Everyone involved in the National Equality March was standing on the right side of history." I couldn't agree more. I will be eternally grateful to the organizers for giving me the opportunity to be involved and to the crowd for giving me a "life-changing" experience I will never forget. I am prouder now, more than ever, to be a part of the GLBT community ... and that's because of every single person I saw standing up and being heard at the national equality March. That's a gift that transcends anything I could ever find words to describe.
