The Scissor Sisters are a fun disco-pop band that has to be seen live to be believed. The band's third album, Night Work, came out this past year and now the act is on to 2011 as the opener for Lady Gaga. The new year sounds like heaven for the Jake Shears and the group!
Windy City Times: Hey, Jake. You guys are always on tour. Aren't you exhausted?
Jake Shears: Yeah, totally. I'm just kind of chilling out and resting.
WCT: I saw you guys last time when you were playing at the Riviera. It was a great crowd. The energy was just incredible.
Jake Shears: The show is even better now and is really off the hook.
WCT: Describe a Scissors Sisters show for people that don't know or have not been.
Jake Shears: It's just super-high-energy. We got eight people on stage and a couple of great backup singers that have really turned into part of the band. It's really intense. People really need to see us live.
WCT: I saw the video for "Any Which Way" and that is a really fun video. Did you have to work out to be naked and be in those tight crazy clothes?
Jake Shears: I had been training like a fool. Once I hit 30 I realized I had to get in a serious shape, so I could work the stage the way I want to. It's super-physical, but the video is really fun and I am really happy with it. We are a hard band to shoot videos for, embarrassingly enough, so this one really turned out to capture the song.
WCT: Are you single?
Jake Shears: No, God no! It's been six years that I've been with my significant other. We had our six-year anniversary in June and I am happily practically married.
WCT: Are you able to go out after your shows and do anything fun?
Jake Shears: I usually don't party after the shows. But when I am in Chicago, who knows? You know, one of my top three all-time favorite bands are from Chicago. They are called My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. I used to follow them on tour when I was in high school. They are a major, major influence for my band.
WCT: They are great. You are also a really big Dolly Parton fan. I saw your Dolly interview on Logo.
Jake Shears: It was a real dream come true. I have a total thing for real talent in older women. Maybe just because I have a real bound with these heroes from when I was a kid and I gotten to meet so many of them and hang out with them. It's been amazing. You know, Jane Fonda I've been hanging out with, and I did world fitness with her in Atlanta and she came to see us in Paris. I seriously have a club for women over a certain age. Other than what it is, that moment with Dolly was really one of my highlights of my life.
WCT: I read that you are doing a musical version of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City.
Jake Shears: Yes, it opens on June 1. We worked on shopping it this past year. It's going to be a great show. We worked on it for four years. It's a really solid show, and really funny, sweet, and sad, it just has a great overall vibe to it.
WCT: I really like all the projects you guys do, such as when Del Marquis had his side project and I interviewed him.
Jake Shears: It's important to do a little bit outside of the band just to kind of let the pressure go. It kind of makes the band fresher the more we can do outside of it. We are all really excited to be doing Scissor Sisters right now. I think the band is happier. We are loving the music and making more. It has been great writing and it's a nice moment for us right now. It's a record we are proud of. We love this album, we love playing it and pretty much play the entire record on the show. The energy is great if you are playing live.
WCT: Now who picked the album cover out?
Jake Shears: That would be me. Well it wasn't a matter of picking it out; it was just the moment I say it I knew it was it. I came across it and it just shouted at me. This opens the album in so many ways—just like playful [ and ] sexy, and it refers to dancing. It just got all these things on it that makes me feel proud of this record.
WCT: It's really has a Studio 54 kind of feel and [ is ] very old school.
Jake Shears: Totally; I think the picture was taken in 1980.
WCT: Well, looking forward to seeing you at Lady Gaga. It should be an interesting night!
Jake and the gang join Gaga on the third leg of her Monster Ball Tour Monday, Feb. 28, at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison. Visit www.ticketmaster.com for ticket information and www.scissorsisters.com for more about the band.
