Openly-bisexual Drop Dead Diva funny gal Margaret Cho decided that she wanted to create a comedy music album that spoke to her fans and also to her very own heart. She didn’t want to simply create “another comedy album” like many comedians before her. She wanted to release a comedy album with real music and substantial lyrics to accompany it. Realizing that she had no idea how to write music (or even play a guitar for that matter), she decided to enlist a few of her new and old friends for a little assistance. Joining Cho on the heartfelt and hilarious 13-track album that took almost one year to make are musical artists and lesbian favorites Fiona Apple, Patty Griffin, Ani DiFranco, Andrew Bird, Ben Lee, Tegan and Sara and other notable musicians. In addition to the tracks on the album itself, there is actually a 14th hidden track with Rachael Yamagata titled, “Lesbian Escalation."
Cho Dependent is not Cho’s first foray into putting her naked self on the line for her craft. The 41-year-old San Franciscan-born comedian, actress (and now singer/songwriter), wrote and starred in the extremely successful one-woman stage show I’m the One that I Want in 2000 (the show material was also released as both a book and concert film and discussed her life after the cancellation of her 1994-1995 sitcom All American Girl). Cho followed up the success of I’m the One that I Want by commanding the stage again in Notorious C.H.O. in 2002, Revolution in 2004 and Assassin in 2005. Her second book titled “I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight” was also released in 2005 and prompted a national book tour that helped to propel the comedian further into the spotlight. Die-hard fans might remember Cho from her role in the small gay romp comedy Bam Bam and Celeste about a gay man and his “fag hag” (played by Cho).
In addition to her stage performances, television shows and book tours, the outspoken gay rights activist has long-been a supporter of equality and inclusion. In fact, she recently worked with both Cyndi Lauper and Kathy Griffin to draw attention to LGBT issues. Cho’s thoughts on gay marriage are also reflected in the 2004 Marriage Equality Rally documentary Freedom to Marry.
Cho Dependent will be released to the world on August 24, 2010 with an accompanying tour throughout the United States beginning on August 26, 2010.
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Your new comedy music album is called Cho Dependent. How did this project come to fruition?
I don’t know how to write music so I wanted to enlist the people that I know write music and do it great. So, what I did was approach all of these different people. Some of them I had known for many years like Ani DiFranco, Jon Brion and others I had never really worked with but had always wanted to on the right project. Sometimes I would give the songwriters the lyrics and they would return with the mp3 some days later. Every track had a little different process and each session was education for me on how to write songs, sing and play guitar. It was really cool. I got to work with some of the most amazing people and put together this album that I feel really great about and can’t wait to share.
Cho Dependent will have you touring across the country this fall. Is there a city or two you can’t wait to visit every time you hit the road?
Yes, the tour will start on August 26, 2010 in Portland and I’ll be traveling everywhere all over until December. The album comes out on August 24, 2010. I love Seattle, Portland and the Pacific Northwest in general. I really love performing around there. I did a special there, one of my favorite ones, called Notorious C.H.O. and it was such a great achievement and I cannot wait to go back!
Are there two or three things you make sure to bring along with you on the road when you tour?
Well, this time will be different because I will be touring on a bus! It will be a different experience for me. I have a small band traveling with me so that’s really cool. We have an actual bus this time, so I’m looking forward to that. Pretty much, all I need is a notebook, an iPod and my Kindle. I am permanently attached to my Kindle all of the time. I don’t have an iPad so I don’t know what those would be like, but now that I have a Kindle, it has become my essential thing. Like, I am very frustrated that not all books are on Kindle. A lot of books are, but not all, so that frustrates me because I feel that they all should be.
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Can you believe there was a time when we didn’t have cell phones?
I know! You know, I didn’t have a cell phone for quite a relatively long amount of time. Like, I didn’t have a cell phone until around 2005. I resisted it! I didn’t even have an email address until around that time either! I wasn’t really that much of a participant in that part of society, but now I am totally into it. I’m still hanging back a little bit, though. Like, I don’t have an iPhone – I have a Blackberry.
In 2007, Cyndi Lauper had you along with her on the road to host her True Colors Tour benefitting the Human Rights Campaign. You can also be seen in one of her Give a Damn Campaign commercials. Are there any future plans to work with Cyndi?
I would love to do more with Cyndi. I love her and what she has done for gay rights. She has been a huge supporter of the LGBT community for many years and she is very important. I am also a big fan of hers. We are also friendly. She is a lot of fun. I do admire her greatly and am very excited for doing more with her.
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What would you most like to see President Obama accomplish while in office? Is there a cause closest to your heart?
I’d love to see gay marriage happen. That would be a huge triumph. It’s a reasonable thing to want. I don’t understand why it is such a big deal. I mean, gay marriage should be a right and I don’t understand why it is such a problem with conservatives. It doesn’t affect their lives at all. It’s such a strange thing that it’s even a controversy. I want to see that happen and I don’t know why it hasn’t or what will change things, but it needs to happen. It’s very frustrating and inhumane. It’s weird because it doesn’t have anything to do with the lives of the people trying to block it. Like, I guess it would be different if it actually affected their lives, but it doesn’t at all. I don’t even understand why they would want to stand in the way of it. If it interrupted their way of life in some way, then maybe, but it really doesn’t. We’re not asking them to marry anybody. It’s not like they even have to be involved. I don’t get it.
You have been a gay rights advocate for quite some time and have not been ashamed to state your piece in regards to equality. We respect you for that.
Thank you very much. I appreciate that!
You recently attended Bonnaroo. Any crazy stories you can tell us?
Well, I really love to do things like music festivals. It’s so much fun for me! I was there making a music video with Liam Sullivan, who is directing the videos from Cho Dependent, so I was really, really excited to work with him again. We got to have a lot of great cameos – Jack White was in our video as well as Conan O’Brien. It was really, really great.
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Congratulations on the second season of Lifetime Television’s Drop Dead Diva!
Thank you! I am actually in Atlanta, Georgia right now filming Drop Dead Diva. They film out here. The show is set in Los Angeles, but it’s filmed out here. Atlanta is a cool city. It’s pretty queer – which is cool. I never realized that before. Like, you think that on the surface the south is very conservative, but it’s actually not. We also shoot in Peach Tree City, Georgia which is the weird capitol of the tea party. So, the tea baggers are the major force out there – which is really weird. It’s sort of a strange existence to be out here, but I think Atlanta itself is really cool.
You have been performing stand-up since the early 1990’s. Is there anything about the comedy circuit that still surprises you after all of these years?
It’s actually weirdly the same. I think what surprises me is how little it has changed. There are still not a lot of women in comedy and, in fact, it feels like there are fewer women in comedy than ever before. It could just be where I am now in Georgia. I’m hanging out at a lot of the comedy clubs here in Atlanta and there are so few girls and that’s always strange to me and surprises me. I don’t understand why it has always been a male-dominated industry and continues to be. Hopefully that will change sometime. At this point in time, I am surprised that it hasn’t already happened. It’s weird because on top of it, my favorite comedians are female and always have been.
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