NEW YORK -- By Billie Rama, Managing Editor 1010wins.com

Being a fan of her music for two decades, I have always wanted to interview Melissa Etheridge.
 
I got the chance last week. Etheridge answered each question like she has answered past interview questions: with passion, honesty and laughter. She opened up about having survived breast cancer, staying healthy on the road, her latest album "The Awakening" and her upcoming "The Revival Tour," which makes a stop in New York City in July. 

Etheridge will be rocking the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Wed July 9, and Thursday July 10.

LISTEN to the Entire Interview Here

Billie Rama: Melissa you released "The Awakening" in September, your first full length studio album since being diagnosed with breast cancer. How has breast cancer changed your life and is that reflected in the album?

Melissa Etheridge: It is everything, it changed everything. The experience of having one of your greatest fears be right in front of you is pretty astounding. And then going through that fear, and seeing it, and then being a person with cancer...and having that whole experience, and coming out on the other end and having actually come through that experience having a spiritual awakening --the process of going through chemotherapy actually took me to a point where my body was on the brink of death and my mind laying there day after day after day finally just thought everything that it could think and it stopped. And I was left with my spirit, this incredible beautiful soul that we all have that is so covered up by our mind and our body and the busy things we do that we comprise our life of. And coming to that, even though it was through this awful experience of cancer and chemotherapy was just a huge gift and it was a life changing experience and this is what I try to relate now through my music and my performances.

Rama: Right. And so would you say that that’s the overall message of the new album?

Etheridge: It’s an awakening. I composed this album and put it together in a way that I hope would take the listener from my beginnings and just tell them my story. Of desiring the fame and fortune, love, and everything. And what happens when you get it. Sort of the illusions of what life would be like out here and then what life really is like and finding myself. That’s the whole album.

Rama: You have a song on the album called “The Universe Listened” and that’s pretty much what you’re talking about.

Etheridge: Yeah, we have all the control, we don’t know it. But we are super powerful human beings and we create our lives. And we have to take responsibility for everything that’s out there. And that’s what the album is about.

Rama: When you wrote “Message to Myself” you listened to all of your old albums, and you talked about darkness and not being in a good place. Was there any particular song or any particular album that was really painful for you to listen to through this process?

Etheridge: Phew, there’s a lot of pain in all my albums.

Rama: Yeah, but they’re great rocking songs though!

Etheridge: Yeah they’re great. A great release. That’s the funny thing. I kept turning these painful experiences into these rocking songs -- this music, and as I performed them in concert it was this great release. I created this awesome thing  for myself to experience and to work through these issues. I think probably listening to Breakdown followed by Skin was probably the hardest point because that was a very low point in my life, and I was really searching...Yeah, that was probably the hardest...Breakdown.

Rama: I think just listening to that, as a fan, you get the feeling of where you were at that place in your life to where you are now.

Etheridge: Yeah.

Rama: On a more positive note do you have a favorite song on the new album?

Etheridge: Oh my…no, but if you said pick one song to play, I would probably play Kingdom of Heaven.

Rama: That’s a great song. Is that song maybe what you’re looking most forward to playing live on the new tour?

Etheridge: Oh I’m looking forward to the whole thing. The way I’ve arranged the tour, the show, is along the same line of a story. I’m gonna tell my life story and I’m going to place all these songs the back catalogue and put them all in there. Well, not all of them -- it’d be a week (laughs).

Rama: Yeah you’d be on stage for about five days which would be ok for a lot of us (laughs).

Etheridge: Yeah, (laughs) some would be fine with that but I need a break. So it’s along the same experience, there’s no one favorite it’s the whole experience of the whole night.

Rama: So how do you pick the songs that you’re going to put in your set list? Because you do have so many.

Etheridge: I find the ones that resonate with what I want to accomplish which is to tell this story. To move people, to inspire people. And I realize there’s a handful of songs when you go to a Melissa Etheridge concert you expect to hear and I’m going to play those because they’re favorites of mine too. 

So, you know I’m going to put those in. And then I look at all the other album tracks and I find the ones that fit the story, fit what I’m doing. And they all do, it’s pretty fun. I’ve got a different set list every night.

Rama: I was going to say do you change it per show?

Etheridge: Oh yeah, yeah. Not only for the audience but for me too. It keeps me from going crazy.

Rama: I remember years ago I saw Sheryl Crow on an interview say if she ever had to sing "All I Wanna Do" again she would scream. Do you have any songs that you say “Oh my God if I have to sing this song one more time I’m going to scream?”

Etheridge: I haven’t reached that yet, but I'm pretty close with that “Come to My Window” song…real close. I wrote that song, it is a part of me, I have a great appreciation for that song, so I’m very grateful when it comes to that song.

Rama: Everybody thinks that's such a love song, but I think you said once “That’s not a love song people!”

Etheridge: (laughs) I know. Well what I love is that I can write a song that means so many different things to many different people and myself. That’s what music is you can take it and it can become whatever you need it to be.

Rama: Right, that is the great thing about music. You’re playing smaller venues on this tour. Do you prefer playing smaller venues to the big arenas?

Etheridge: You know what it’s not about the size of the venue it’s about the audience and the people. It can feel like it’s a thousand people even when its ten thousand people or I can have a small group that’s just as quiet as well you know it doesn’t matter it’s just the audience.

Rama: You’re going to be here in New York City at the Theater at Madison Square Garden on July 9 and 10. Is playing New York different than playing any other cities?

Etheridge: Oh yeah, New York is a special place to play for me. There are a few cities around the world Amsterdam, Chicago, Sydney, Montreal and New York City, that the fans that come to see me, they already know we’re going to have a good time. I have nothing to prove to them.

Rama: Right it’s just an easier show.

Etheridge: And they bring so much to the show that it just starts on a whole other level and it’s wonderful. So I do enjoy playing New York very much.

Rama: Speaking of New York. Any special guests maybe, from across the river, that may be joining you on stage?

Etheridge: I always put it out there. Always checking to see if somebody’s in town. Someday he’ll show up...

Rama: Yeah, someday. If you had a chance to perform with anybody, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Etheridge: You know, it’s funny cause I always walk around going “Oh the next time I get asked that question I’m going to answer this.” And I can never remember what it is. Perform with anybody. I, you know what, I would love to perform with, Oh my God there’s so many people. From like Barbara Streisand to Steven Tyler.

Rama: Steven Tyler...that would be amazing, your voices would be fantastic (together). I thought for sure you would say Joplin.

Etheridge: Yeah?

Rama: Yeah.

Etheridge: I have a different sort of, I don’t want to be on stage with Joplin. I mean, I wouldn’t have turned it down, I certainly wouldn’t. She’s more of an inspiration of how to take your feelings and connect it with your voice and your body and sing the blues in rock and roll. She brought the blues into rock and roll.

Rama: Yeah she really did.

Etheridge: Yeah sure, (laughs) absolutely would love to do that.

Rama: Speaking of Joplin, when you did the Grammys and “Piece of My Heart” that was just so inspiring and so amazing for so many people. Since beating breast cancer how do you stay healthy on the road? I would imagine that would be even more of a challenge.

Etheridge: The way I stay healthy on the road is the way I stay healthy at home. And it’s paying attention to what goes in my body, what I eat. I call it eating closer to the earth. We are human beings we’re in this body we’re spirits in these bodies. To sustain these bodies we need what the earth has to give us. We need food that comes from the earth. Not food that comes from the earth and goes to a factory and becomes something else.

Rama: Yeah makes sense.

Etheridge: Once it gets to you the nutrition, the whole vibration that’s in the food the life all the energy is out of it. So if you find yourself eating food that comes from a building you have a lower level of that. And that’s what leads to imbalance and that’s what leads to disease. I have my own chef which I’m very fortunate to have that. And then also stress is a huge part. You have to watch the stress levels and I have to make sure that my day, everyday, is not overwhelming, that I’m not pushing myself too hard. It’s about finding the peace and happiness in the work and in my everyday.

Rama: How are the twins?

Etheridge: Awesome! It’s almost nap time.

Rama: Is it really? Ok.

Etheridge: It’s good. Twins are very different in that they have each other they have this relationship from day one from in utero they have this relationship. And it’s really cool. They love each other so much and yet they compete with each other and it’s this constant, constant energy.

Rama: So they’re totally in sync but I would imagine totally different as well.

Etheridge: It is a perfect study in the male and female species.

Rama: At such an early age.

Etheridge: I’m here to say that we are different right now.

Rama: In so many ways. So are Tammy and the twins coming on the road with you for the whole tour?

Etheridge: Oh yes big family tour. You bet.

Rama: If someone said to you 15 years ago that you’d be on tour with twins what would you have said to them?

Etheridge: (laughs) I’d say "Uh no way, you’re kidding." But we evolve as people, and I’m a mother and that’s my priority as a mother and I would not never want to be away from my babies for three months, that’s unheard of, impossible.

Rama: You have four kids altogether. Do you plan your tour schedule around school?

Etheridge: Yes I do. That’s why The Awakening came out in October or September and I’m not touring until June because I have to be here for my kids, there’s no other way around it.

Rama: There’s really nothing that’s more important than that.

Etheridge: Nothing at all.

Rama: So you’ve accomplished so much already. You've won an Oscar, you’re a wife, mother, won two Grammies. What’s next? Would you ever considering running, say, for political office?

Etheridge: The more I get involved in it, I some days think “Yeah, yeah this is something I want to do.” I would love to serve the people, I would love to bring about change in our government. Absolutely. The more I get involved I think “Oh my God no, I would never want to do that.”

Rama: (laughs) Am I crazy?!

Etheridge: Exactly. So I go back and forth. It probably will be a question for a long time. Not right now, I need to raise my kids, I don’t need to be of service right now.

Rama: Maybe way down the road.

Etheridge: Yeah, when I’m an older, lesbian stateswoman.

Rama: There you go, you can be the first something.

Etheridge: C’mon, I’m into it.

Rama: I know you are. I saw you on the Logo debate and it was great. How was that experience for you?

Etheridge: Wow, that was really cool because I was very honored and grateful. I know that the reason I got to be there was because I’m just big ol' celebrity me and for that I’m very grateful. I hoped to represent my community as well as I could and maybe bring a personal sight to it. I enjoyed meeting all of the candidates.
 
It’s where I really looked at Dennis Kucinich wow you’re not just a short guy, you actually have the policy and ideas and you are working to bring the change. The only trouble is he’s way ahead of his time. And I swear we are going to look back and go "He was the leader of the peace movement," which is now taking a hold of the whole world and I am very happy to be a part of it. 

And I got to really sit down face to face with Obama and Clinton. I had an opportunity that a lot of people don’t get to have more of a personal interaction with them and if you’re like me you get an impression from someone, and their energy when you’re in the same space as them. I got to do that, and I was very grateful for that.

Rama: You were very lucky to do that. Especially in such an important election year, to be able to get the perspective that you did is a great opportunity. So on that note, have you endorsed anybody?

Etheridge: Yes, I am an Obama Mama.

Rama: An Obama Mama.

Etheridge: Yes and I made that choice on pretty much one thing. 

Rama: What’s that?
 
Etheridge: Because they’re so close on so much else. I believe as an American citizen and as a citizen of the world that one of the greatest issues and greatest problems in our whole society and the way we set up our earth is multi-national corporations, that are really running the governments of the world and are slowly changing our earth into a factory. I know that they have totally taken over our government and special interests. And they don’t even care whether it’s Republicans or Democrats. They really don’t. They have their issues and they have their agendas that they feel are important. 

When I look at Obama and I look at Clinton I believe the Clintons are, and I have seen this through the many years of their public service, that they are close and totally connected with these multi-national corporations. I don’t know about Obama. I imagine because of the money he has in his campaign that he’s tied in to some. Yet I feel he is willing to change and work and he knows that these are some of the problems that we have. So in looking at that, that is why I chose Obama. I think we need a huge change. And the thing about well, he’s not experienced, I think that that’s what I’m voting for -- is that he is not of the old school.

Rama: Yeah, I think a lot of people feel that way. When you hear him, he’s so hopeful, and you think well you know what maybe he can, and we don’t know if he can, but maybe … just maybe.

Etheridge: And maybe we can. And maybe when we become a country that has elected this president. That we will rise up and change. And that’s what’s happening right now. I think we’re in the middle of one of the greatest times in history. And we’re going to look back and we’re going to be able to tell our grandchildren that we brought about this change.

Rama: I hope so.

Etheridge: I believe it. You gotta believe it. When you’re a cancer survivor it’s now, you need it now.

Rama: And that’s what’s changed your perspective?

Etheridge: Yeah.

Rama: What would you like someone who doesn’t know anything about Melissa Etheridge to know about Melissa Etheridge?

Etheridge: That you don’t have to be gay to like my music.

Rama: (laughs) Do you know what’s so funny, when I told people at the station that I was interviewing you, one of the first thing somebody said was “When she plays concerts is it just a gay crowd?” It just blows my mind to this day people still ask that.

Etheridge: I know, because I have never been just a gay crowd ever. I mean, yeah the first couple rows by the end of the show, they’re pretty gay (laughs). But everybody else, all my fans are so different, different races, different ages, the couples, the men and women, the men and men, the women women. It’s everything, it’s a lovely mix of people. And I think that if you enjoy a couple of my songs and you think “I’d like to go but uh yea the gay thing.” Really, just don’t even let that, you will not notice. I mean you might notice a little more freedom in people but it’s certainly not something to keep you away.

Rama: It shouldn’t. You put on such an amazing show. And your concerts are fun.

Etheridge: It’s lots of spirit, it’s about the heart.

Rama: Melissa Etheridge thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us today.

Etheridge: Well thank you, I appreciate it and have a wonderful day.

Rama: You too, and good luck with the tour.

Photos of Etheridge from Leopold Management.