She's Delicious!

What better way to start 2010 than with an exclusive interview. Back in 2007 I featured one of my faves from the past, Pure Sugar here on the blog. After some digging around I was able to locate lead singer Jennifer Starr. Here goes...

10 QUESTIONS WITH MILK CARTON POP STARS

1. You are a hard woman to find! After some digging around I was finally able to track you down! You are now a photographer. Have you always been involved in photography or is this a newer form of expression for you?

Ha yes well...I go by Jenstarr now...but I still like to be called Jennifer too:) While I was doing music in Hollywood with various producers as a teenager, I also did hair and make-up for several photographers. After my record deal and the events that went down during and after the making of "Pure Sugar", I had to go into "survival mode". So I picked it up again (hair and make-up). The difference was, I really felt that I needed more, so I started shooting. My now fiance' Sean Bolger, is a wonderful photographer! He gave me a digital camera 6 years ago and pointed me in the right direction.

2. Tell our readers a little about you. Where are from? Is Jennifer Starr your real name?

I am from LA born and raised. My parents were artists and musicians. Due to my fast tracked and supercharged personality, I left home early on to pursue my dreams of dancing and singing. I worked as a dancer in several gay nightclubs and did hair out of my apartment in the Hollywood hills to make a living. It was a fun and free time, but it was the 80s..lol and I was a "disco dolly" so it was a rocky road for several years but I kept pushing and got a break with "Pure Sugar". My real name is Jennifer Storr, but my teachers growing up always read roll call wrong. They thought my last name was Starr....and I liked it, so it stuck. I am photographer now, I shoot fashion, music, and beauty.

Jenstarr in action behind the lens. (Photo by Erika Petty)

3. Correct me if I'm wrong but back in 1995 you appeared on the compilation 'Luminescence' with the track 'Hurting' Inside'. Was this your first recording?

This was my first released recording/remix of a track I wrote with a producer named John Wilmer. We wrote and recorded several song throughout the late 80's but that one he remixed and released on that compilation. Wow! You are good! :) (Found out this tidit thanks to discogs.com)

4. Let's take a trip back in time. I was working at a clothing store in college and I saw a tall woman wearing very little shoot lasers from her hands on the video screen backed by a sick dance beat and a booming voice. The song was called "Delicious" and a love affair w/ my ears began. How did you end up becoming the voice for Pure Sugar?

I was in a band called "The Zen Cowboys" in 1994, they had released an album called "Electric Mistress" (AMAZING ALBUM!!) and I was on stage singing at the Viper room one night freestyle and they were there gearing up for their US tour. They asked, actually demanded (LOL) me to join them on tour. So I did. It was the BEST experience ever! I sang with a girl then named Therase Willis, one of the best singers I have ever heard. She changed me on that tour. Really helped me find my live voice. So as I was touring with Zen Cowboys one night a band friend Pete Lorimer came to a show. I think it was House of Blues. Anyhow, he asked me to join Pure Sugar soon after that. So as the Cowboys tour was winding down, I went into the studio with Pete and Richard Vision and started working on "Pure Sugar".

5. "Very Cherry" would make a great drag queen name wouldn't you say? I honestly believe the Pure Sugar album is one of THE best dance albums ever recorded. In fact I still listen to it on a regular basis all these years later. I think it was mainly due to its exploration of different dance sounds. Looking back on that album what are your thoughts about it now?

I think it's a GREAT drag name! LOL. One of my best friends in the whole wide world wrote that track, Jim Harry. He has 2 Grammy nominations this year for P!nk's album. Well, to go into all of my thoughts on this album would be long. I have not listened to the album completely through in over a decade. In all of the good that I experienced in the process of that project, there was a lot which was extremely painful having to due with creative differences, industry politics, and the way I was handled as an artist by certain people around me. I mean the "Delicious" video budget was around two dollars. LOL. I LOVE the song "Delicious" and several of the tracks on the record. You are right. It was very diverse, and that was a realy strong point to the album I believe. A year ago, A close friend of mine, Tryan, was driving home from dinner and played a song I wrote "Broken" and it was surreal because I wrote that song out of so much pain that I was going through...and hearing that song was bitter/sweet. But mostly happy to hear it and felt like "wow, I should listen to my album sometime". LOL.

6. Was there ever a follow up planned to Pure Sugar's debut? Have you recorded anything since Pure Sugar?

There would have been...we had a #1 in Japan and we did scale the charts with 3 songs off the album as well. We also won "Best Dance Group in the World" at the Winter Music Dance Conference and back in 1998, that was the equivilent to a "Grammy's Dance Catagory" as they did not have one up until 1999. And there was a strong fan base that I felt "got it and loved it" and understood what I was trying to do. Because of the struggle I was going through as a "recording artist" having a vision and not being able to fully see it through, I had fallen sick in the midst of making the album and touring which created a huge issue with needing to get well. YES I play around with music and sing all the time for fun. I love looking at who is out there now, and what makes them special. But now, I see these musicians and I want to photography them in a way they will never be shot again. I understand a part of them and what they are doing and going through.

7. How does music play into your life these days? Please tell me you are still singing. That voice NEEDS to be heard again!

You are very sweet. I love shooting and I shoot to all kinds of great music. My house is filled with music at all times, and for me, it will always be my first and greatest love. I can't say I would ever do it as a profession again. The politics of the industry are bizarre. It's no wonder artists like Britney Spears have those "shave your head" moments. The rules make no sense, and it's hard to be ones self in trying to please the business side of things. So you end up taking various paths you did not ever imagine yourself taking just to stay in the game and in that process you can crash hard internally. It would have killed me eventually even if I am speaking metaphorically. LOL, no lie. My art is something I must feel I am in control and sync with. Every time I shoot, I am free of all boundaries and limits and all that matters is the art and the relationship I am having with it from beginning to end.

8. Everyone wants to know how that big black woman's voice got inside your tiny body. Who did Jennifer Starr listen to growing up?

Well that's a compliment. Thank you. I listened to a lot of jazz and classical growing up. My father was into this "beat nick" style of listening to music and it influenced me. I am grateful he played those artists in our home. It was a great education. But as a kid, I loved Donna Summer and Debbie Harry, Dale Bozio from Missing Persons, and Martha Wash, Chaka Kahn, Mary J Blige, Prince..so many!

9. Going back to your current profession. How does music play a part in your photography? Have you ever sung to your subjects?

LOL. Well, I listen to a lot while shooting and I love french 60's Jazz, classical, old school house (Black box), 80's new wave, Runaways, Prince, Funkadelic, Michael Jackson, 60's Joplin, Hendrix, Beatles, Beyoncé, early Madonna. The list goes on and on. No I don't sing to my subjects. But a few of them sing for me. I like to get my subjects so comfortable they feel they can do anything. :)

Current photo of Jennstar. (Photo by Sean Bolger)

10. Thanks again for taking time out to do this interview. Is there anything you'd like to tell your fans and our readers?

Thank you. Yes, I would like to thank "Pure sugar" fans for enjoying my work in Pure Sugar. It has always been my mission to inspire in any and all ways that I can. Life is a gift, treat yourselves good and enjoy the fruits of your work and endeavors and don't ever stop believing in yourself! I love you so very much....I really do.

I'd like to thank the lovely JenStarr for taking the time to answer my questions. She was a delight! Please make sure you check out her amazing work at her official website @ www.jenstarrphoto.com.

Stacey Q

We have an exclusive interview for all our readers today! STACEY Q! Stacey Q is a long time fave of many of our collaborators here at Milk Carton Pop Stars. She has just released her new single Trip from her forthcoming album Color Me Cinnamon. It is with great pleasure that we bring to you our very first phone interview. I apologize for the sound, as it was our first time doing this, we had a few technical difficulties and had to put Miss Q on speakerphone. How many times can I say the word "awesome"? Find out for yourself! Transcript to come shortly! Thanks again to our dear friend Shawn (1/2 of Hydra Productions) for setting this up and for Stacey for being a total doll! Don't forget to order your Trip single at perfectbeat.com and to checkout Stacey's fabulous site @ staceyqonline.com! Tell 'em Milk Carton Popstars sent ya!

Stacey Q Interview
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Chasing Keedy

It was the summer of 1991 and a new voice was taking the Billboard charts by storm with her debut single Save Some Love. That singer was Keedy who after cracking the Top 20, released a follow-up, Wishing On A Same Star. Both these songs were featured on Keedy's debut album Chase The Clouds which was released on Arista Records in 1991. Like many acts of this era, it seemed as if Keedy had quietly faded away into pop obscurity. Now let me just say that Keedy holds a special place for two of our contributors (myself and ChicagoSexBox) , because just like Keedy we all hail fom Milwaukee, WI and grew up listening to her. On a personal note I am beyond geeked to be bringing you this Milk Carton Pop Stars exclusive interview. So what is Mootown's First Lady of Song up to these days? Well let's find out! Without further ado...

10 QUESTIONS WITH KEEDY



Keedy Arista Records promotional picture circa 1991 (Photo courtesy of Keedy & Royce Hall)

1. Welcome to Milk Carton Pop Stars Keedy! We are honored to have you here. Your debut single "Save Some Love" became a Top 20 smash during the spring of 1991. It remains one of my favorite songs of all time, tell us how this song came about.

Thank you it’s great to be here. I love reading about other artists and their stories, so it’s fun to be a part of the gang.

Well… “Save Some Love” was written by Greg Gerard during a time when I was in the Milwaukee based band GERARD. Greg and his brother Bill Gerard had been recording songs with a number of different singers in the band and the idea was if one of us could get a foot in the door we could help the rest of the gang. “Save Some Love” and “Lazy Day” were the songs that caught the ears of record industry people.



“Save Some Love” was written about two members in the band that had an on-again off-again relationship. I always loved the solo and the bridge section in that song and to this day it still makes me happy to hear it.

2. Two of our contributors (myself included) are from your hometown of Milwaukee. Tell us about growing up & how music played a part in that.

I grew up all over the place because my dad worked for UPS and we were transferred every 5 years it seemed. Music was my one constant friend that I had wherever I went. I would sit in my room for hours listening to my latest favorite records or the radio count down and I would play piano and guitar dreaming about playing for people. My uncle Buddy who played guitar with guys like Don Rich (Buck Owens) was my first influence with music. I believe Buddy had the greatest impact on my journey in music. Milwaukee was the last stop on the UPS transfer program for me, my parents had to move onto Connecticut but I was in Gerard and doing what I loved, so I considered Milwaukee my home even though I was born in Texas.

3. What led to you getting a record deal w/ Arista?

Lisa Wells at Geffen Publishing heard “Lazy Day” and loved it. She flew to Milwaukee and came to a Gerard performance and signed Greg and I to a publishing contract. She then contacted Mitchell Cohen at Arista and said you have to hear this… at that point (I’m not sure if this is true or not but it’s what I was told) Mitchell was playing “Save Some Love” and Clive Davis walked by his door and heard the song and said who is that… go find her… within a few months I was signed to a record deal with Arista.



4. You also released a second single which also charted on the Billboard Hot 100, "Wishing On The Same Star". After your debut album reached it's peak, so to say, fans were naturally expecting a follow up to "Chase The Clouds". What happened?

Diane Warren wrote “Wishing On The Same Star” and I was asked by Clive to give it a chance. The week it came out Bryan Adams’s song “(Everything I Do) I Do For You” was being played and a number of the radio stations went with the Bryan Adams song as there wasn’t enough room in their play lists for another new ballad. My manager (at the time) and I took off on a radio road trip and hit every radio station we could from Milwaukee to Florida trying to get support for the record but we kept running into the same questions “why should we play your record when your own home town’s Top 40 radio station isn’t playing it. The main radio station in Milwaukee decided they weren’t going to play it because it wasn’t “Sorry” which was the song THEY liked and if we could get the record company to release that one they would lend their support (nice of them huh?). After a couple of weeks I was told that support for “Wishing On The Same Star” was being pulled because Whitney Houston’s new record was having trouble, and all the label’s resources had to go to helping her record out. “Wish On The Same Star” fizzled out and the end of “Chase The Clouds” came shortly after.

Greg and I then moved to Los Angeles and wrote and demoed over 100 songs for the follow up to “Chase The Clouds”. Arista had to accept 6 songs before they would start recording the second record. They would like 4 and then say you need 3 more like this one and so on and so on. Then we found out that there was a shift in management at Arista and we were lost in the shuffle. My new A&R guy didn’t believe in what we were doing and hip-hop was taking off as was Nirvana and grunge. After trying to get the second record off the ground for several years it was apparent that I needed to be released from any dealings with Arista. It was a liberating feeling and the end of that chapter of my life. “And what an amazing chapter it was!”

5. What little info I was able to find out about your whereabouts, I see you used to perform w/ a band called The Orphans in Milwaukee. Were you involved w/ any other groups and/or projects over the years?

I have been involved with lots of projects over the years. Mostly involving writing and recording but for a number of years I played with The Orphans and had a great time doing 70’s folk, country and rock tunes. I really learned how to play rhythm guitar in that band. During that time I wrote with two of my friends Mykl Stanley and Alec Miller. We wrote every week for a couple of years and I felt real growth as a writer.

A current photo of Keedy & her husband Royce Hall (photo courtesy of Keedy & Royce Hall)



6. I was very happy to find out that you are still making music. Can you tell us about your current project?

For the last six years I have been writing, recording and playing with my husband Royce Hall. We write and record when inspiration hits us and then post the songs on myspace. One thing I wouldn’t do again is get mixed up with a major label and have them get between me and my feelings for music. (You know… no suits in the art department!)

7. Are there any upcoming gigs that fans can check out? Any plans to release any new music?

We aren’t doing any gigs right now as we have multiple things on our plate but we are thinking of doing a video podcast or something of that nature in the future. As for new music we are always writing and recording but only some of it makes it to myspace.

If we had the inclination to pursue music full time we would want to put out CDs and end up on Austin City Limits with radio airplay on The World Café. But to do that you have to work so hard that all other areas of your life get put on hold and life’s just too much fun right now to do that.

8. Other than music is there anything else that you are passionate about?

Royce & I have an antique business and we go out treasure hunting for collectibles. I have also been making art out of buttons and newspaper and taking photos.



9. I finally just saw the video for "Save Some Love" after all these years! Itunes has it for purchase and I immediately purchased it. You were rockin' the early 90s fashions like there was no tomorrow! Any stories you'd like to share about the filming of the video?

The director wanted it to be a take on the 1954 Fellini film “La Strada”. It was shot in LA at the Sepulveda dam, where a lot of movies were and are shot. It was a two-day shoot. And it may seem crazy when you watch it but the day outside at the Sepulveda dam it was freezing cold. There is also a part where I’m roller-skating but you can’t see my skates… J The zebra and camel had a little fight. Oh and the day before we started shooting I thought I would be really cool and go and get the longest red finger nails I could, when I walked in and the stylist saw them I thought she was going to faint. So it was a seriously nutty time just like the video.

10. Keedy thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. Any final words for your fans and our readers?

Thank you for keeping “Chase The Clouds” alive, you have been a beautiful light in my life for a long time and I thank you for giving me so much.

I'd like to give a huge thanks to Keedy and her hubby Royce for being so generous in helping get this interview done. For all you fans out there, make sure and visit Keedy and Royce's myspace page @ http://www.myspace.com/roycekeedy. Tell 'em Milk Carton Pop Stars sent ya!

Chris Cuevas

Many times while researching a lost pop star, we come to find that an artist is still performing. Such was the case w/ early 90s recording artist Chris Cuevas.



Chris released his debut album in 1991 on Atlantic Records. Some of you may remember his singles Hip Hop, Somehow, Someway and his duet w/ Deborah "Debbie" Gibson Someday. After wondering whatever happened to him, we recently found him on myspace.

With that said, I decided to try something new here at Milk Carton Pop Stars...our first ever interview! I'd like to say a big thank you to Chris for taking the time to answer our questions. Without further ado...

10 QUESTIONS WITH MILK CARTON POP STARS



1. Hi Chris, welcome to Milk Carton Pop Stars. Tell us where you are from and where you grew up?
Long Beach, Mississippi... Lived there until 1990

2. How did you get started singing?
I grew up in a musical family, so I started out singing at birth I think...

3. Who were your musical influences growing up?
Journey, Hank JR, Waylon Jennings, Inxs, U2

4. In 1991 you released a pop album on Atlantic Records. How did that come about?
My dad got intouch with Diane Gibson, Deborah's Mom. At the time Diane was her manager. She liked what she heard so I played for Atlantic and the relationship started.

Chris & Deborah's video for "Someday"...




5. "Someday", the duet you did w/ Deborah Gibson is a gorgeous song. What was it like working together and do you still keep in touch?
Thank you, It was a honor working with her on that song. I'll never forget the first time I played it for her. She loved it, we then played it for Atlantic and it was included on the record. We catch up every once in while.

6. You've been under the pop radar for quite some time, what did you do after you debut album?
I went on a world tour with Deborah, reaching from NY to LA, and Europe to Asia. Once the record reached it's peek, I decided to pursue writing because of the change in pop music at the time.

7. Can you tell us about your new musical direction and where you are based nowadays?
My new music is where my hearts always been, Country Pop. I'm based out of Mobile, Alabama.

8. Do you play any regular gigs? I am sure some of our readers would love to check out your act live!
I do play spot gigs from time to time. Just check out my myspace page...

9. Do you still have any diehard fans from back in the day?
I really don't know. But would love to hear from them.

10. What's the wildest rumour you've heard about yourself over the years?
Can't really recall any.....that wild...........

Any final words for our readers and your fans?
Yeah, To those who read this...Thank you for your support over these years and believing in my music. Who knows, maybe real soon I'll have another shot at the dream I've always been chasing.

Thanks again,

Chris Cuevas

Don't forget to check out Chris's myspace page! Tell him Milk Carton Pop Stars sent ya!