LOS ANGELES – Peaches hit Cinefamily in L.A. last night to promote her movie “Peaches Does Herself,” which is “an electro rock opera stage show that recounts a mythical history of Peaches and follows her journey from bedroom musician-wannabe to rock star.” The film features a 65-year-old stripper, a body suit with breast and penis prosthesis, spandex orgies, gore and full-frontal transsexual porn star and performer Danni Daniels.
“…The most beautiful human being possible,” as Peaches said of the latter during our interview.
It’s easy to remember the visuals of the musical film, along with its choreography, and that’s part of the reason why it’s hard to forget Peaches herself. An icon in the queer community, Peaches uses sexuality, fashion and lyricism as an affront, in “Does Herself” as much as she has in concerts since the late-’90s.
“Peaches Does Herself” is as provocative (and funny) a title as some of her best-known songs, including “Boys Want to Be Her,” “Fatherf*cker,” “Impeach My Bush,” “F*ck the Pain Away,” “Shake Yer Dix.” However, the film, appropriately, ends with a salute to herself, the song “The Teaches of Peaches,” as she flees from a theater onto a customized bicycle, covered in fake blood with her privates having “exploded.” It sounds like a genre film — and it is, though it defies such a convention.
And now it’s years behind her (the film, that is). The ambitious “Peaches Does Herself” was made over a year that ultimately led up to its premiere at the Toronto Film Fest in 2012, and it’s only now making more rounds in theaters and at various venues.
The gender-bending performer said she’s moved on, mentally, from the musical and is now heading into her next album. When we spoke in the middle of last month, she had two ideas for songs, and plans on having something new for 2014.
“It’s just one day you’re not working on music, then suddenly you are,” she said. “So here I am.” She said she wants to lean away from more “messaging” music (like “Impeach…” very much was) and “getting to have fun again.”
As you’ll see in the video above, Peaches has some “teaches” left for style too, as she always has. I thought it’d be fun to give her a celebrity magazine to leaf through, to talk about celebrities and fashions that she loves (FYI, she chose “People” over “In Touch”). While she said she didn’t feel “up” on American pop culture much due her years living as an American transplant in Berlin, the 46-year-old did have quite a few nice things to say about Janelle Monae, Tilda Swinton, Diane Keaton, plus had some notes on “acting your age” and how she views her own look.
We talked about contemporary hip-hop artists are using “electro music” in their songs more than ever. Peaches said she loves Nicki Minaj’s rise in the rap world, and — despite some misogyny and LGBT-unfriendly lyricism — she adores rhymers like Tiga.
“Oh, isn’t that terrible?” she joked, as we discussed “Rack City.” “Maybe he could use a tip.”