Macy Gray: You know who she is
There is no simple way to describe her.
She’s crazy talented, a little crazy, very shy, and smarter than you would expect.
Way smarter!
I got to know her in the late ‘90s, spilling into the early 2000s, as we toured around the world together. Her record, “On How Life Is” exploded, eventually selling over 7 million records. It felt like we were never home. At one point I frequented the same restaurants in New York and London so often that the owners began to know me by name.
And despite the amount of time that I spent with her, I was always a little intimidated by Macy. I could never put my finger on it because she was kind to me, always asking in that raspy voice of hers, “How you doing today?” Most nights ended with some of us from the tour in her hotel room, watching movies and ordering room service.
But it wasn’t until the end of my time with her that we finally had one of those conversations that made us friends. I had to leave the tour early and I didn’t feel good about it. Somewhere in England I knocked on her hotel door to let her know. After mowing through room service we spent half the night talking life, religion, family troubles, and how to make the world a better place.
A few years later I worked on a Gap commercial where the high-minded production team treated the crew horribly. My friend Tom and I were subject to what we called, “The week that we died and went to hell.” Normally this particular production team hired a different audio vendor, but we’d just finished another commercial for Gap and the clothing company preferred us.
Needless to say there was tension.
So when Macy arrived, the producers paraded her around the set like she was royalty. They expected us to bow down before her eternally funky throne.
It was a dark stage and she didn’t see me standing behind a group of other technicians. Typical of her, she smiled shyly, but didn’t say much as she was introduced. When the director finished his diatribe about nothing-I-would-ever-care-about . . . I spoke up and said to Macy, “What? That’s all I get?” The director nearly went nuts. I’m certain that if he could have killed me with his mind, he would have. But then Macy smiled, stepped forward and hugged me, which completed diffused the situation. Funny thing, but that’s the sort of righteous justice we all dream about and movies are made into.
Nice when it happens for real!
Thanks, Macy…:)
Randomly, I’d run into her around town: once at the same valet. The last time I saw her she was backstage at Chelsea Lately with Laverne Cox from Orange is the New Black. Classic Macy style, she was shy, but warm. It was good to see her.
I sometimes hope that we get another chance to have a repeat of that conversation back in England, because those are the things that really matter. Those are the special moments when a connection is made and you make a friend.
Without further ado, Macy Gray…
Q: What is your favorite sandwich and who makes the best one?
M.G. Oh that’s a good question. I hate to say it, but Subway, ‘cause I can tell them exactly how I like it.
Q: What is your favorite meal your mom makes?
M.G. Steak and rice with macaroni and cheese. It’s so good. We sit there all day, full.
Q: How did you meet your best friend?
M.G. At a club. We were hanging out there…All my answers are so boring … I wish I could say something like “on the moon.”
Q: When or how did you find what you wanted to do?
M.G. Just doing it, really. I guess. I came out to L.A. from Ohio to be a screenwriter, but then music sort of happened.
Q: How did you pursue it?
M.G. Going to studios; hanging out. Watching lots of musicians doing shows. Started really loving it. It grew on me. I’m working on a screenplay actually.
Q: What would you say to your 15-year-old self?
M.G. Get out of here. You fucking … get the fuck out of here.
Q: If life were a person, what would you say?
M.G. I’d say, “Go easy.”
Q: If you were in charge of the world and you had no restrictions, real or imagined, what is the one thing you would give it?
M.G. I don’t know. I hate violence. I’d find a way to give the world a reason to stop beating each other up. I don’t know how I would do that, but I’d take violence away.
Q: Has morality disintegrated to the point that we now need Yelp for people?
M.G. What would that do? I don’t know how that would help people. I don’t know about Yelping people and I don’t know if it would help that much.
Q: Do we still need religion?
M.G. (Pauses) Yeah.
Q: Do you think we need a new religion or should the old ones get it together?
M.G. No, I just think it’s important that you have a personal relationship with God. Don’t depend on your church or pastor to speak for you. Some people really think that it’s their pastor who prays for them. That it’s okay. I personally don’t believe in religion, but I believe in God. You know people make up this shit. Some dude just made up some stuff. It’s just some dude’s perspective. They get a bunch of people to listen to them, like L. Ron Hubbard. [In a] documentary he said, “The only way to make any real money is to start a church.” That was the most profound thing I got out of all that. It’s such a hustle, you know. And you get all that cash every Sunday. That made me think of the old church that I used to go to. What a baller the pastor was. He drove a Bentley, so I can’t really trust if it’s motivated properly. I don’t know. Maybe God is overwhelmed.
Q: Do you have hope for the future?
M.G. Yeah, for sure.
Hot topic of the week:
This is an open discussion. Could be Gay marriage or Confederate flag, Donald Trump, for example.
M.G. Trump: It’s been such a soap opera. I can wait to see who wins. The tragedy is going to be when we wake up and we have a new president. You know it’s been like watching a reality TV show. I don’t know. It’s kind of scary. Trump supporters don’t care about what Paul Ryan is doing. Trump just talks in their terms whether they’re racists or not. You know when Hillary speaks, she’s talking about Benghazi and who cares. Nobody even really knows what that shit is. We just want to know if we have a job next year or not and Trump is good at that. I think that’s why he might get ahead.
I don’t know why the Democrats don’t catch onto that, but I think that’s why Trump might win.
