Rufus Wainwright Kicks Off Tour, Talks to Paste About Release the Stars :: Music News :: Articles

Last night, Rufus Wainwright kicked off a lengthy tour (see dates below) in Seattle, a trek that will find him crisscrossing the pond a couple times and not coming home for at least the entirety of the summer, all in support of the May 15 release date of his latest album, Release the Stars. Last week, however, Wainwright took a few moments out of his increasingly busy schedule to chat with Paste about Mozart, lederhosen and crazy fairies.

It sounds like you were really trying to do something stripped back with your new album, but then it became much more epic. How did this transformation occur?
I think that's one of the reasons it became epic: I had this intimate approach and was focused on the bones of the songs. In turn, that made the bigger things sound bigger. It gives it real perspective and variation. Some famous composer once said that the most important thing in music is silence. I think that was Mozart. But I also think that this record has that theory involved. It takes breaks and then fuels up again and does its thing.

The other thing is that I was so intent on going to Berlin and recording and becoming this David Bowie/Lou Reed/Iggy Pop character who was serious and hard-edged and heterosexual or whatever. When I arrived, I started wearing lederhosen, eating sausage and going to Wagner operas and visiting palaces. The complete opposite happened to me, I was inundated by German romanticism of the 19th century. Part of it was Germany's fault. As usual, blame Germany.

I was a fool to think that once given the reigns and the time and the focus to produce my own album, I would all of a sudden be able to turn it off and become this stark character. But it was an interesting experience, because it made me realize that when I finally do make that stark record, I won't be able to produce it myself. I'll need someone else to edit me.

How does Release the Stars compare to your past work?
It's kind of like the Olympics. I feel like my past albums were training records. I mean, I love those albums too. My first album was my life, like Introducing Rufus Wainwright. Poses was a hazy experience. Want One and Want Two were when I really got into constructing my sound and my personality. It was very arduous and painful and heartfelt and concentrated - like training. Now, with Release the Stars, I'm on the field and throwing the discus. But it's painless; I'm letting my fingers do the walking.

Do you think people are ready for an album like this?
Undeniably, when you hear this record, it does suck you in whether you like it or not. In my past albums, I'm always trying to prove something. It's like visiting a cathedral; I'm always trying to impress you with what I'm doing. With this record, there's just this "hanging out" feel to it. You can just sit and enjoy it without worshiping it necessarily. I think it's much more accessible, is what I'm saying.

You've made this big album, you've worked on a Judy Garland project, you're doing an opera, what's next? Do you feel like you're hitting your peak?
I'm in the peak area now. I'm sort of skipping from peak to peak. I'm like a crazy fairy. God, that sounded kind of dirty (laughs). I don't know, I guess once I do focus my attention on the opera, that'll be a whole different bag of beans. I do plan to take that on like a fight for my life. That's my passion. And it has nothing to do with publicity or how I look or being radio friendly, it's just for art.

Read Kate Kiefer's feature on Rufus Wainwright in the Scrapbook section of issue 31 of Paste, on newstands now, and coming to PasteMagazine.com soon!

Tour dates:

April
23 - Seattle, Wash. @ Triple Door
25 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Palace of Fine Arts
27 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella
28 - Solana Beach, Calif. @ Belly Up Tavern

May
1 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey
16 - New York, N.Y. @ Barnes & Noble Union Square
19 - Bryn Mawr, Penn. @ Borders
22 - Paris, France @ La Trianon
24 - Portsmouth, England @ Portsmouth Guildhall
25 - Bristol, England @ Bristol Colston Hall
27 - London, England @ Old Vic Theatre
28 - London, England @ Old Vic Theatre
29 - London, England @ Old Vic Theatre
31 - London, England @ Old Vic Theatre

June
1 - London, England @ Old Vic Theatre
5 - New York, N.Y. @ Gramercy Theatre
6 - New York, N.Y. @ Gramercy Theatre
8 - New York, N.Y. @ Gramercy Theatre
9 - New York, N.Y. @ Gramercy Theatre
11 - Toronto, Canada @ Danforth Music Hall
12 - Toronto, Canada @ Danforth Music Hall
14 - Montreal, Canada @ Place des Arts
16 - Boston, Mass. @ Bank of America Pavillion
17 - Columbia, Md. @ Merriweather Post Pavillion
22 - Glastonbury, England @ Glastonbury Festival

July
3 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhagen Opera House
7 - Naas, Scotland @ T in the Park Festival
8 - Dublin, Ireland @ Oxegen Music Festival
10 - Cornwall, England @ The Eden Project

August
4 - Saratoga, Calif. @ Mountain Winery
25 - Highland Park, Ill. @ Ravinia Festival

September
23 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Hollywood Bowl