Inspired by his Costa Rican and American roots, Billboard charting queer Singer Songwriter Bobby Blue will transcend you through the roof with 4 octaves and his Latin-filtered, acoustic, re-imagined covers that blend beautifully with his infectious original songs. An evening with Bobby Blue is filled with audience conversation, laughter, romance, Latin haunts with Classic Country themes and ground busting Rockabilly.
While Bobby tells us more about his cover of Madonna’s “Don’t Tell Me,” he dives deep into the importances of being an out queer musician.
Who are some of your musical influences?
When you say “musical” I am thinking more about composition. I mean I loved Madonna since I was a kid, but it was Sinead O’Connor that made me perk up and start thoroughly listening to music for more than bounce and visuals. Bjork is so experimental and she taught me to listen to the rhythms in nature. KD Lang was a voice I could identify with. Her Shadowlands album has so much reference to Latin-styled music and though I discovered the album late it was also about the same time I picked up a Julieta Venegas album; absolutely one of the greatest performers from Mexico of our time. Her concerts are pure high energy fun!
Also, legendary underground Psychedelic Folk artist Lisa Germano has a huge influence on my lyrical approach. She’s fearless and has quite a story to tell… not a happy one but absolutely poetic. I can’t leave out that my family loved music from ABBA in Spanish to Mexican Huapangos, Cumbia, and my dad loved his Classic Country. A huge album in our household was Linda Ronstadt’s Canciones de mi Padre. A collection of Mexican classics. Her voice is nuts! I sing a few songs from that album in my show. My mother and Madonna were very visual people so I was also very influenced by that. My mother was so daring in her style!
Name a perfect song and tell us why you feel that way.
The perfect song isn’t so hard to narrow down. Picking one is the problem. I’m a sucker for getting along and togetherness. The perfect song is something we can all sing, and the sentiment is unmatched but “This Land is Your Land” makes me cry almost every time. I’m a big “happy cryer.” If something moves me happy or sad I will swell up!
Honestly, I also love “O Holy Night.” I’m not a Christian but what a lovely thought that is. I can’t make it through the 2nd verse without blubbering, but it’s not something everyone should sing. I mean, have you ever been in a gay piano bar when they sing that song? It’s a crazy duel of the divas, 20 gay men all Mariah-ing out. Kinda entertaining… can’t lie.
Does your song have an overarching theme?
“Don’t Tell Me,” my new song is all about the arc.
I don’t know what Joe Henry and Madonna meant with it. Joe Henry said that he needed to try out some new recording equipment and he wrote a quick little ditty for testing. He’s married to Madonna’s sister Melanie. When Melanie heard the song she sent it to Madonna and she did her amazing thing with it.
“Don’t Tell Me” is top 3 of my absolute favorite Madonna songs. When she sings it live she says it’s “a song about love”. To me it’s a song about loving and respecting yourself, even standing up for yourself.
The music video is edited and pieced together of an old movie from 1916 called Hell’s Hinges. The story is about a trouble-makin’ cowboy that falls for a person who showed him the light/love/God (whatever you want to call it) in himself and now will do anything to protect this discovery so he burns down his old life and moves on.
What is your vision for a more just music industry?
When I was younger the hardest thing was being gay in music circles. Sometimes I feel like I missed out because now to be Queer and a musician is an attribute. I’m so proud of Lil Nas X for being so outspoken and love that he’s so popular. Although, we have made some big leaps I think the same prejudices are still there.
Everyone says they are so accepting and “gay friendly”, but when you actually bring your gay life to these liberal straight guy musicians it still makes a lot of them very uncomfortable. Back then and still today, people don’t want to be in a band with a gay person because then the band would be seen as a “gay band”. I will give them credit for trying though. We all have our own baggage and handle things in our own personal way. This is where peoples ideas and reactions come from.
Lately, I’ve been practicing having empathy being my first reaction, not easy. I also have been reading the Tao Te Ching again and trying to apply those theories as well.
My vision for the music industry is a multi-cultural one where we are all sharing our techniques, instruments and styles. Also, to recognize true artists, not only who paid for marketing. My mother and father always told me to never give money to someone that wanted to make me a star because it’s most likely a scam. Unfortunately, that isn’t true… You can pay someone to make you a star.
How do you feel your queer identity ties into your performance style or music?
When you have a microphone in your hand and up on a stage I feel you have a responsibility to speak up and say something just. I believe as a whole it takes a lot of my queer muscle to do what I do. I don’t like to be mistaken for a straight person so I make being gay and Latin very clear in my writing and performance.
I used to feel bad about my flamboyance. I was the youngest in a huge family of cousins and I was always seen as the “annoying little boy”. I’m a big personality and it was hard to learn to love that in myself.
I went to a gay coach’s seminar once a few years ago and this wonderful person/coach made me realize that it’s the “annoying little boy” who is on stage, and see that I love to perform and the “annoying little boy” was my secret super power. This was this part of me that led me to do what I love. This discovery made me bigger, gayer, louder, and more indulgent on stage. I don’t think I “try” to put queerness in my art. I am my art, my art is me and I am queer. I AM FLAMING! Just watch me burn!
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