College Times

Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Music

Media Credit: Courtesy A & M Records

With apologies to My Chemical Romance, the biggest draw at this year's Tempe Music Festival has got to be Fergie.

The singer, rapper and actress has been one of the most talked about female celebrities since shooting to fame in 2003 as the newest member of the Black Eyed Peas.

Her solo album, The Dutchess, was released in 2006 and has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide and spawned three Number 1 singles.

College Times recently spoke to Fergie about her role in the Tempe Music Festival, as well as acting, fishing and exactly what the hell "green juice" is.

College Times: How did you get involved with the Tempe Music Festival?

Fergie: They just approached my management. I'm doing a lot of "one-stop shop" dates - things that sound really good to me… I've heard about (Tempe Music Festival) and I love the festival environment because what you get is a smorgasbord of music, which is always interesting to me. Coming from doing that with the Black Eyed Peas a lot, I love that, because I get to see different bands and different acts and get really inspired. I get to see certain acts that I probably normally wouldn't get to see, because I'm traveling around all the time.

Did you have any say in any of the other acts appearing here?

No. I want to know who's performing.

Well, My Chemical Romance is probably the...

Oh that's right. They're the night before me though. Yeah. I love them.

Do you know the Gin Blossoms and the Meat Puppets?

Yeah!

They're both originally from here.

Oh my gosh, really? That's so cool. Wow. I love that. I went on tour with the Police over in Australia and I was thinking "Okay, me and the Police doesn't sound like a match that's perfect. It's kinda strange." So I added this huge rock medley into my set and it really suits me. I've really kind of found my own in that department, so I'm really excited to play that at this festival… I'm slowly but surely adding more rock 'n' roll to my set, because I'm finding that onstage, it's really comfortable for me. I've always been a huge fan of rock 'n' roll - Guns 'n' Roses, Led Zeppelin, classic rock has been a huge staple in my life. But also, I'm doing this new project with Will.i.am. You know the "Iron Man" movie with Robert Downey Jr.? We're doing the soundtrack and we're doing it all rock-based. We're using players like Slash and Travis Barker and just creating this kind of "classic rock" feel to the whole thing. I'm doing a lot of different songs from different artists like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix. Just a lot of different rock feels and it's just all gonna complement the movie. I'm really excited about that because it's kind of a novelty thing we're doing.

When you play one-off shows like these, do you try to spend any more time in the cities, shopping, sightseeing or whatever, or do you just fly in and out?

If I can, I will. I'm going to be flying in from New York for my birthday, so I don't think I'll be able to spend a lot of time, but I've been to Arizona a lot. I don't know how far Tempe is from Lake Havasu, (but) I used to go there for spring break and Labor Day weekend in high school. That was my big vacation spot.

If we got a hold of your rider, what's the weirdest or funniest request we'd find on there?

Gosh, mine's pretty healthy. Green juice is on there, and it's really interesting, because I'll go to different countries and the color of the green in the juice varies from country to country, because some of them don't know what I'm talking about. It goes from store-bought, already mixed to some weird, green foam on top of some murky looking water. You never know what you're going to get.

Is that a brand, Green Juice™?

No, it's just - I get Trader Joe's Essential Greens, because it's hard to get my greens on tour, my vegetables. I try to eat really healthy. It's just interesting to see what people perceive as "green juice." Just like you said, "What is green juice?" It's like orange juice, but made with greens.

Do you have any big summer tour plans?

No, I've just decided to do more spot dates this year, because I'm staying really busy. I've got my Kipling bag commitments. I'm doing "American Idol - Idol Gives Back." I'm doing a bunch of different shows throughout. I'll do a three-day run and then come home. I'm doing a voice for "Arthur and the Invisibles," the animation movie. I'm also having a birthday party with Quentin Tarantino in New York, on March 27. We have the same birthday, so we're planning that. I'm also reading scripts right now, looking at scripts and thinking about possibly doing a feature.

You've had supporting roles in "Poseidon" and "Planet Terror." Would you eventually like to make the transition to leading roles like J-Lo?

Definitely, definitely. But it's all about timing, because I have to be able to have enough time to do the work. I've studied theatre and I know the thought process and the work that goes into playing a really good character. I just wouldn't want to take a role just because of my celebrity. You know, just because I can get a role because I know so-and-so or because of my name. I want to be able to play really good characters. Some people go certain routes and other people go others. That's just the route I want to take because, like I said, I studied it and it's something that I'm passionate about and I want to do a really good job.

If you could live the life of any other celebrity for a few days, who would you choose?

(laughs) Probably Larry David from "Curb Your Enthusiasm." You know, he has a house on this huge golf course, The Riviera, on the 18th hole. He plays golf and he's got all that "Seinfeld" money and he just - I feel like that dude lives the life.

Plus you'd get to be kinda jerky to everyone all day.

Right, and you get to be nasty to everyone and nobody can say anything.

What topic are you most tired of discussing: the meth addiction, the bisexuality or the time you peed yourself onstage?

(laughs) All of the above. I think I've talked about probably the meth thing the most. I mean, the onstage incident, it's kind of old. It's just kind of passé now. Any journalist who brings that up to me, it's like "Really? That was like how many years ago?" But yeah, I am sick of talking about meth because I've told the story and sometimes I get into it too much and I feel like the interview is a therapy session. Other times, I've just gone into interviews and talked a lot of trash as if the interviewer was my friend from high school and we were catching up. So I really have to watch my mouth now, and I'm trying to be a little bit better about it, to not just be a complete open book. I'm starting to have more boundaries in that way, because I think everyone's heard enough of that anyway. I'm sick of it.

What's the one question that people interviewing you always neglect to ask or that you wish they'd ask?

Hmm. That's a good question. I hadn't thought about that. I just kind of go into interviews with a clean slate. Well, I'd like to ask people questions that ask me questions. I'd like to get feedback actually from people more. As opposed to the questions being asked of me, I'd like to ask them, you know, what they felt about certain songs and how they perceive the lyrics. I'd just be interested to get in kind of a round table with different fans or music lovers and be interested to hear their comments and the way that they perceive things. But you know, I don't know what I wish - that's a good question. What do I wish people would ask me?

Do you have a particular hobby that you're really into that nobody's asked about?

Well, I love fishing, and whenever I tell people that, they kinda go "Huh?" My dad had a boat when we were younger, a fishing boat, and we would go out in Balboa and Newport Beach and go ocean fishing every summer. So that's something now I love to do. Whenever I get a vacation, I like to go to Cabo San Lucas and get out there and really get into the ocean and go fishing. It really makes you have a new respect for the ocean, just being on a boat. It's just so powerful.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools