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by MIREILLE SILCOTT In the '70s Grace Jones sang "La Vie en Rose," while notoriously losing it at the Paradise Garage and Studio 54. In the '80s, she brought on S&M imagery, "Slave to the Rhythm," the largest shoulder pads in pop history and Keith Haring in videos. But in the '90s she's given her public precious little, save an iconic status, a couple of bootleg remixes and rampant rumours about her financial problems. Where, oh where, had Gracie gone? Into family entertainment, she told the Mirror when we contacted her in her New York apartment last week... Mirror: You kind of disappeared in the past couple of years. Where have you been? Grace Jones: I've been touring the world. Not anything widely publicized. I stay very, very busy. I've just finished doing an off-Broadway play. M: Which play? GJ: The Wiz. We toured America. I played Evelyne, the Wicked Witch of the West. M: Ha, that's good. GJ: I got great reviews. So I've been really, really busy, you see. Really busy. M: Right. Very busy. GJ: Just not making records. I felt like I was banging my head against the wall with my last record. We prepared an album which was basically sitting on a shelf for two years because we didn't like the way the mix came out. M: So you are working on another now. Tricky's done three tracks on it, I heard. When does it come out? GJ: Within a year. It's gonna be a surprising album to some, we're working with Sly & Robbie too. There will be lots of song-songs--there's too much non-singing out there--and many dance mixes. You can do that now. It's amazing! You can do an album the way you want to, and then do jungle, techno, house mixes. M: And what label will it be coming out on? What's the release date? GJ: I try not to get involved in all that. You'd better speak to my lawyer. [Grace's lawyer, John Pelosi says: "The papers are about to be signed. It's a major label, but I can't say which until the ink hits the contract. The first single is coming out around Christmas, then the next is out March and the album's tentative release date is June."] Anyway, I've been very busy with another project at the same time--I've been writing a film. A film about Jamaica. M: Oh? Something like that Dancehall Queen movie that just came out? GJ: That was a great movie, wasn't it? It broke all kinds of records in Jamaica. And my film is being produced by the same company, so I think it will work out good. I also acted in a film this year. M: Which film? GJ: Umm, it's not out yet. M: So you can't say? GJ: No. Well, actually it was in the Hollywood Reporter, so I guess I could mention it... it's with Hulk Hogan and Robert Vaughn. M: What a mix. GJ: I know. And I'm the female lead in that. Its a family adventure film. M: You never struck me as a family entertainment type. GJ: Haw, Haw. Trust me, I've never struck myself that way either. M: Actually, you can't read an article about Grace Jones without running into the words "mystery" or "dark enigma." So, let's to do something here to try to unravel part of your mystery, for the sake of family entertainment. GJ: Okay, no problem. M: Are you gay or bisexual? GJ: I won't answer that. M: Do you have a mate at the moment? GJ: Oh. I'm married now. Haw, Haw. M: Married? GJ: Yes. No one knows, it was really quiet. It's been a year and a half. M: How are you liking married life? Thinking of kiddies? GJ: We're not thinking of that right now. We're just... yeah... together. M: What are your favourite places to go to in New York? GJ: My girlfriend's. M: Oh dear, well, you answered a couple of questions there, didn't you? Any place other than your girlfriend's? GJ: I'm not sure if it's still shut now, but I liked going to the Tunnel [nightclub]. I played there the night before they closed it up. It was really going great, and then they just did a number on Peter Gatien [Tunnel owner currently facing indictment for heading a major drug ring]. M: It's just crazy that whole Peter Gatien thing! That, and that horrible situation with [New York club celebrity] Michael Alig. GJ: I don't know anything about the Michael Alig thing. M: I'll tell you in a nutshell: there was this club drug pusher named Angel Menendez. And he and Michael Alig got into a fight one night over money. It got a bit messy, and Alig hit Angel over the head with something heavy, and then he saw that Angel was half-dead, because they hit him so hard... GJ: OOOOH NO! M: Hold on, it gets worse. Alig was all screwed up on K and all kinds of drugs, and got really nervous. He didn't know what to do. So he shot Angel's veins up with Drano, and dragged his body into the river. And now Alig's in jail for murder. GJ: Alig? Which club was he from again? M: You know him. He was at all kinds of clubs, Limelight, Tunnel, he was Peter Gatien's main promoter... GJ: Oh my gawd! Oh wow. That is too horrible. Oh poor, poor Peter Gatien. You know, I worked with him for a long time and he'd always been a very mysterious guy to me too. But, you know, I like him. I've never seen him do any of the things that he's accused of. M: Well, what do you think about drugs? GJ: Use, don't abuse. M: Let's get on to something different, then. When exactly were you a model? How old were you? GJ: Oh. I can't even remember. I was in my mid-teens for sure. M: Like 14? GJ: No, I had completed two years of college first. M: When you were in your teens? GJ: Yes, it all happens earlier in Jamaica.
GJ: Some of them are a bit young, and being thrown into a very cruel world. You're it for the moment and then out before you know it. And usually when you're that age, you just blow all your money on partying. M: Is that what you did? GJ: Well, I used my modelling for lighting and design education. I was a seamstress before I was a model. So I took more out of it than most. But, of course, I was acting before so.... M: Hold on! Seamstress, actress, college, and all before your mid-teens? GJ: I started young. M: How old are you now? GJ: Haw, haw, haw... M: Okay, forget that. So, back to modelling--what do you think about all of the photo manipulation going on now? Like stretching models legs and removing wrinkles and all that Paint Box stuff? GJ: They've always been doing that sort of airbrushing thing. I don't see why people should freak out about it. Models are there to look like mannequins, not like real people. Art and illusion are supposed to be fantasy. M: Speaking of fantasy. We've got a band coming to Montreal this week called Rockbitch, and they do these shock-rock things like peeing on each other on-stage and.... GJ: Haw, Haw! That's insane. M: Actually, they do this one act on-stage, where they pee into a condom and throw it out in the audience, and whoever catches it gets to go backstage after the concert and have sex with the lead singer. And, of course, they say it's all art... GJ: You know, with AIDS and all that, that's going a bit far. I mean, peeing. But everyone has to make their own decisions. I still believe in that. You just have to be able to accept the consequences without complaining. M: Did you ever get into any trouble with the S&M themes in your shows? GJ: No, not really. Except that one time I was handcuffed by a fan on-stage. M: How did that happen? GJ: Well, you know I always have the stage set like a runway. And there was one fan, he had a hood on his head, and I was singing a song--a Tom Petty remake--at the edge of the runway and suddenly I felt this tightening on my leg. His arm was linked to my ankle. M: So what did you do? GJ: I beat him over the head. It all worked out fine. Actually, I think the audience thought it was planned. M: I'm sure! So thanks for the chat, Grace, I can't wait to see you in Montreal. GJ: Oh, thank you! It's been ages since I've done an interview, and ages since I've been in Montreal... M: When was the last time you were here? GJ: I can't remember. M: You're not so good at remembering dates and times, eh? GJ: No, I'm not, that's true. It's just that... I'm just too busy, you know? Grace Jones performs at the Limelight (1254 Stanley) on Sunday, Nov. 9. DJ Chris Pronovost spins too. Tickets are $39 for the live show upstairs, $17 to catch Grace on big screen downstairs. Info: 866-LIME. Tickets: 790-1245
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>> Grace Jones returns with a new album in 1998 and a movie with Hulk Hogan. But where has she been for the past few years?
M: What do you think of the current situation with models now?