Nellie McKay's Web site biography sums up the vivacious young singer's philosophy on life.
"I'm not a puppet, and I'm not 'just a singer,' and I don't want to be left in my bubble so I can party the night away unencumbered by thoughts of recoupable expenses or radio edits. My career is my party, and it's fun, and everybody's invited," she states.
She's certainly not one to waste her time with idle days. Instead the singer has better ideas for spend her days off.
"I would much rather write a letter or engage in some form of activism," said the singer in a phone interview.
McKay's album, "Get Away From Me," is not a wry take on Norah Jones's "Come Away With Me," as many have speculated, but rather a comment on her personal life and the current government.
"It has to do with me personally, I can be quite anti-social. It didn't really have anything to do with Norah Jones. People tend to harp on that, as opposed to the government thing, because I guess they think a catfight is more interesting than how our rights are being stripped away," she said.
Whether talking about her brief stint as a stand-up comedian or her travels around the United States, the 19-year-old McKay inevitably leads the conversation towards politics. "It's ridiculous the powers that have been given to the government. It needs to be rolled back or this country is definitely rolling headfirst into fascism."
While McKay is at an age when many teenagers are only beginning to start their lives, she is already worldly and headstrong.
"Certain ideas just get so ingrained, whether it's about foreigners, different races, or sexual roles. What results is often a racist system or a sexist system or a kind of fascist system," she said.
Without naming anyone in particular, McKay takes an indignant tone at times, obviously perturbed by the state of affairs in the country.
"First of all, everyone needs to vote. And everyone needs to get past the lies at this point and they really need to get past their own heritage and just examine the facts by themselves," she said.
McKay's passion comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with her work. In the song "David," she makes her feelings clear with the lyrics, "Mister Bushie says/ I'm your president/ I have lots to say/ Hey Hey Hey/ And 'click' goes the remote/ There you have my vote/ Catchin' the next boat out of here."
It's rare for a young popular artist to take a political position but McKay was not shy to give her opinion on the presidential election.
"I really like Nader and I don't blame him for running one bit. I think if they didn't want him to run they shouldn't have signed the Patriot Act or approved the war in Iraq, etc. I feel like in Pennsylvania, it's going to be so close, I'm going to have to vote for Kerry," she admitted.
McKay's lyrics are often biting and earned her a stylish little "parental advisory" sticker.
"Some people get a bug up their a-- about curse words," she said. "But I think it's so tastefully done. They better get used to it, because the next album's going to have curse words, too."
McKay's personal musical tastes are a myriad of alternative pop/rock artists from the '60s to the present. This music moves her to create works of her own that encompass jazz, funk, pop, rock, rap, and even movie musicals.
"I think that to try to define it as a certain genre is a mistake and pop seems like the most inclusive genre, but I like all kinds of music, so you know, I want to make all kinds of music," McKay said.
"People seem to think that art and pop and politics and pop are exclusive and that's just not true. The '60s proved it wasn't true," she said.
McKay has already begun to plan the next stage of her life. In the near future, look for her forthcoming new album and possibly a movie musical.
On stage, McKay says the content of her set list varies night to night. "The discipline required is contrary to what I tend to do. I could use some more of that discipline," she said. "I tend to mix it up more. I do my own stuff, but I always do it in a different order."
She closed the interview as he she began - in a unique style - saying to "go vegan."
Nellie McKay will perform today at the Center For the Arts at 8 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
