Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 530

INTERVIEW >>
What can audiences expect
from your shows at The
Green Room 42 this month?
Niki – We’re so grateful that
people are still coming to
see us and hear our vocals.
I am going to lean into our
mission statement…We are
in a divisive world, and when
Donna and I stand in front
of an audience to sing, we
want to express the honor,
the gratitude that we have for
the many years of celebrating
our journey. We live different
lives, but music unifies us.
And the audience is going to
experience that. Even when
people seem so polarized,
music can bring us together.
There is something about
forgiveness and staying
grateful every moment. We just
choose to celebrate through
song.
Donna – For me, every time
Niki and I come together
onstage, it’s an incredible
blessing. I am so grateful
that we’re still singing
together. We
have so much to
share about our
perspectives on
life and sharing our
joy for music and
friendship. People
really feel that in a
deep way.
You two released
a wonderful EP
together, Two
Friends. What
inspired this
recording?
Donna – There
was a video of us
performing “Rain” in
Madonna’s “Girlie Show” tour.
Someone sent me the link,
I read all the comments and
I re-experienced us singing
together. I was so moved by
hearing our voices together
and the simplicity of it. From
the comments, I saw that there
was so much love and support
from people wanting us to keep
singing together. I had just
asked Niki to record with me
on an a capella song called
“Kinder,” from my album The
Unchanging. Then we went
into the studio to record “Rain”
with acoustic instrumentation.
The guitar, string quartet, and
percussion were arranged
around our voices. When the
fans loved it, we decided to
start a pledge campaign, and
everyone was there to really
lend their support. We gave
things like written-out lyrics
and Zoom calls, to inspire
people to help us. So the
fans contributed to the EP
and that’s how it was made!
The first song I thought we
should record was a number
I first heard back in the ‘90s,
when we were still singing with
Madonna, “Two Friends” by
Brian O’Dougherty. That song
really represents who we are.
After 20 years collaborating
with Madonna on various
concerts and videos, are
there any particular special
memories you want to
share?
Donna - Wow, so many…
I love when we were all
together on stage and having
so much fun. There was a lot
of comedy and playfulness.
That’s something the three of
us shared together. There was
a magic when we were being
playful, singing “Material Girl”
in curlers. We had so much
fun with “I’m Going Bananas,”
just cracking ourselves up on
stage.
Niki – There is a great photo of
the three of just laughing, with
our mouths just completely
open. I think it was from Life
Magazine. We were just
laughing so loud. We had fun,
there was room to improvise, to
just be in the moment!