Gershon not only sings in the movie, she became a powerful player behind the scenes when financing fell through. Acting as a producer, Gershon assured the film would get made by securing the additional funding.
Did you study singing for this role?
I almost 'unstudied' singing to do this. I’m a trained singer and when I did this, I was coming off a Broadway show of seven months, which is a different sort of singing. It's "more legitimate" and you have to pronounce things more so you can hear the words. Rock and roll is a different way of singing. I kind of just threw everything out the window.
I've been a singer and I love rock and roll, and I’ve been doing it my whole life. The great thing about rock and roll is it's whatever you want to do. I think there’s a certain style to this; I sang a little bit more gravel-ier than the way I would sing. I didn't really think about it too much. I just thought about the song and what I wanted to do with it.
Do you live like a rock and roller?
I think the thing I really love about music, what I really, really love, is [that when] you're acting, you're acting, and you’re in a character. When you’re doing music, it’s much more honest. You are who you are. It’s funny because I think, as an actress, sometimes I’ve gone out to an event and maybe I don’t dress like the girl next door, maybe I don’t act like a typical actress - whatever that means - and I’ve gotten flack for it. But you do something like that as a musician, and everyone thinks it’s great. That part, I don’t know, I definitely like the musician side of the tabloids a lot more.
Are people going to be surprised how serious this film gets? They might be expecting a light rock and roll movie.
I guess so. I loose objectivity a little bit. I think when it all of a sudden turned, I think people were surprised. I think it’s good; it's not like this fun rock and roll movie. It starts off kind of gritty and groovy and then it kind of actually goes into real life and does make certain statements and observations about life that I thought were pretty important, that moved me. That meant something to me.
The producer title, is that something new?
I’d never produced a movie in my life. It was very challenging. I only produced it because I had no choice. I think, at a certain point, if I didn’t step in as a producer it wouldn’t have been made. I certainly brought on a crew of people to help me do that. With this movie it was just really important that it stayed authentic and didn’t turn into a cheesy rock and roll film. I have too much respect for musicians and what they go through to do all the clichés. It was kind of nice to be able to have some sort of creative control. I really was kind of obsessive about who I wanted in the film and the look I wanted in the film, and how I wanted it shot. That part was great.
Is performing on stage as a musician more nervewracking than acting?
Performing live - there’s nothing like it. It is scarier in a way because it’s just you out there and you can’t say, "Cut." It’s like doing a play. Doing live music, rock and roll music or any sort of music on stage with other people, it's pretty incredible. I’ve only done it a couple of times now but it’s been really fun.
The audience is excited. It’s a real exchange. Sometimes if the audience is great, it’s like having great sex or something. Last night I played a show and the audience was kind of dead and it was hard. It’s like doing a play when the audience is like that, you just have to still bring your energy up. It's not as much fun, but you still just do your thing. We had a great show in New York where they were just amazing. It's nervewracking but it's really fun.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Marc Blucas, Lori Petty & Shelly Cole, and Drea de Matteo Interviews
