Sex-positive singer is definitely on naughty list
Gnome makes us laugh about the awkward bits
In 2012, Shirley Gnome’s career began in earnest with her surprise win at a local comedy competition. Now, after bringing her risque, NSFW material to audiences around the world, the Vancouver-based singer is ready for the next level.
After releasing three records (Ho Down, C*untry Music, and The Lady of the Night) on her own, Gnome is making a record for Vancouver’s 604 Records.
Gnome also performed at two live broadcasts (in Seattle and Portland) of Dan Savage’s Savage Lovecast, the most popular podcast on sexuality, over the weekend. We talked to the songsmith behind Hooker, Hipster Vagina, and Horrible Sex Dream about sex and Santa.
Q: So, sex. Why is it your prime subject matter?
A: I’ve always thought it was the most hilarious thing. It’s this very primal-based universal drive that we all have that expresses itself in hilarious ways within whatever social construct we happen to be living in. I also kind of have never really felt the shame other women might feel about their sexuality. I wonder if my mom dropped me on my head and broke that part of my brain. I’ve always been pretty shameless. And I’ve never seen what the fuss was about.
When I started writing songs, I noticed that a lot of people were closed up about sex stuff. I thought it would be better to laugh at it, to show that it’s OK and quite common to worry about certain sexual things and urges and desires and experiences that are so much more common than we believe they are. That can lend itself to a lot of humour, and humour can be very freeing. I didn’t really think that my whole career would lead that way when I started writing songs and playing guitar, but people respond to it so strongly, and it’s such a nice thing to be able to make people laugh at sexuality.
Is there anything Christmas-y we can expect from the Havana show? Does it uphold family values?
I only have one Christmas song right now. It’s called I Hate Christmas, and it’s about rejecting consumerism to save your time for intercourse.