NEWS from the INTERNETS abt Miss Lady Kier
DECEMBER 2011
thursday nites at the Basement are legendary . get yourself to nyc’s legendary Monster club to hear some of the best disco in town.From A SHOT IN THE DARK- Lady Kier
video to follow
PINK MAFIA June 29 2011 Toronto
While other girls are busy grabbing up sexy nurse/girl scout/kitten/whatever costumes for parties this weekend why not go another route and channel your inner pop star and dress up as one of the most deee-groovy, deee-gorgeous, 90s dance divas, Lady Miss Kier. Back when “Groove is in the Heart” hit MTV in 1990, this former go-go dancer was turned into one of the icons of the glory days of video, you know back when MTV actually played them. Her signature look of a brightly colored zip-up catsuit, platform shoes, and flipped-up hair had a major influence on 90s fashion and that whole 60s retro craze that swept the decade. While Deee-Lite will always be remembered for their single super hit, Lady Miss Kier continues to make music and maintain her iconic style.
Still killing it in the 2000s
After Deee-Lite’s demise, Kier went back to her club roots DJing and performing throughout the 90s. She collaborated with various artists on their albums and continued to release snippets of new music via her website and Myspace page. Despite continuously performing and producing new music, we have yet to see a Lady Miss Kier solo album. Although we may be holding our breath until we’re blue in the face waiting for her album, the Lady’s style still inspires.
Deee-Liteful!
Back in the 90s Kier was rocking vivid red hair, like a certain Barbadian pop princess, catsuits, platforms, and colors galore. Her 60s go-go dancer meet club kid look was funky, fly, and fresh. This FIT drop out did not stop her fashion antics at her own closet; she also was responsible for Deee-Lite’s entire look. As the group’s stylist she incorporated her love of retro glam into the on stage personas of the group’s male members and eventually it rubbed off on the masses. Even my older cousins, who were teens in the 90s, jumped on the 60s inspired bandwagon with silky tops and polyester frocks.
So this week, let the other baby prostitutes flock to the naughty school girl costumes while you shake your head knowing that you’ll have them beat at any costume contest. All you need is a vintage catsuit or mini dress, platforms, a red flipped-up wig, and a whole lot of groovy attitude to channel this diva who is still the bomb dot com. Warning, you may get mistaken for Nicki Minaj or Rihanna all night, but just correct those lames.
http://www.missomnimedia.com/2010/10/fashion-meets-music-lady-miss-kier/
06.22.2011 by Phil Villeneuve photo by : Abeni Garrett
When I was a closeted little kid growing up in my hometown of 200 people, Deee-lite was my saviour. When everyone else stopped showering and started listening to Nirvana, I blasted my World Clique, Infinity Within and Dewdrops in the Gardencassettes. Lady Kier gave me hope.
After being run over by the major label bus a few times, Lady Kier carries on as a DJ and performer. Her knowledge of music runs deep, and witnessing one of her sets is like a history lesson in underground dance music. In advance of her appearance at the 90Six party, the Lady answered all my fanboy questions.
Who are you a fan of when it comes to dance music today?
Black Devil Disco Club, Coati Mundi, Chrissy Murderbot, Quentin Harris, Ebony Bones, Midnight Magic, MIA, Todd Terry, Crown Heights Affair, Juan Atkins, Baggy Bottom Boys, Alex Robotnik, Rich Harrison, Jamie Lidell.
Can you explain what happened with the two final Deee-Lite albums, The Infinity Within and Dewdrops in the Garden, and why the label let them fall flat?
The president of Elektra Records told us he was not going to spend one dime on either album because they were “too gay.” I funded the Dewdrops tour out of my own bank account, and we sold 500,000 copies and sold out every single venue. Unfortunately, the label made 90 percent of the profits, so at the end of the tour I was broke.
What was so great about ’90s pop music?
The first three years of the scene saw a huge funk revival, with bands like De La Soul, En Vogue and Salt-N-Pepa. But as soon as Kurt Cobain died, the major labels stopped promoting fun music like that and went full blast into grunge.
I started to get bored with pop and hip hop after that, which seemed to put money behind the “gangsta lean” rubbish and leave out message bands like Tribe Called Quest and Jungle Brothers. So I dove back into underground dancefloor music. By 1992, house music was becoming formulaic and bored me as much as pop.
You’re heavily involved in gay scenes every where. Has that always been the case? When I was 19 I went to a gay bar named the Pyramid in New York, and I’ve never been the same since. The DJ, Sister Dimension, played disco and the MC, named Happy Face, introduced a hilarious crew of drag queens and kings. That’s where I shed my punk-rock butch attire and began learning to camp it up.
Phil Villeneuve: Tell us about how you got involved with the 90Six party?
Lady Kier: More and more I have noticed ’90s nostalgia creeping into modern dance music, which I enjoy adding to my set. So when I was asked to do this all-’90s night, it was a natural gig to accept.
You seem to fully embrace your Deee-Lite days. What are your feelings toward your old trio these days?
If I ever got paid what I deserved from our rotten thieving management and one of the band members, I’d probably feel like singing those songs more often.
I read about your disappointment with Beyoncé borrowing from Italian pop star Lorella Cuccerini for her infamous Billboard Awards performance. Do you think it’s impossible for a pop artist to create original work today?
Not at all. There are hundreds of talented artists doing their own thing. It’s just that without funding, promotion or airplay, very few of us get to hear them in their time. Ebony Bones is a good example of an artist that should be getting financial support like Gaga but is not.
Okay, quickie questions: what is your favourite type of food?
Fruit.
Craziest show you ever played?
Opening up for Grace Jones.
———————————————
Phil Villeneuve is the fab Tunes columnist and a proud member of the Deee-lite Fan Club.
PINK MAFIA June 29 2011 Toronto
She was on cloud 9 while playing the ones & twos ,Ama & Pinkie were tearing up some serious rug with the classic selections. The night was the shiznit, I mean what more can you ask for… an awesome interview with truly amazing artist and person. Hands down one of the best!!
If you aren’t familiar with Deee-Lite, wiki/youtube/hypemachine them now. Classic dance tunes, seriously amazing people.
Even more awesome after our lil sit down at IMISS90SIX, DJ Lady Miss Kier was gracious enough to answer our 20 Questions.
1. What is your dream of happiness?
my dream of happiness these days is to be on the road with my new band singing all my new music .
2. Blonde or Brunette?
red head…silly!!!
3. What is the quality you like most in a person?
loyalty
4. What do you fear most?
betrayal from within my inner circle
5. 808s or 909s?
808′s at the moment .
6. What’s your biggest regret?
Not accepting the invitation from Steve Jobs when i was invited after a speech i made about the future of the music business in 1995 to continue speaking on the same subject for apple and being transported on the apple jet.
7. What’s your fav bar or club in the world?
it was called the pyramid and no longer exists.
8. What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
sex
9. What are the 3 musicians dead or alive you’d like to see perform?
Eddie jefferson, Sylvestor, Louis Jordan
10. What is your favorite decade in music?
that changes every decade and I pull inspiration from atleast 10 decades.
11. If you had to choose, would you rather go blind or deaf and why?
I’d rather go blind than deaf .
12. How old is too old?
I prefer spending time with older people who can tell me stories from experience- so as long as you can care and use your good heart than you’re not too old for anything.
13. Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
directing videos, teaching art to children, falling in love again .
14. Who’s your hero?
Howard Zinn, and currently Jullianne Assange .
15. What’s your favourite colour?
at the moment i am having a great love affair with Lemon yellow.
16. What song could you live without ever hearing again?
green eyed lady
17. Metallica or Madonna?
neither
18. What’s your most hated vice?
that’s too personal to answer
19. Who is the most tragic figure in history?
life by nature is filled with tragedy. perhaps an unknown victim from rhawanda’s civil war or an innocent civilian in iraq , or those wrongly accused sitting on death row in the US prison system. so many with no voice.
20. What are the top three most recent live shows you’ve seen ?
Ebony Bonez , Steve Arrington, Grace Jones.
Don’t forget DJ Lady Miss Kier is heading over to Matt Sim’s weekly (There Goes the Neighborhood) for Pride this Saturday! She and an assortment of other mind boggling DJs will be busting down the door at The Barn (418 Church).
If you haven’t made plans yet, get yourself there. And if you made some…change ‘em.
Lady Kier interview for “She does the City” June 28 2011
who better to kick things off than Lady Miss Kier? Groove is in the Heart was constantly on repeat while I smoked joints and mopped the hardwood floors of my first apartment. When I think back to that time, I’m pretty sure I was wearing snug raver pants and a baby-tee that said something stupid like, Hubba Bubba. I won’t be wearing that come Thursday, but I will go apeshit when she plays her hit song that became synonymous with 90s dance-rave culture.
Now here’s a fun 90s Q&A with Lady Miss Kier that will take you back.
Do you remember when you discovered the internet?
I read about it in 1987 and wrote a song about it called “electric shock” that same year.
What outfit did you rock in the 90s that you would NEVER wear today?
Probably a backpack that looked like a fluffy monkey.
What/where was the most fun club / dance party you headlined in the 90s?
Probably a rave I helped to promote in a Maryland state park called THE EMERALD FOREST
What, in your opinion, is a film that you will always associate with the 90s?
I never saw it but there was a sci-fi film that used Deee-lite to draw a crowd for a party in the future. The director didn’t shoot us or put us in the film but they paid us to play a free block party in LA (very rare) for a movie named “strange days.” I don’t know if the film was good or bad but the party and crowd were outstanding.
What do you miss about that decade?
My innocence, which was lost around the time my record label asked me to read a book entitled “The Hitman” as well as finding out the telecommunications bill was passed.
If you could go back in time, is there a chapter in the 90s you’d want to revisit? Experience again?
When I reflect on my past, I never want to return there.
Can you tell us about an insane party you went to back in the day? Who was there and where it was held?
It was a party at Timothy Leary’s house. I met several interesting people that night, some of which I am still in touch with.
In 1992, what were you most likely doing on a regular Saturday?
Writing music, designing costumes for the INFINITY WITHIN tour, choreographing new steps for that second album, which the label decided was too political to promote and therefore pulled the plug on. I was very busy that year making preparations for that tour.
What will you be playing for this epic 90s party soon approaching?
All 90’s good time dance music, some rave anthems, some acid house, some classic hip hop, and even a few rock tunes ALL FROM THE EARLY 90s!
We are so there.
Six Degrees is at 2335 Yonge St. north of Eglinton. 9pm - 3am. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.
~ Jen McNeely
By Sarah Myers
Photos by Ryan Emberley
www.ladykier.com
www.myspace.com/ladymisskierfromdeeelite
Sick of the Richmond St. club scene? Throw a few bucks at the TTC and venture north to one of the city’s under-rated neighbourhoods for nightlife. Once a month, Six Degrees nightclub will be hosting a 90s Dance Party and to kick it all off, Lady Miss Kier from Deee-Lite was the special guest DJ for this first-ever event.
The scene here is nothing like you’d see in downtown’s prestigious club district. 20-something’s in full 90s acid washed attire revisiting younger days and everyone in between just looking for some sweet jams to sing along to. Reminiscent of MuchMusic video dances, two large screens projected the accompanying videos to various 90s classics like “Good Vibrations” and Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison” – a personal favourite.
Though it’s been sometime since Miss Kier has been in the spotlight, she hasn’t yet lost touch with her inner DJ or her fashion sense. Donning her signature 60s-revival garb, Miss Kier takes her rightful place on the stage. Mixing old and new, Miss Kier kicked off the night with The Source (& Candi Staton’s) “You’ve Got the Love”, most recently covered by Florence and the Machine. Among other hits spun was C & C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat” better known as “Everybody Dance Now”. Throughout the duration of her set, Miss Kier joined the dance party, showing off her classic moves that got the crowd really moving.
It’s unknown whether she will return to regular DJ sets, guest or otherwise, but this event didn’t feel like a career move, it came across as more of a fun thing she was happy to be part of. If this sounds like something you’d be into, check out the next edition of 90s Dance Party at Six Degrees July 28th and come prepared for a good time.
LA WEEKLY review * APRIL 19 ,2011 BY: Lina Lecaro
The Lady is a vamp.
The hedonistic mystique of ‘90’s New York club kid culture has been slowly bubbling beneath the surface in Los Angeles for a couple years now, and after last night, it’s fair to say it’s officially exploded into a full blown resurgence. Influential dance diva of the era,Lady Miss Kier of Deee-Lite, made a triumphant appearance behind the decks atMustache Mondays, a party that consistently hosts one of the most lively, creative and diverse crowds in clubland.
Buzz for Kier’s set had been building via social networking for some time, with excited clubbers reposting news of the LA appearance and debating their outfits on Facebook for weeks. Though we didn’t see her signature Pucci printed ctasuits or Fluevog platforms, there were quite a few outrageous fashions (on guys and girls), all with a modern twist. And that’s what is ultimately refreshing about the new wave of club “kid” we’re seeing out and about these days; it’s not about recycled looks or retro sounds. It’s a very modern take on the past, fueled by unity of gay and straight, futurism and statement-making excess. It’s what made Lady Gaga (whom we’ve noted before, owes both Madonna and Kier for inspiration) a pop phenom:
Surrounded by her worshipers (including RuPaul’s Drag Race fave Sutan Amrall akaRaja, who gave a heartfelt intro) Kier definitely lived up to the hype, decked out a sparkling disco ball-esque ensemble (with an actual ball on her head) designed by party promoter/stylist Ernie Omega. She’s older and fuller than she was when “Groove is in the Heart” was a smash (that was 21 year ago!) but she was looking good. “Her boobs look incredible!” one femme boy was heard saying as Kier bounced behind the turntables, a glass of white wine in one hand, and headphones in the other.
Her music selections were a fusion of sexy house rhythms, retro-feeling synth sounds and nouveau Euro-disco, including what appeared to be some of her own material (she was singing along on the mic). Though that stuff didn’t quite have the pop appeal of Deee-Lite hits, it fit in perfectly at Mustache and the sweaty crowd was pumping and posing on the floor non-stop. For sample of her mix sensibility click here.
For many, including yours truly, this was the first time checking out Mustache’s new home at the Belasco theatre, an ornate, gorgeously restored space down the street from its previous location. The main dance room has a great set-up: nice sized floor with booths surrounding (one complaint: really hot in there!). Then there’s the main theatre room with rows of seating looking down on another, bigger stage (MM’s Nacho Nava tells us he’s got some big plans, including more live music, for that room) and spacious outdoor smoking area overlooking downtown’s historic skyline.
Clearly, Mustache is looking to make a bigger and bolder impact on the LA nightlife, transcending its underground gay niche and bringing it to the scenester masses. Indeed, this flamboyant world is a clique, but all are welcome to join.
Follow us on Twitter at @L_in_A
More pics from the deee-vine eve in our Nightranger slideshow later this week.
http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/04/lady_miss_kier_mustache_monday.php
Jeremy Scott’s Collection Reaches Deep Into the Past
2/16/11 at 6:10 PM By: William Van Meter
“I was thinking of my youth, of that period in college,” said Pratt alum Scott backstage, “the excitement of getting dressed, doing your hair and getting ready for a club or a rave. This epitomized that moment. A multicolor pill pattern cropped up on dresses and a Lady Miss Kier-esque bodysuit. It all made sense when Scott explained the name.
EDIT: I love Jeremy Scott- lady kier
Dear Kier:
If I had to choose, you are the most influential artist in my life, which essentially revolves around music. So that’s kind of a big deal. I officially fell in love with music at age 12 when my dad couldn’t get me to put downWorld Clique. In fact, dad had to replace that cassette no less than 8 times as I soaked up and ravaged the notes from the feeble cassette tape. My dad is a great guy, but you have no idea how much second-hand playing it must have taken for him to actually learn most of the lyrics at one point.
To this day, I credit my fascination with new music to you. Even after years in the business, I still have never witnessed an artist of your caliber. You truly define “artist” and this blog wouldn’t exist without you.
Love,
Brent OCT 7 2010
( sidenote from Kier - click the link to dpwnload the “bring me your love -FREEE bootleg remix. it’s good! -and thanks Brent for the warm words. P.S. I love your blog )
http://kickkicksnare.com/2010/10/07/deee-lite-bring-me-your-love-dj-digit-remix/
FROM: the blog “OH NO THEY DIDN’T ” 7:09 pm - 09/05/2010
MadeOff delivers their latest Fall 2010 collection equipped with a cast of notable females. MadeOff’s Erin Magee teamed up with Nina Sky, Kim Ann Foxman of Hercules and Love Affair, Maluca Mala, Lady Miss Kier of Dee-Lite, and Victoria Brito to illustrate their individuality and celebrate MadeOff’s versatility.
Lady kier is the only reason this post was made, tbh. DEEE-LITE, BITCHES.-
written by YEAHWELL_BRITT SEPT 5 2010
sidenote from Lady Kier: dress design by Lady Kier Hat designed by Jeff Dodd
![59. Deee-Lite“Groove Is in the Heart”[Elektra; 1990]
Major labels never quite figured out how to sell DJ music to a mass audience.With their sass-tastic frontwoman and kitsched-to-death fashion sense, Deee-Lite probably seemed like a good bet at a time when pop’s future was still up for grabs. If you were a kid in the ‘burbs, they almost resembled a Daisy Age hip-hop group (the day-glo/flower-power look, the Q-Tip guest rap) as much as a house act (a strange urban subculture we had little access to in junior high). It was a one-way ticket to immortality, a real-world dancefloor-filler that rivals anything disco turned out in its world-conquering heyday. —Jess Harvell
http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7851-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-100-51/5/](http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l8hdox4s2n1qahzivo1_400.jpg)
59. Deee-Lite
“Groove Is in the Heart”
[Elektra; 1990]
Major labels never quite figured out how to sell DJ music to a mass audience.With their sass-tastic frontwoman and kitsched-to-death fashion sense, Deee-Lite probably seemed like a good bet at a time when pop’s future was still up for grabs. If you were a kid in the ‘burbs, they almost resembled a Daisy Age hip-hop group (the day-glo/flower-power look, the Q-Tip guest rap) as much as a house act (a strange urban subculture we had little access to in junior high). It was a one-way ticket to immortality, a real-world dancefloor-filler that rivals anything disco turned out in its world-conquering heyday. —Jess Harvell
http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7851-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-100-51/5/
