As a young girl, there were the obvious messages about what girls could and couldn't achieve. And to compound the limitations I felt being leveled upon me, I realized at the age of nine, that I was gay.

Being born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in the very rural parts of Kansas led me to believe that everything was simple, everything made sense and that anything was possible.

I felt like a sinful person when I dated men and allowed them to feel for me in a way I knew I could never naturally feel for them. That felt wrong and a lie.

I recruited my dad to be my bass player and fired him on several occasions. He stayed on as a bus driver.

I think I'm no different from any artist in music. At least once, you want to see your name up on the top.

I hear the word 'tolerance'-tha t some people are trying to teach people to be tolerant of gays. I'm not satisfied with that word. I am gay, and I am not seeking to be 'tolerated'. One tolerates a toothache, rush-hour traffic, an annoying neighbor with a cluttered yard. I am not a negative to be tolerated.

I would like to say when I turn the project over to the label that I have been successful. And that's truly the way I feel. But, in addition to the self-pride in 'making' a good album, to be honest, I'd love to have a hit record!