I really like the melody "Red Wine Is Good For My Heart" and people respond to it. I decided to put it on the album.
Cheyenne JacksonPeople know if you've got the goods, if you're easy to work with, and if you can get the job done.
Cheyenne JacksonYou sing songs hundreds of times over and over, but certain ones just morph and naturally, as you age and get life experience, take on a different form as well. When I was looking at songs for the album, I thought, "Which are the ones that connect with me the most? What do I think would work in album form?" Almost all of them I've done in shows.
Cheyenne JacksonI came upon Diana Krall's jazz arrangement of "A Case of You" several years back. I've always wanted to pay homage to both her version and Joni's, and by proxy, my mom. She's the one that introduced me to that music.
Cheyenne JacksonPeople don't expect me to have a weird sense of humor, but I do. I'm very eccentric.
Cheyenne JacksonI have insomnia, and it's hard for me to sit still for a long time. My mind is always "tick, tick, tick."
Cheyenne JacksonI'm a Broadway baby, through and through. It's my first love, and it's what brought me to New York in the first place.
Cheyenne JacksonNobody is ever just a straight up protagonist or antagonist - everybody's morally ambiguous.
Cheyenne JacksonLooking at the original lyrics [of "A Song For You" ] as I was preparing it, I thought, "Wow! I feel like it was written for me." That's what a great song does. You don't have to do a lot of homework. You can just say the words and it springs to life.
Cheyenne JacksonMy very first tattoo was for my dog, Zora, who died in my arms in New York. Right where her heart stopped beating I got a "Z".
Cheyenne JacksonMichael, from 'Six Dance Lessons...' He was somebody who had a lot of self-loathing; being a gay man who lost his family and felt ostracized. It was an interesting character to play. He was so bitter and jaded about life. Even though I'm not like that personally, everybody has a side of themselves that tends to look at the negative side of things. He was an interesting character to play.
Cheyenne JacksonUnfortunately, I suffer from insomnia, so my bedtime is as soon as I start to feel the least bit sleepy.
Cheyenne JacksonBelieve it or not, my best meal is to go to the store and buy a DiGiorno pizza, come home, add some fresh Parmesan cheese, and just hang with my family!
Cheyenne JacksonI understand why the gay community wants to embrace actors who are out. People want to be represented.
Cheyenne JacksonThe more it happens, the easier it is for others, although I do understand why some actors choose not to come out. I have several famous friends who are still in the closet.
Cheyenne JacksonI'm definitely drawn to things that are new, so something specifically for me would have been fun.
Cheyenne JacksonInitially, in starting to pick the songs for the live show, it was really a matter of picking songs that I loved over the years. As far as the album goes, it happened very naturally.
Cheyenne JacksonA few years ago, when I was writing songs for my first album, I was staying with Michael Feinstein as I often did. I was working on a pilot. My grandma was very sick at the time. She died of complications from alcoholism. She always used to say [in his grandma's voice], "Red wine is good for my heart. That's what my doctor said." And we'd say, "Yeah, but not for breakfast." Unfortunately, it was the thing that killed her. I felt inspired to write a song about her and what that meant for her life and for all of us. I was writing it in Michael's house.
Cheyenne JacksonI grew up listening to Joni Mitchell's version of "A Case of You." My mom was a huge Joni Mitchell fan.
Cheyenne JacksonI have huge legs, and I never show them - not because of false modesty, I'm just not comfortable.
Cheyenne JacksonI've always loved Elton John and that is one of my favorite songs by him and Bernie (Taupin). The American songbook is ever-expanding and I feel like it works well with what I was trying to say.
Cheyenne JacksonIt was so much fun to have my very first TV (performance) be the holy grail of comedy, in my opinion. I was the guy from CHiPs and then I was Grizzly Adams. It was hysterical. We got to make out. It was really crazy, fun television.
Cheyenne JacksonI think God has a plan for all of us, and even if that plan includes Hell, its still a plan.
Cheyenne JacksonPeople may have said, "The dude's gay; how are we going to market this?" But it's not an issue for me, because being out is very freeing.
Cheyenne JacksonI love Jane [Krakowski]. Jane's been a dear friend for maybe a dozen years. We've worked together on many shows and concerts and readings. We did 'Damn Yankees' together and then we did 'Xanadu.' Jane did all the workshops of 'Xanadu' before it moved to Broadway. She's hysterical and our voices blended. We had a similar sensibility.
Cheyenne Jackson