Many of you homos may associate Gina Gershon solely with her roles in Showgirls and Bound, by far the most lesbianic of the stunning actress' big screen appearances. Don't be fooled, however, the California-born beauty has more than a few tricks up her sleeve. For example, did you know that Gershon recently recorded a full-length album? Don't worry, we didn't either, but now we do - and you should, too!

Our editor recently sat down with Gershon - whom we last saw at the Out 100 - to talk about said album, In Search of Cleo, playing with Slash and keeping a level head in Hollywood…

Andrew Belonsky: You know, I had no idea that sang - period. And when I heard that you had this album, I expected, for some reason, rock. I expected metal from you, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

Gina Gershon: That seems to be the biggest comment I get. Everyone's like, "Oh, I'm so surprised!" Luckily, they're pleasantly surprised. But I'm sure there are some hard rockers going, "What are you doing?!"

AB: Can you tell me what influenced the album?

GG: Oh, gosh. You know, it's funny. I think people expect rock from me because I did that rock n' roll movie and I did tour - a rock tour and I was playing with the Guns N' Roses guys and I was playing with Camp Freddy, I was playing with Slash before they found Scott [Weiland] - but it was really around a movie that I was doing. Obviously I love playing rock, I love singing it, but when I write, when I just naturally write, I write more countryish songs. I sing that way a little bit more naturally, so I just wanted - this was going to be my first album and I just wanted to be honest. You know, acting I act. With music, the nice thing about it is that I don't have to act. It's a little scary, it's a little refreshing and scary at the same time, but I don't want to act when I'm doing singing or music. I just think it's dishonest.

AB: It's great. It really is. How long did the album take you to complete?

GG: The actual music?

AB: How long have you been conceiving it?

GG: I'd say the actual music - I'd been writing it for a while. Certain songs - one song I'd written ten years ago and I pulled it up because I liked it. Other songs I wrote really quickly. But the actually recording of it, the main thrust of recording it was like a week. I just had the band playing live and I'd sing. Other songs I worked on because I had to go to Nashville or New Orleans to get people to play on it.

AB: How did you and Linda Perry [of 4 Non Blondes] end up getting mixed up together?

GG: I met Linda Perry - we were both singing at a Camp Freddy show and I heard - I didn't know who was singing, but I remember thinking, "Oh my God, listen to that voice!" We met afterwards and I didn't quite know who she was at the moment. I just thought, "She's amazing". And she was like, "Oh, so I guess you want to do an album now". She was pretty droll about it. And I realized who she was and I said, "Oh, yeah, actually I'm trying to write. In fact, I'd like to write with you". She laughed. I mean, who wouldn't want to work with her - she worked with Pink and Christina Aguilera? And I really hounded her! She says I stalked her, but I just called her like three times, or something. I said, "Listen, let's work together on one song and if it's not going well, we'll just have a laugh". And so we got together and we wrote a song immediately, really quickly and I guess she liked it: we ended up doing like five other songs together. And I had to do a soundtrack for Prey for Rock N' Roll - I mean, I didn't write any of the music on that, but there really wasn't single on it, so I got together with her and we wrote "Stupid Star," which is on the Prey for Rock N' Roll soundtrack.

Here's an aurally-inclined biography from Ms. G and friends.
AB: Do you encounter a lot of resistance? Do you find that people are dismissive of you because they're are so familiar with your screen work?

GG: I think before the music. You know, it's a natural tendency. I mean, I'm the worst - "Oh, great, another actress!" But when they hear it, they're pleasantly surprised - I hope. You know, I made it because I wanted - I have mainly musician friends and I just wanted to make sure it's good, the music, so they wouldn't be mad at me. The music was important to me - it had to be good. Whether you like my singing or not, my songs, the music is undeniably good. I have great players playing on it.

AB: Is there a particular track on the album that you - that is you favorite or is the most personal?

GG: You know, everyday, I swear to God, it's a different track. Like today, if I'm feeling strange, "Lost at Sea" is my favorite. "Lost at Sea" I love just because there's that Slash solo in the middle of it - it's just undeniably a Slash solo. I just love that solo - it makes me crazy. And Ivan Neville's playing on it and Leroy Powell. It's just a great group of musicians. Um, other days I love "Marie" - you know the jewsharp's just so much fun for me and Christian McBride is playing on it with me. He's just incredible. He's my favorite bass guy in the world.

The gay gods were smiling upon Queerty when we were granted access to Annie Lennox and Out 100 guest Gina Gershon's inner sanctum Friday night. Watch as the girls talk about knowing gay people, why we shouldn't label folk, ENDA, Lennox's Humanitarian of The Year award and South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign founder Zackie Achmat.

[Oh, and be sure to check out Annie Lennox's main and Sing oriented websites!]

Out out did itself for this year's Out 100.

Check it…um, out, after the jump…

CONTINUED »

• Who says gays can't play baseball? Or, at least guys who look gay… [Deadspin]

• Yes, our Jem And The Holograms contest is the coolest contest in the blogosphere right now. But the Congressional Catfight is pretty good too. Go vote on Barney Frank vs. David Dreier. (Duh, Barney Frank would totally win!)

• Bound plays on IFC TV tonight. Have you seen this film yet? It's not so much the lesbian-bondage film it was marketed as; it's more a gangster film. The Wachovski brothers direct, Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon star. GENIUS. [IFC TV]

• Speaking of women we love: Darryl Hannah, our favorite assasin ever, keeps a video blog on how to live harmoniously with Earth. She was brilliant in gay-themed Speedway Junkie, by the way–the film that gave slack-jawed cutie Jesse Bradford his start. [Popbytes]

• For the woman we love most of all: don't forget that this weekend is Mother's Day. And don't you dare show up to her house without a gift! A bottle of wine is always appreciated, and if we may make a recommendation: try the Guigal Cotes du Rhone, for about $11. With flavors of red berries and just a hint of spice, this French red wine breaks the "serve with red meat only" rule, and can be enjoyed with all sorts of food, including Chinese or roast chicken. If you can splurge on your Mom, Guigal offers a Chateauneuf Du Pape for around $40 (often on sale for $30). This wine is easy to drink and incredibly friendly on the palate. Wine Spectator called this one of the top 100 wines of 2003. We all love Mom, but if your family is anything like ours, sobriety isn't an option. [WineFetch]

• She's on her way to being a woman: Alexis Arquette, the coolest trannie to hit Hollywood since Bea Arthur, accepted the Platinum Circle Award in honor of her family. We love Alexis, and she is the best thing to happen to The Surreal Life since, well, it was created. Just keep her away from the patio table umbrellas, she will kill you with one of those things. [Cityrag]

• And finally, he's not a woman, and we're starting to not love him: Howard Dean screwed up. Again. He is the poster boy for the "Say The Wrong Thing" club. After screaming his head off at his political rally, you can't expect him to suddenly learn tact. We're hearing Princess Leia again: "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope." [ABC News]

• Paula Abdul Rehab Watch. We hope she never sobers up. [Rotten Ryan]

• Kate Moss' beau pleads guilty–and goes apeshit on a reporter. Hot! [Jossip]

• Gay icon Gina Gershon divas out over a pair of shoes, solidifies gay icon status juuuust a little more. [Daily Dish] via [Socialite Life]

• The real reason we watch Footballer's Wives. [PAYOR]

• Soap operas filling up with bubbly gay teens. [AfterElton]

• Brokeback Mountain (yes, we're sick of talking about it too, but this is actually legit) has inspired new anti-discrimination laws in Taiwan. Cool. [Taipei Kid]

• Chief Justice Roberts or Justice Souter: who is more gay? [Wonkette]

We gays have always loved tragic figures (Judy), bad films (Madonna's), and big hair (Cher). So it is not that surprising that Showgirls has remained a cult classic in our eyes much like the beloved John Waters' films, Rocky Horror, and Baby Jane. Two new shows are reinventing the Elizabeth Berkely/Gina Gershon masterpiece, which is nearing its 10th anniversary.

Showgirls: The Best Movie Ever Made. Ever! is a parody production being performed by the hilarious Upright Citizen’s Brigade for one night only in NYC on October 29th. “It’s half staged reading, half Inside the Actor’s Studio, and half female empowerment, Eszterhas style.” It will also be packed full of homos.

We are even more excited to see Harvey Finklestein’s Sock Puppet Showgirls. The show “is a unique and unauthorized parody of Showgirls as performed by sock puppets." We have been told, “if you haven't seen sock puppets pole dance, you haven't experienced the true power of the theater.” The show runs October 15th through the 30th. We cannot wait to check it out.

The fabulous queens over at Spin Cycle are giving a lucky Queerty reader in New York a pair of tickets to see Sock Puppet Showgirls. All you need to do is write a Showgirls inspired haiku and send it over. The winner will be announced on Friday.

The Empire State Pride Agenda, one of the country’s important gay lobbying groups, will hold its annual Fall Dinner on October 6th at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. A VIP reception will be held at 6p.m. with the dinner and a live auction to follow at 8. Donors at the VIP level will have a chance to rub shoulders with celebs such as keynote speaker Al Franken, emcees Mario Cantone and Gina Gershon, entertainer Rufus Wainwright and special guests Randy Harrison and Billy Porter. You can purchase passes to the Fall Dinner here.

Meanwhile, if you can’t make the dinner, you might bookmark the ESPA website. A good resource for keeping abreast of advances and setbacks in gay rights, the site also allows you to volunteer for the organization. You can, furthermore, contact them through the site to arrange for a speaker to appear at an event you might be planning. Queerty joins you in wondering why they’re called rights if the right doesn’t want you to have them.