Bridget Everett & the Tender Moments Take Their Tour on the Road

Winnie McCroy READ TIME: 10 MIN.

Blending comedy and music in the most irreverent of ways, powerhouse cabaret performer Bridget Everett is making a huge splash. Fresh off the heels of Everett's successful "Rock Bottom" tour, and touring with the Oddball Fest with folks like Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll and more, she is hitting the road with Bridget Everett & the Tender Moments. Everett will play New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Los Angeles and some states in between, building on her ever-growing success.

EDGE sat down with Everett to check in on how it is to become a huge star.

EDGE: When we first met, it was backstage at the "A Murray Little Christmas" show, and I was singing with The Lesbian Overtones. I told you then you were about to be a huge star. Are you there yet?

Bridget: Not yet, but I'm crouching and crawling there.

EDGE: Has performing on "Inside Amy Schumer" opened up a platform for new fans to find you?

Bridget: Yes, totally. When I go and do shows, I ask people afterword how they heard about me, and 65 percent of the time they say, "I saw you on 'Inside Amy Schumer.'"

EDGE: You just got back from an epic tour with the Oddball Fest with people like Schumer, Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll and more. Can you share an anecdote from your tour?

Bridget: The first thing that comes to my mind is too vulgar and disgusting; I can't possibly share it. Mostly though, it was super fun. I brought my dog and she was the belle of the ball. I started a podcast with Aziz that is dropping in 2016. But it was mostly just a lot of partying and living like I was 19 years old and it was 1979 and we were all going balls to the wall.

EDGE: Hot on the heels of a critically acclaimed and completely sold out production of "Rock Bottom," New York's downtown darling returns the stage with her band, The Tender Moments. How's it feel to be sold out?

Bridget: It feels great! For a number of years, I was begging people to come to my show, and now people come on their own. It's exciting because I like the shows to feel like a party, and a party is not so fun with three people; it's more exciting with 200 people and everyone is having fun.

EDGE: You're known for your brash stage demeanor and your slightly raunchy songs, like "What I Gotta Do to Get that Dick in My Mouth?" What new raunchy songs can fans look for?

Bridget: I'm working on a couple in "Rock Bottom," like, "Put That Dick Away," and "Does This Dick Make My Ass Look Big?" Right now, I am trying to dream up the next show. I still like to sing about bodies and touching and fashions, but I don't want to do it unless I have a clever way to say it.

EDGE: What are some of the new bits from your show -- can you share one?

Bridget: The newest show is "Rock Bottom," that and the one I'm touring with is a little old, but I did have an experience in New Orleans over the weekend where I got finger banged by a stripper in the back of a gay bar. I hope to have that song done for a show in Kansas City when my mom's going to be in the front row.

EDGE: On November 18 you'll play Joe's Pub in NYC with Bridget Everett & The Tender Moments. It's already sold out. What can fans expect?

Bridget: More of the same: stories and songs, "What I Gotta Do," stories about finger banging some stripper -- you know, general family fare. Carmine will be there, but Adam (DJ Ad Rock) might not be able to make it, so instead we'll have Champagne Jerry.

EDGE: You'll be taking the show to Houston, San Francisco, Seattle, LA, Kansas City and Chicago. What are you looking forward to in these cities?

Bridget: What's exciting now is my audiences are growing and selling out. Sometimes when it's the first time you perform in city, not a lot of people come, but these days the fans are there from the beginning. Mostly though I look forward to my time after a show, where I go to a bar and make a friend. Oddly though, I've never hooked up after show.

EDGE: That's crazy! Male comedians, even the busted ones, pull so much tail for being funny. Why don't funny ladies get any ass?

Bridget: I don't know; it's totally unfair, I don't understand it! I think a lot of guys can't shake the pussy from the shtick. Older guys are constantly rolling up with young, beautiful 21-year-old women, and God bless 'em if makes them happy. But for me, I'm gonna sit on someone's face, and imagine if that's your girlfriend that you bring to Thanksgiving. You'll have to be like, "What do you think about her, mom?" That's a lot for a man to take. They'll have to want a strong woman, especially one who'll motorboat.

EDGE: Bridget, why do you like pushing boundaries?

Bridget: I don't know; I've always been like that. When I was a little kid, I could talk a blue streak, and that's what I think is funny. My mom would walk around house naked, so that was just the sort of house we grew up in. I have five older brothers and sisters that were razor-sharp funny, so you had to be funny to stay alive at the Thanksgiving table, rather than being in your bedroom in tears. I got a lot of attention because I was the baby, but really I'm not the funny one in my family, so that I do this for a living is funny. When we go home my brother Brock is the funniest one. But messing with people is where I feel comfortable. I like to fuck with people and get fucked with, and the people I've always enjoyed most are people who are walking out on a wire and doing something fucked up. I love it in anything that comes through Broadway or the downtown performers, like Murray Hill and Justin Bond, Taylor Mac, Neal Medlyn, the list of risk takers goes on, and I just want to be a part of that.

EDGE: Are you still playing softball with the Williamsburg team?

Bridget: Sure, we still play softball! Murray and Neil and I are a subset of the team we call Catch Club. We'll go to McCarren Park play catch and do drills. I call Murray the boss because he's really the tough guy, driving things. I ask Murray, "Can't we just do a casual Catch Club, toss the ball around?" but Murray will say, "No way! Get on your knees and catch this ball, one more kid!"

EDGE: Will you perform at the "A Murray Little Christmas" show?

Bridget: With Murray, as long as he asks and I can be there, I'll be there. When you live away from your family... well, for me that show is Christmas, full of warm tender feelings with a sweet message at the end where everyone stands up and sings. It reminds me of when I was little singing around the piano in my own home.

EDGE: Let's talk a bit about your style. Do you still have that guy specialty making those revealing silky dresses for you?

Bridget: I sure do! His name is Larry Krone, and I was just at his house last night with Murray and Champagne Jerry, doing a consultation for a couple of new looks, like this one with beautiful fabric. We're talking about a plunging neckline, and a bottom up to the pussy. It's always about showcasing the most amount of skin in the tackiest yet loveliest way possible.

EDGE: What's next for Bridget Everett?

Bridget: I just finished a recurring part on a new Netflix show, "Lady Dynamite" starting Maria Bamford. She's doing it with Pam Brady from "South Park" and Mitch Hurwitz from "Arrested Development," and Patton Oswald is involved. It was really fun to do, and it will be out next year. I'm also on the season premiere of "Girls." So I'll be doing more of that, because it helps my live performance to take a step away and generate new material. Next year I'll take it a little more global, hitting Australia and the UK. I just keep doing it, because I love it so much.

Bridge Everett & the Tender Moments will hit the road, with tour dates below. She will also bring her hit show "Rock Bottom" back to Joe's Pub in NYC in January.

For tickets to upcoming shows, visit https://thrillcall.com/artist/Bridget-Everett. For more information on Bridget Everett, follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bridget.everett.37.



11/4-7 Houston, TX -- Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston http://bit.ly/1hUcO7S
11/12 New York, NY -- Gramercy Theatre: http://livemu.sc/1NT0uDk
11/13 Allston, MA -- Brighton Music Hall: http://bit.ly/1PyxKzK
11/18 New York, NY -- Joe's Pub: http://bit.ly/1RmGR4e (SOLD OUT)
11/24 New York, NY -- Joe's Pub: http://bit.ly/1MEw5m1 (SOLD OUT)
11/28 San Francisco, CA - The Independent: http://ticketf.ly/1jzxmEh
11/29 Seattle, WA -- The Triple Door: http://bit.ly/1RmDt9s
12/1 Los Angeles, CA -- Largo at the Coronet: http://ticketf.ly/1GRDSLj(SOLD OUT)
12/4 Chicago, IL -- Lincoln Hall (Early Show): http://bit.ly/1jsZx7Q
12/4 Chicago, IL -- Lincoln Hall: http://bit.ly/1LJtLOt (SOLD OUT)
12/5 Kansas City, MO -- Record Bar: http://bit.ly/1W4OmOw


by Winnie McCroy , EDGE Editor

Winnie McCroy is the Women on the EDGE Editor, HIV/Health Editor, and Assistant Entertainment Editor for EDGE Media Network, handling all women's news, HIV health stories and theater reviews throughout the U.S. She has contributed to other publications, including The Village Voice, Gay City News, Chelsea Now and The Advocate, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Read These Next