Guys, you probably would agree: Hot women are hot, cool women are cool, but when you find a hot woman who’s cool, she’s one of the more memorable women you ever meet. So meet Grace Potter.
She’s the lead singer of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. They’ve been around long enough to record seven albums (5 studio, 2 live) and tour pretty much nonstop. You may have heard of them, you may even be a fan, but they haven’t yet hit that magical tipping point that propels them into ubiquity. That may change this summer. They’re opening in football stadiums nationwide for the Kenny Chesney-Tim McGraw tour (two MH guys, by the way) and have a brand-new album out this week called The Lion, The Beast, The Beat.
As part of this interview, I was invited to the taping of the band’s VH1 Storytellers show (airing on VH1 at 11 pm ET on June 15), which is an interesting experience. The band is on its A-game, obviously, and you even get to hear some songs twice since they’re allowed to do different takes. Meanwhile, this lead singer, a knockout blonde who is a mad combination of Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, and Janis Joplin (with a dose of Grace Slick for kicks), weaves these hilarious and heartfelt stories about how the band got to where they are. Somehow VH1 whittled 3 hours down to one, but if you’ve never experienced this band, this show would be the perfect primer.
As you’ll read, I met Grace once before, and with the debut of the band’s new album and tour, I thought this would be a good time to reconnect via phone. The verdict still stands: This is one cool woman.
Men's Health: Where might you be?
Grace Potter: You got me in Orlando, Florida. I’m sitting in my hotel room looking out the window at the Tower of Terror right now. I can literally see the windows opening and I can imagine what the screams sound like. I’m not at the park. We’re playing a private party today at the Waldorf, so we have a pretty amazing view of the park, which is something I love, love, love.
MH: I want to start this interview off right, so you need to know that we met once. Back in 2008, you signed my chest.
GP: [bursts out laughing] Oh my God, are you kidding me? That’s fucking awesome! Where were we?
MH: Penn’s Peak. You were opening for the Black Crowes, July of 2008.
GP: Oh my God! I do remember that! That’s great. I was at the merch table.
MH: Exactly.
GP: I remember that because Breaking Benjamin was there and a couple of guys from Breaking Benjamin live in that area. So I very, very well remember that Penn’s Peak show. Wow.
MH: I’d had a couple beers, but I have friends that help me generate strange ideas. The thinking was that a woman would ask Steven Tyler or Robert Plant to sign her boobs. So a guy should ask a female lead singer for a boob signing.
GP: [laughs] We’re helpless. We can’t say no. We have to do it. I feel that way about the chest-signing scenario.
MH: Well, hey, I was at the VH1 Storytellers taping and you talked about a lot of things, but one thing in particular really jumped out for obvious reasons: Sex. Your band puts out a lot of sexual vibes—lyrically in the music, and just via stage presence. Not saying a concert is a sexual experience, but it’s definitely there. It’s not imaginary.
GP: Absolutely, and it’s something I want to approach head-on. I wanted to clear the air early on in that show. There was this line in the sand for a lot of our fans when we put out the self-titled album, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and we visually amped up [the sexuality]. Some fans defended it and some were really upset about it. And I really want that discussion to continue because I think it’s fascinating that with a woman, that’s something that everyone notices. But if Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, Robert Plant, or Rod Stewart decide to amp up their look for the night, it’s not like they’ll get an inbox full of complaints.
I wanted to clear that air because regardless of how you choose to move onstage, regardless of lyrically what you choose to sing, the importance of sexuality can’t be understated. Music and sex are one thing; they go together. One is not there without the other, because most songs I write are about love and relationships and that FIRE. And what happens when that fire goes out. So you need both, you need great music, and you need, in my case, sexuality. And being comfortable in my body, being comfortable with the rest of the guys in the band, being sexually and physically aware of each other. That’s a huge part of who we are. Even on the bus, out of the public eye, we’re still like that. [chuckles] I’m grabbing everyone’s asses and that’s just how it is.
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