Because she's such a good sport, Baby Dee will play just about any piano you put in front of her. She just has a way of making any ratty set of 88 keys sound heavenly. If given a chance, though, the campy singer will take a grand piano over an electric keyboard. In particular, she likes the Steinway D, or as she puts it, her "Rolls Royce of choice." It's that particular piano you will hear on Dee's upcoming album Regifted Light, and oddly enough, it belonged to hard-partying rocker Andrew W.K.
A press release explains that Dee tickled these particular ivories shortly after meeting W.K., who housed the instrument at his New York City apartment. He apparently knew something special would happen as soon as Dee touched the keys.
"They say that pianos become better when they're played by good pianists," W.K. said in a statement. "Ever since Dee touched that piano, I swore it sounded better. She loved the piano and is one of the only people I met who could really appreciate it as an instrument and use it for all it's worth."
A move to a new apartment in a high-rise made the logistics of taking the piano near-impossible, so the rocker decided to deliver the instrument to Dee's Cleveland home, where the pair set up to record Regifted Light.
Bawdy bangers -- this is the woman that sang "Big Titty Bee Girl (From Dino Town)," after all -- generally take a backseat to the Steinway D on the "largely wordless" album, though the press release does point to new tune "The Pie Song" as having "one of [Dee's] most hilarious (and minimal) lyrics."
A tracklisting has not yet been available, but our minds are already in the gutter on this one.
Though the piano is the star of the show, Dee is joined on Regifted Light by multi-instrumentalist Jon Steinmeier (Mucca Pazza), cellist Matthew Robinson and tuba, sousaphone and bassoon player Mark Messing.
To celebrate the new album, Dee has announced a small string of dates. Canuck fans can check her out in Toronto and Montreal in May.
Regifted Light comes out March 22 on Drag City.
Tour dates:
5/4 Kalamazoo, MI - The Strutt
5/5 Chicago, IL - The Hideout
5/6 Pittsburgh, PA - Andy Warhol Museum
5/7 Toronto, ON - The Music Gallery
5/8 Montreal, QC - Casa Del Popolo
5/14 Detroit, MI - Cliff Bell's
A press release explains that Dee tickled these particular ivories shortly after meeting W.K., who housed the instrument at his New York City apartment. He apparently knew something special would happen as soon as Dee touched the keys.
"They say that pianos become better when they're played by good pianists," W.K. said in a statement. "Ever since Dee touched that piano, I swore it sounded better. She loved the piano and is one of the only people I met who could really appreciate it as an instrument and use it for all it's worth."
A move to a new apartment in a high-rise made the logistics of taking the piano near-impossible, so the rocker decided to deliver the instrument to Dee's Cleveland home, where the pair set up to record Regifted Light.
Bawdy bangers -- this is the woman that sang "Big Titty Bee Girl (From Dino Town)," after all -- generally take a backseat to the Steinway D on the "largely wordless" album, though the press release does point to new tune "The Pie Song" as having "one of [Dee's] most hilarious (and minimal) lyrics."
A tracklisting has not yet been available, but our minds are already in the gutter on this one.
Though the piano is the star of the show, Dee is joined on Regifted Light by multi-instrumentalist Jon Steinmeier (Mucca Pazza), cellist Matthew Robinson and tuba, sousaphone and bassoon player Mark Messing.
To celebrate the new album, Dee has announced a small string of dates. Canuck fans can check her out in Toronto and Montreal in May.
Regifted Light comes out March 22 on Drag City.
Tour dates:
5/4 Kalamazoo, MI - The Strutt
5/5 Chicago, IL - The Hideout
5/6 Pittsburgh, PA - Andy Warhol Museum
5/7 Toronto, ON - The Music Gallery
5/8 Montreal, QC - Casa Del Popolo
5/14 Detroit, MI - Cliff Bell's
