Jake Shears is Getting Kinky

Jake Shears may be instantly recognizable as the wildly successful songwriter and one of the powerhouse performers of Scissor Sisters, but you can add actor, writer, and solo artist to that list. We have seen him mature through both his songs and his career, and he shows no signs of taking a break. This July, he comes to the Hollywood Bowl to his reprise his Broadway debut role as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots, alongside Wayne Brady and Kelly Marie Tran. Having gone through COVID, a breakup, and a move across the pond, Jake’s Charlie Price is a welcome return.

Getting off-book again and going back to the script, it’s sort of naturally coming back. I just feel so comfortable. It’s really like putting on an old leather jacket or something you haven’t worn for a while. I feel confident with it, I don’t feel that stressed out about it.  I think there’s something else coming out in the character with me and I’m just so excited to do it again with that confidence.

His 2018 Broadway debut in Kinky Boots was not without nerves. Although his musical theatre relationship had started years prior when he wrote the music for the musical version of the book Tales of the City, and although he had performed to sold-out audiences around the globe, the Broadway grind was something foreign to him.

It was topsy turvy doing eight-show weeks. We would do five-show weekends, I would finish the weekend and realize I had been on stage for a good chunk of my waking life. I was living on a stage, which is my dream, and I was really enjoying it. I took it so seriously just because I wanted to be good and just preparing for it and getting in there was just a lot of work. I don’t know if I’ve ever worked so hard on anything before in my life. It was completely exhausting but very satisfying. Kinky Boots was biting off even more than I could chew. There was a moment where I thought to myself, I don’t know if I can do this, but I did, and that was just one of the best moments in my life.

Jake first deviated from his Scissor Sisters persona as an actor when he appeared in the deeply dark play, Bent, directed by theatre impresario Moisés Kaufman. In true Jake form, he challenged himself and was able to turn dark energy into light.

Moisés came to me and wanted to cast me in the show, but I’m not an actor at all, like I’m a bad actor. And he said, “Don’t worry. I promise I’ve got you on this. I’m gonna help you through it. And he really, really did. I learned so much and it was one of the most amazing times of my life that summer. I think we did 70 shows and it’s such a beautiful show. I met amazing people on it and it’s just so exciting to see yourself kind of progress and learn new things and I loved it. It was really funny, it was so heavy and every night I remember after the show I’d set up my dressing room, with a full bar. There was a big rug and fairy lights and stuff. The show was so depressing, everybody was really down and I would run up to my room and play Donna Summer’s “Love Will Always Find You” every night. Everyone went back to the dressing rooms and got their good moods back on, it was an amazing moment. I wouldn’t have been able to do Kinky Boots without it.

From leaving Scissor Sisters to pave his own path, the year he debuted in Kinky Boots was a big one for Jake. Not only did he release his memoir, Boys Keep Swinging, but he also released his self-titled debut solo album Jake Shears. His beautiful style of songwriting translated to the page extremely well, and the memoir detailing his journey from being bullied in high school to being embraced by New York’s underground solidified his role as an indie artist. With rumors and assumptions as to why Scissor Sisters broke up, his memoir would unflinchingly tell his side of life – drugs, sex, and rock n roll were his life’s companions.

I was nervous about it, it’s a little strange opening up about certain things. I am actually a private person… on social media I don’t like to spill everything out. I don’t like for people to necessarily know where I’m at all times or who I’m dating or what’s going on. But that book exposed me, it’s very sexually explicit, there’s a lot of drugs and sex and partying and all kinds of stuff in there. And I was like, my God, my Mom is gonna read this, and she did. She’s totally fine, ha! I loved writing that book and I look at it now and I kind of wish I could write it again. There is something about writing about your life that can be eye-opening.

I’ve been thinking about how I was 25 when the first Scissor’s record came out and it’s really interesting thinking back to that boy now that I’m 43, thinking about all the crazy stuff that I went through at a pretty young age. I think about it a lot now and try to give myself a little leeway sometimes. I can be hard on myself. I try to go back and think about those points and remember that I did go through a lot. I think sometimes you’ve gotta be a little bit easier on yourself.

Revisiting Jake’s debut solo album is like revisiting the early years of Scissor Sisters. There is a euphoric joy that just exudes from each note, his instantly recognizable voice immediately makes you feel filthy and gorgeous at the same time. The energy and exuberance of his songwriting play as a complete opposite of the anxiety and depression that Jake has experienced and has been very open about. How does he write music from sometimes a dark place?

Joyful music just comes out of me. I love writing fun music and I love writing stuff that’s a little bit sinister too. Over the last couple of years, people ask me what the record’s about, and it’s not about anything other than the act of making music, it made me happy making it. It was the one thing I could do that made me feel good. I just think that it’s important to at least find things that can bring you some joy. And over the last few years, that is what really brought me a lot of joy – making music.

Before non-binary and gender-fluid style was a fixture on the red carpet, as a youth, Jake was exploring his creative side. A self-proclaimed “girlie freak,” he was dressing very aggressively, lots of consignment-shop skirts and fishnets, and would buy bondage belts from his tweaker friends who needed money for drugs. Even in the low-key climates of suburban Arizona and a harbor town in Washington State, he was defying norms loudly.

Attention is what I needed! That’s something about just my personality. I’m a person that does need attention and I feel like I have channeled that into healthy channels, in positive ways. I think it can go kind of either way for people like me. At the time, I felt different, and I felt like I needed to break out when I was a teenager. I was so inspired by all the music I was listening to, kind of right before Nirvana came out and there was Susan and the Banshees and Nine Inch Nails, and I was super into Bowie. It was an amazing time for music and I was very inspired by the styles that I was seeing. And I wanted to be different. I wanted to look different. I wanted people to see me. I wanted to feel like I was sticking out, no matter the cost. Even if people were going to yell at me from their cars, it was more important to me to feel like I did inside as on the outside, whether I was going to be made fun of or not.

From taking tap dance lessons in the 4^th grade with his mom to becoming an international music star, he’s had a colorful journey complete with ups and downs. Now that he’s created his own spotlight, is he able to celebrate his time with Scissor Sisters?

Absolutely. It was tough and there were struggles. Yes. But I loved every minute of it, I wouldn’t trade any of it. I love singing those songs. Even though I’m not with a band anymore, things don’t feel that different for me. I’m still making the music. I still perform and sing all the songs I’ve written over my career and the new songs that I do. I love what I do. I’m one of the luckiest people on the planet, I’ve never had to get a real job. I have been able to make my living from my passion. It just doesn’t feel like work – it’s fun. Even though there are hard times, and even though you can really sacrifice a lot for it, it’s worth it. And it’s a life I would never, ever trade.

As Jake puts the final touches on his second memoir, his second solo album, and his return to Kinky Boots, he looks to the future and the future for our community.

I think we are in a pretty good spot; I think it’s going to be an exciting Pride this year. I think the main thing is we all just need to really listen to one another, and we all need to keep a sense of humor. Humor is part of who we are. Everybody’s got to be flexible a little bit, there’s no world where there is no compromise, you know? So, I think being flexible, having a sense of humor, listening to one another, and all those things, loving one another, are the most important things. And that’s what I want to see and continue seeing in our community.

This pride season, just don’t take our good times for granted, don’t take our community for granted. Don’t take your friends for granted.

Jake will be appearing at the Hollywood Bowl in Kinky Boots from July 8^th – 10^th.

Look for Jake’s second memoir and solo album coming soon.

Follow Jake on IG @JakeShears