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AE: What about Gay Rights? Do you think that’s a real issue?
DE: Well of course I do, but I’m not sure how gay entertainers can push that along any faster than Will and Grace, or The L Word. We can certainly be visible, but the battle isn’t in the public perception of gays and lesbians, it’s in the public perception of those who might vote in favor of gay rights! (laughs) Look, I feel that people’s personal sexual preferences really should be a non-issue. We’re all human beings. And for the most part, sexuality really is a non-issue in entertainment, unless you’re one of a handful of A-listers who really think they’re pulling the wool over America’s eyes, and God bless ‘em, because obviously they are very afraid of being outed. And that must be terrifying for those people, to live in fear like that all the time. I couldn’t do it. In terms of gay rights, that to me falls in the category of human rights. And of course I think those are paramount. I would love to be legally married in my own country. It’s embarrassing that we have to leave our own borders to achieve such a basic civil liberty.

AE: You’re known for being a prolific creative genius. How were you able to achieve so much in the competitive world of entertainment?
DE: I think it boiled down to being the last one standing at the end of the day! (laughs) Being successful in entertainment is a numbers game. You have to create something, then throw it out there and hope it flies. If it doesn’t, then you’d better scrap it, and try again, and you can’t get hung up on what didn’t work, and you can’t quit. I mean, you can, but then entertainment probably isn’t the business for you! (laughs) I’m really blessed in that I have a lot of areas that I can creatively turn to--music, acting, writing screenplays, underscoring films. When one area would hitch up and slow down, I’d go to the next one. Pretty soon, they were all hitting, I had more work than I knew what to do with, and everybody was calling me a creative genius! (laughs) I really am honored that people like my work so much. It really, really means a great deal to me.

AE: You do understand that your creative record is off the scale, don’t you? Two optioned screenplays this year, recording two albums this year, filming two movies this year, getting your talk radio show syndicated this year – most people would die from exhaustion. You don’t even look tired.
DE: I don’t? Right on! (laughs) Seriously, being creative is what I love. It doesn’t make me tired.

AE: Do you ever sleep?
DE: Once every 200 years, when the crow flies at midnight. (laughs)

AE: What is the secret to focusing your prolific creative juices?
DE: (laughs) That sounds really naughty, and sort of makes me crave rare steak at the same time. Is that weird?

AE: Let me re-phrase that. What is the secret to your overwhelming success in music, film, and screenwriting?
DE: Ah! How linear of you! There really is no secret. I just refuse to give up, and keep doing what I like to do, and the success has always followed. I’ve always been good at multi-tasking creatively. Other areas, I suck. Don’t make me balance my checkbook! (laughs) I find that if I don’t have a good balance of outputting separate [creative] mediums, I sort of break down, like a car that should be driven fast, but eventually falls apart because it only goes around the block once or twice. As long as I am constantly working on two or three things, I get them all done efficiently. My dad calls it “my disease.” (laughs)

AE: You’ve got some feature films coming up that you are starring in, and one of them is a screenplay that you originally authored. What’s it called?
DE: It’s called Imogene’s Waltz, and it’s a drama set in a small town in Montana. It’s an amazing character piece that’s a story about who we are, versus who we create ourselves to be. It’s great! Clear Pictures is doing that film in 2006. I play Jane, the only gay person in a tiny town of 650 people. It’s being directed by Susan Turley, who directed and produced the gay thriller The M.O. of M.I. as well as a bunch of other films. Susan also cast me in a film she wrote and is directing, called Changing Spots, and that’s supposed to begin filming this fall, but I think they’re changing the name of the film if I’m not mistaken. But before that, I’m playing Dexy in Melody and Harmony, written and directed by Teresa Crespo-Hartendorp with LyonHart Films, filming this summer.

AE: Which film are you the most excited about starring in?
DE: Honestly, they’re all terrific, and very different, and I feel incredibly blessed to be cast in all of them! Of course, I’m pretty thrilled that Imogene’s Waltz is getting made, and I’m even more thrilled to be doing the score for the film!

AE: Your career started out in music, with the all-girl band Pope Jane. Are your band days over?
DE: Oh, hell no! (laughs) Music will always be part of my life. I couldn’t stop singing and playing if I tried. I do all kinds of music, from ambient meditation stuff to my solo album, which is coming out sort of Alt Country, weirdly enough. I’m still working on it [solo album] but it will be done pretty soon--in theory. The filming has cut in a bit to the recording schedule. Pope Jane is still technically together--we’re just on hiatus right now while I do all my other stuff.

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