Lady Gaga bares all - all that's left post her no-pants kink

Describe bustin’ a move like a New Yorker back in the day.
Well, I didn’t really start in the dance scene – I started with a lot of nerdy, record-collecting DJs. I started go-go dancing and started giving my records to the DJs in those bars and as I became more popular, these songs began spreading to the dance scene as well. It’s really, you know, sick (read uber cool) – there are these club kids, and there’s really still a huge scene down there.

Did you always know you wanted to be a real ‘rock & rolla’?
I’m a New York Italian. My father used to play Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Billy Joel, and Elton John records all the time on the record player in the living room. So, music was a big part of my family. We’d listen to Andrea Bocelli and Frank Sinatra over dinner. Theatre became a huge part of my life because of that. My mother made me play the piano since I was about four; I started taking lessons at the age of four.

What does fashion mean to you? Who are your favourite fashion icons?
Artists for me that have been most influential would be Madonna and David Bowie. Not to sound shallow, but I was certainly more appreciative of their visuals than of their music. It’s that fashion sense that completely changes the way you listen to their music.
When it comes to fashion, I’m somebody who experiments with different things so I bought a lot of leather and sequence. So, I started designing my own costumes because it was a lot cheaper. It’s a really big influence on the music because I sing about lifestyle. I’m not making underground music. I’m making pop music about an underground lifestyle. That’s the difference.

That can’t simply be only musicians, right? Are there any other celebrities who fall in this category?
Look at Paris Hilton. I love her! She’s a rich girl who has done nothing. But everyone in the world knows her name. She chose her fame. I’m using her as an example because everyone knows who she is. You’d think, who really cares? But that’s just the way it is.

What’s the Lady GaGa saga all about? Give us the lowdown on who you are.
When I was around 12 or 13, I was singing Backstreet Boys record in a New York boutique (Laughs). I think it was “I Want It That Way.” The guy that worked in the store, Evan – I still remember his name – asked me if I was a singer. I was 12 and he didn’t get what I was doing in a boutique of all places after school. It was just one of those really random moments when he told me that I had a really great voice and suggested that I call his uncle, who taught music.

His uncle was Don Lawrence. Anybody in the industry knows that Don Lawrence is the best music teacher in the world. Bono, Christina Aguilera – you name it – he gave them a voice. I started working with him and he was my mentor. He encouraged me to start writing music, so I started writing at the age of 13. I started writing records using the piano in the house. Then I started playing at coffee houses. I started my own coffee house in high school just so that I’d have a place to play.

For more scoop on Lady Gaga, her music, madness and exhibitionism, pick up the latest copy of Blender India. On newstands now.