Wearing bedazzled jumpsuits and blue eyeliner, the
latest YouTube darling has taken her brand of
hip-hop on the road. The next stop for Leslie Hall?
World domination.
At first glance,
the deadpan, dorky-looking Leslie Hall seems an unlikely
Internet starlet. Yet the 24-year-old Iowa native conjured a
tidal wave of online popularity thanks to her music
videos posted on Youtube and Myspace. And now,
Hall's hip-hop band "Leslie and the Lys" has
begun a cross-country tour to attract publicity, sell
T-shirts and CDs, and bring her passion for gem
sweaterology--bedazzled with rhinestones and beads,
popular in the 80s--to the unenlightened,
Decked out in
blue eye shadow and a gold sequined jumpsuit (Hall's mother
designs all the costumes), she recently played to a
packed house at Safari Sam's in Los Angeles. With the
camp sensibility of Julie Brown, she warbles her
ditties on her new CD, Doorman's Daughter.
Songs like "Zombie Killers" and "Shazam I'm Glamorous"
are surprisingly catchy, infectious little numbers.
They're the kinds of songs the B-52's livened up college
parties with decades ago.
Out of the makeup
and garish outfits that give her that Ziggy
Stardust meets Tammy Faye look, Hall is attractive, bright,
totally in on the joke, and having a ball with
newfound fame.
1. How did Leslie and the Lys come about? Did you spring
fully grown from the head of Zeus, or did you rise
from the sea like Venus?
Oh, we arose like Venus, absolutely. My career in
ceWebrity stardom happened with the help of no one. I
began to form the music, the look, and the dreams. The
Lys just jumped on to look pretty and smile if asked.
They're eye candy, really. But the sweat and triumph is
something I earned.
2. How do you feel after your triumphant conquest of Los Angeles?
I feel like a very shiny object put on display at
Christie's auction house with 500 people bidding their
life savings on me. Get what I'm saying? Trust me,
love and open arms is all I felt. I absolutely had the
most amazing time ever. I can never come back. I've reached
the top.
3. What has been your mission with this tour?
Singing songs and dancing to the thunder of
glamorousness is great, but my mission is the
education and spreading of knowledge about the lost
and forgotten art of gem sweaters. Do you know they cost $1
at thrift stores? Do you know males and females look
lovely in them? I'm just telling people, "Rescue,
preserve—and don't give up on the fashion of
yesteryear."
4. How did you get into bejeweled sweaters—are you
Joan Collins's secret granddaughter?
Oh, wouldn't that be awesome? I bought my first
one for a high school dance, and I never looked
back. It was cheap, I looked great, and a
protégé was born.
5. I noticed you have a sizeable gay and lesbian
following. Are you poised to become the Cher or
Madonna of the Internet Age?
Oh, yes. That is truly my destiny. I've been
reading their biographies, trying to duplicate the
same career paths. Trust me, my dreams are to fulfill
your desires in the form of fame and glory. Let the beat
take, take you; let my vision hold you and my
quivering body tease you.
6. What's next for Leslie Hall?
Big shows. The next L.A. one is at the Hammer Museum.
I'm not sure of the dates yet, but I will soon.
Check the Web site. Other than that, I did pick up a
manager in Los Angeles, so who the heck knows what
they have planned for a little girl from Iowa with plus-size
dreams of Internet conquests?
Check out
www.lesliehall.com and www.leslieandthelys.com for tour
dates, fan club information, and to feast your eyes on
Leslie's gem sweater gallery.
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A. Ashley Hoff is currently writing a book about the
classic TV game show Match Game.