Jill Sobule "Kissed a Girl" First

Jill Sobule was the
original proclaimer of sapphic love with her hit "I Kissed
a Girl" in 1995 -- and, of course, when Katy Perry made it
an anthem for lip-locking ladies last year, the media created a
pseudo rivalry.

For her latest CD,
Sobule created a website,

JillsNextRecord.com

, and fans donated money to finance what became
The California Years

. Sobule was so grateful for the help, she thanked some of her
fans with prizes -- one woman who donated $5,000 even
got to sing on "Mexican Pharmacy," a tune on the album, a
romantic, silly, pointed, earnest collection of pop tunes.

Here Sobule talks to
Advocate.com about being bicoastal, the highlight of her life,
and how Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" affected her
life.

Advocate.com:So you've made the transition to the West Coast. How are you
liking California?Jill Sobule:

I'm a hobo. And I just, you know, like to say I'm bicoastal
just because I mooch off my friends and stay with them in New
York. I love that I have both. I was going to say it's
horrible, I need New York to bring out the stimulation and
write and I need to chill out in L.A., but I have to say the
last record really was stimulated by the landscape and the
people in California. Thus,
The California Years

. I was joking with my friend, saying the next record is gonna
be
Back to Brooklyn

.

Your fans donated $75,000 to help you produce your CD. You
must have some pretty great fans!

Yeah, you know, they are. And I appreciate them and I connect
with them and I make sure that they're appreciated and that
there's communication because now I feel like, without a
reliable middleman -- as in a music label -- you've got to
really rely on the people who want to hear your stuff. And
hopefully, it grows, your fan base, but it's that base core. I
love how the Republicans talk about how you gotta appeal to
your "base core." I'm obsessed with the new faces of the
Republican Party, like Glenn Beck and Miss California. But
that's a whole other story! I think I've got really smart,
nerdy fans, that they have a wide variety of lifestyles.