Out musican Ashley MacIsaac discusses his instrument of choice, his much younger boyfriend, and his sizzling new CD Pride.

By Lawrence Ferber

Musician Ashley MacIsaac has never been one for predictability. But even his most diehard fans may be surprised to learn that he abandoned his trademark fiddle for rockin' guitars on his latest album, Pride (KOCH Records). The 31-year- old, out Canadian first rose to stardom as a teen fiddle prodigy. At age 16, famed NYC-based composer Phillip Glass was tipped off to MacIsaac's distinctive talents by wife Joanne Akalaitis, who saw him perform while vacationing in Cape Breton. After some co-composing and performance work with Glass (on Georg Buchner's play, Woyzek), Paul Simon enlisted MacIsaac for an Edie Brickell record that he was producing and a Carnegie Hall concert.

Several years and solo albums later, MacIsaac publicly came out with a big splash, telling a Canadian magazine about his 16-year-old boyfriend and a love of watersports. A mix of best-selling fiddle-driven albums, a struggle with drugs, further media scandals (he famously lifted his kilt on Late Night with Conan O'Brien), a 1999 autobiography, Fiddling With Disaster, and a dabbling with electronica (on the album Helter Celtic) followed.

The unpredictable goings-on continue with Pride, an unabashedly queer garage rock album addressing relationships old and new. While MacIsaac has been credited for bringing a rock/punk aesthetic to his Cape Breton-styled fiddling, this marks the first time he abandoned his fiddle altogether. It's a refreshing and surprisingly accomplished change of pace; the tunes are intensely melodic, yet deliciously rough around the edges. "I'd like it if someone would take parts of it and remix it because there are lots of lyrics there written in a dance-style," adds MacIsaac. "I started out thinking I would make a dance record. The label was like, 'We'd rather do rock.' I was like, fine. The sense of the lyrics is maybe pop-rock to a degree, but I think there's a little of bitchy gay dance quality that came out."

On the softer side of things, MacIsaac plans to marry his boyfriend, Andrew Stokes, in May. To get the story behind this recent (and quite young!) love, writing on rum, and newfound status as queen of rock, I spoke with the Toronto-based MacIsaac by phone.

You described your last album, 2003's Ashley MacIsaac, as "my version of me as one of the Corrs." How do you describe Pride?

This is me being a rock version of Ashley MacIsaac, gay celebrity, circa 25 years old. It's a build-up of that emotion. I didn't really go through rock back then. Everything on the radio was Avril Lavigne, and if rock was as cheesy as taking someone 14-year-old from the middle of Ontario who's never sang a rock song and suddenly making her the queen of rock, then I could be the queen of rock.

Pride is about relationships, but there seems to be some push and pull between happy and horrible emotion from song to song.

I want people to think of this as a gay love-and-hate record. I hate you, you left, goodbye. I love you, you're back.

I read that you wrote some of these songs while liquored up on rum.

I guess. I went to this bar and drank for a month. After that and the following month I started writing the record. I always smoke pot to get in a mode to want to work, but because I was having a shot of rum in the morning and exercising I think that put a different spin on me. Probably made me a little more energetic about the stuff, and direct maybe.

Would this album have been different if you drank, say, vodka or Chambord?

Definitely, because I can't drink vodka. It makes me sort of a jaded asshole. I am that anyway, but that never takes precedence. I don't think vodka would have made for a good record.

Let's talk about this new boyfriend of yours, who's quite cute judging from the photos on your Web site's message board. He's a violinist as well?

He is a violinist and it's driving me crazy because I've managed to live at home for a long time without hearing violin. But he's playing all the time. Sometimes when we play with each other it's good.

How did you meet the little rascal?

He introduced himself in my Web site. He's really a sweet guy. He was born in Portugal and moved here probably five or six years ago. He's beautiful -- 6-foot, 2."

Did you receive a lot of online flirtations like that?

No. A year ago I put up the idea of who wants to marry Ashley MacIsaac as a reality TV show in Canada. I wanted to get married in Alberta as a sort of political slap at the premier of Alberta at the time, who was anti the federal stance on gay marriage. But I didn't end up finding somebody and broke up instead! That's what a lot of my record's songs are about -- someone I broke up with. So I was at the low end of things and looking for someone for a year and a half when Andrew introduced himself to me.

What's the story behind the song "Love 'Em?"

That was about the first guy I met when I walked into the first bar I ever walked into a month after I broke up. I thought, "I'm going to start drinking." The guy who was working the bar I totally fell crazy for. We went out for about a week, and he became my best friend. I never had a best friend before, so it was pretty nice to meet him. And I wrote that song about him when I was still fawning. His last name is Likum, and his first name sounds like love 'em, so that's how I got the idea.

Is the romantic "A Man Like You" about Andrew?

I like to tell him that now because I think it is. It's about someone I didn't know I would meet, but I initially wrote it about my ex to a degree. But I also thought this is a real generic love song that can be about any man I find that's really going to make me crazy. That's definitely Andrew now.

Is he ever horrified or shocked by any of your past hijinks?

I think his aunt gave him my autobiography, which has a lot of descriptive stories about things and experiences I've had. But I don't know if he's read it. I have a character I play as an entertainer, but that's not necessarily who I am all of the time. But I think I'm a pretty down to earth, nice guy. When we talk about legalized prostitution I'll bring it up like, 'Let's go get some man whores and invite them over.' And he's like 'No, I don't enjoy that stuff.' Maybe I shock him a little bit. But he's 17! He's turning 18 in a couple of months. He's got tons of time ahead of him that he's going to be shockedÉ but he's probably had more experiences with guys than I did at his age! People start to be out at 13 now. He's had a lot of experiences in high school and I think even had an experience in the school church once, on the altar! So he's had experience and won't get that shocked by me."

Will you bring your own infamous shock value back out when you tour to support Pride?

I can get a little Christina on stage. Depends on how the audiences are. There's a gay side I put into shows if there's a more gay audience. Like if I'm at a pride fest I play that role a little deeper than I would in the media. Doing gay press is exciting for me.

Then say it all for us, Ashley. Let it out!

Then if Pride is a success, I demand that at one of my shows the doors get closed and it becomes one big bukkake party. That's the rule.

Finally, are you done fiddling around with the violin?

Oh no. I actually smashed one during the weekend at a show in Winnipeg. It was minus 42 degrees and I had a fur coat on and I thought what more dramatic way to finish this one than smash it? I'll keep playing the fiddle, I have a passion for the instrument. But fiddling around with other people -- that's less my concern at the moment. Why am I going out for a burger when I have a T-bone at home? I'm older and happy to be in a relationship.

For more information on MacIsaac, visit www.ashleymacisaac.com.