J: What are your best and worst performing experiences? Particularly, with this character, did you ever have a bad experience because of a bad reaction to the vulgarity, or it coming across as harsh?
WS: I don’t know that I’ve ever had people boo or tell me to shut up. I had one audience -- I had a manager at the time who had me booked on a gay pride show that was in Allentown, Pa. We walked into a restaurant called the Moosehead Bar & Grill, and [in character]: ‘Moosehead? I’m Wendy Ho and I’m gonna go play the Moosehead? OK, let’s do this.’ We walked in and there was a huge drag queen, and I was trying to get these people’s attention. The way the room was configured -- there was a bar that wrapped around and they were still playing music while I was trying to sing. That was probably one of the worst.

I also played a show in Salt Lake City. It’s very conservative there, but it was for a gay crowd. I remember after the show someone coming up to me and talking to me and I talked to them normally, ‘How are you doing? Thank you so much,’ and they reacted ‘What? What are you doing? I don’t understand?’ They got angry with me for not being the character when I got offstage. That’s not particularly bad, but it was just funny to me. I had a few -- the Moosehead sticks in my memory.

Then I played a show here at what used to be the Improv, which I think is now the Broadway Comedy Club. I only played there once on an ‘Industry Night,’ which was total bullshit -- there was no industry there. This was very early days. They stuck us in a corner where they were frying chicken basically. I just walked out immediately and used it in the character -- ‘They’re trying to make us come up in here with all the fried chicken?!?! My wig smells.’ I never had people booing for me to get off the stage. I just had bad situations to perform in, where people were distracted by music, and weren’t going to listen or they weren’t there for that.

J: What were some of the best performances?
WS: Definitely one of the best performances I ever had was at this big birthday party they had at the Roxy. It was roller skating night, so I got to sing my songs as people were roller skating, and people congregated. I remember seeing a group of people skating by when I was singing my last song, ‘Fuck Me.’ This one girl had heard one word and wiped out laughing so hard. It was one of the best reactions I’ve ever seen. And then just being in the Roxy. To me that’s a piece of gay icon history to play a place like that. Definitely my performance -- I usually play with tracks and for that one I had a live band. That was amazing, an amazing experience all the way around.

I’ve done a couple Wendy Ho shows at Caroline’s and those are always amazing too -- just great getting to work with Susie Essman, Judy Gold …

J: You’re perfect to warm up for Susie Essman.
WS: I love her. She said, ‘I am mild compared to her!’

J: How many of your bookings are exclusively gay audiences and how many are not? How do they compare? How are they different?
WS: The thing is, I’ve heard a lot of comedians say gay audiences are the hardest audiences to perform for. I would agree with that, however, in my case, we’re dealing with a character that is like a female drag queen, and they go crazy for it. They just are the best audience. Once you do have a gay audience, you have them forever -- till the end of days. They’re just wonderful.

I haven’t really played a whole lot of straight audiences. The ones I have played, I’ve had just as good of a time. But the reaction from them is usually a little more polite, not as crazy, not as rambunctious. The reason why I relate to gay men and women so much is ‘Ho’ to me was something I was in the closet with. There’s this aspect of myself I wanted to let out and for people to see it. When you have something that outrageous inside yourself, those are people who are going to relate to it.

I’m not opposed to playing for straight audiences. I’ll play wherever they will let me in and give me a little bit of cash. It just seems to be reaction and attention I guess.

The other difference is that playing in gay clubs and for gay men, you have never have been treated better. They’re just nice for the most part. The clubs are just nicer. When I played that Improv show where I was treated like ‘welcome into the asshole entrance to the entertainment world.’ -- seedy little dark clubs -- gay clubs can be seedy too but at least there’s a backstage green room (laughs).

J: What are your influences for the ‘Wendy Ho’ character and in performing in general?
WS: Musically, definitely Erykah Badu -- I don’t think I sound like her, but attitude-wise; Mary J. Blige; Missy Elliott; comedy wise, definitely Margaret Cho, Susie Essman, and as far as always looking up to Bette Midler -- people have called me a ‘twenty-first century Bathhouse Betty.’ I love that. It’s a very high complement. I just love soul music and hip hop -- Jill Scott, Angie Stone -- a lot of neo-soul too, I like.

J: Even Kenny Rogers [Wendy parodies ‘The Gambler’ in her song ‘The AIDS Gamble’].
WS: I don’t know if he’d be an influence but I guess so … I remember sitting around with my girlfriend and we were listening to him one day and she said to me, ‘You know girl, you shouldn’t floss your teeth.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about? What’s this flossing your teeth thing about?’ She said, ‘AIDS can get transferred from flossing your teeth, and if you suck someone’s dick who’s got AIDS, then …’ I remember laughing so hard and we were listening to Kenny Rogers and just started ‘Never floss …’ [to tune of ‘never count your money…’]

I come up with the songs a variety of ways. Sometimes I'll have a subject I want to work out, and I'll take a verse or a chorus into the studio and write with my writing partner, Craig Levy. But, most of the time, inspiration will strike when I'm amongst my friends. I've noticed as of late, that pretty much everyone I hang out with is hilarious. Its kind of a pre-requisite to be my friend!

J: Do you ever have problems with being white and doing a black character?
WS: I was really scared when I first started doing it, thinking that I would. Sometimes I’ll get a look, but again it goes back to the joke being on me and on this character. She’s being so blatant; it has nothing to do with these being ‘black issues.’ I have yet to see an African-American audience member [react badly] … at first they might give me a look when I say the line, ‘surprise, I’m black!’ They’ll look at me like, ‘O.K., girl’ [skeptical]. But then I sing ‘Fuck Me’ and they lose it, so it’s redeemed. I remember I did a show at Caroline’s and Miss Jo of Hot 97 was in the audience and invited me on her show. I never expected that. I never thought any black woman would ask me to be on her radio show, and she loved me and brought me on and was so nice to me, and played part of ‘Bitch I Stole Your Purse’ on the air. She was great.

She asked me that question too. I haven’t met anyone who said I should not be doing that; that’s not funny. At the end of the day, it’s funny. If people … deep offense is built into the ship of comedy. If people are going out to a comedy show looking to be offended, they will find offense in it because that’s the way it’s built. But a good comic always knows how to build offense into a joke and also give the audience the release they need and the laughter. There’s definitely offense in what I do but I feel there’s always a release opportunity for everybody. …

It’s always so funny when I do interviews, people ask me where I’m from, and after I perform too. Does that tell you anything? I know people are just curious but does that explain anything about the character?

J: People wonder what deep-seated childhood trauma informs their comedy, or think they’re sad people or…
WS: Well, in my show I definitely can go on about that -- I was born into a family that lived in a trailer park for 10 years and I always joke around about praying for a person of color to come down and rescue me from the heaps of white trash I was surrounded by. A big influence in this act too is my best friend who I grew up with until I was 10, Tamika Cook, a black girl, and the way she talked with me and her mom, I just died, it was so funny. It was the first time there was ever ‘Hello? I don’t understand what you’re saying.’ She invited me to go to this party, saying, ‘My mom is having a ‘Jeri’ party and wants you to come.’ I thought, ‘I don’t know who Jerry is?’ She said, ‘no -- jewelry -- necklaces, earrings …’ We would laugh about that kind of stuff. She was definitely a big influence on me. That would tell you my need to express myself or my attraction to the African-American community I guess because there was none to speak of when I was growing up. My mom and dad would listen to a lot of old soul music and I always loved singing [to it].