\u201cI\u2019m such a weirdo, anxiety-ridden, stressed-out control freak. I don\u2019t know how to have fun, so I\u2019m doing my best,\u201d Linda Perry told the crowd at a sold-out Roxy Theatre last December.<\/p>\n
It was a surprising confession. Minutes earlier, the charismatic frontwoman of 4 Non Blondes had been laughing and smiling with her bandmates, performing new material and a pair of favorites including their 1993 hit \u201cWhat\u2019s Up?\u201d<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s reunion, more than three decades in the making, coincides with a new chapter for Perry: her first solo effort since 1996, the self-produced album \u201cLet It Die Here,\u201d and a documentary, \u201cLinda Perry: Let It Die Here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, Perry sits in the control room of her Sherman Oaks recording studio, an eclectic blend of rock and roll and zen. A console features a Daruma doll, a miniature vintage sports car and a tiny replica of Perry holding her child, Rhodes. The main space is filled with musical instruments, a Buddha statue, a Yoda doll, a skull, and glam platform boots perched atop a piano. Photographs of icons like David Bowie, Stevie Nicks and Mick Jagger line the walls.<\/p>\n
Wearing one of her signature 10-gallon hats, layers of gold chains, a black Depeche Mode T-shirt, baggy faded jeans and brown suede platform boots, Perry exudes the magnetism of a rock star suited for center stage. It feels inevitable that she is stepping back into the spotlight after decades spent writing, co-writing and producing music for others and composing for film and television.<\/p>\n
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Yet Perry, 62, has never truly been in the shadows. Her portfolio spans an exceptional range of some of the biggest names in music \u2014 from Christina Aguilera, Dolly Parton and Pink to Ringo Starr, Alicia Keys and Gwen Stefani. She\u2019s written hit songs, received Grammy and Golden Globe nominations and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.<\/p>\n
Even so, Perry remains her own harshest critic. Explaining her onstage remarks at the Roxy show last year, she says, \u201cIt\u2019s hard to have fun, because I\u2019m controlling and I want to be great at what I do, so I overthink. There\u2019s a lot going on in my head while I\u2019m up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut music is fun. It\u2019s a release,\u201d she continues. \u201cIt\u2019s great when I hit that area where I can stop worrying and disappear into the craft.\u201d<\/p>\n
Release has become a through line for Perry, reflected in the shared title of her forthcoming projects, drawn from her song \u201cLet It Die Here.\u201d She wrote it while caring for her dying mother \u2014 with whom she had a fraught relationship \u2014 and reflecting on their past.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking about how you can choose to be set free, or you can still carry all the s\u2014: the trauma, the shame, the guilt, the anger,\u201d Perry says. \u201cIt was my hope to just let it go, to let it die here so I can move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, Perry had written a couple of songs, but wasn\u2019t planning a full-length record. However, weeks before the documentary premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, she was asked to play a set after the screening. \u201cI was like, what the f\u2014 am I gonna perform?\u201d she says. \u201cSo I was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll just write a record. \u2026 The whole album is about my mom.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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