Kill Rock Stars Saves a Life

Former 4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry, who grew up in San Diego, wants her 1996 album In Flight to get another shot. The record was made after Interscope Records dropped 4 Non Blondes but kept Perry as a solo artist. Perry says they failed to promote the album.

"I was so devastated by that," she told the Washington Post on September 26. "They [the band] were devastated and hate me. Then I make a [solo] record for it to be shelved.... It put me into a near suicidal state when they didn't give it even one little push." Kill Rock Stars will re-release the record next week.

The 40-year-old singer says of her San Diego days, "I was just loafing, partying all the time, and when I hit 20, like, 'Hello, you're supposed to be doing music right now.' Then it was, like, all right, I'm gonna be a rock star."

Thanks to successful songs Perry wrote or produced for Christina Aguilera, Juliette Lewis, Kelly Osbourne, Courtney Love, Pink, and Gwen Stefani, Perry today drives a new Aston Martin, owns a San Fernando Valley recording studio, and recently launched her own label, Custard Records.

Regarding Stefani, Perry says, "Gwen had friction completely about everything. She had friction about making an album.... I think she had hesitation about me because she'd never worked with a woman before. Everybody I get who's a woman says they've never worked with a woman before."

Perry plays the Belly Up tomorrow, one of six gigs she's doing to promote the re-release.