Queer singer/songwriter Nona Hendryx has had the kind of career longevity (and variety) of which many musicians can only dream or hope to achieve. Best known as one-third of the groundbreaking soul/rock trio LaBelle—who rocketed to fame with their massive hit “Lady Marmalade,” and performed with the prolific Laura Nyro—the uncompromising Hendryx has had an unconventional solo career, daring to go in musical directions (which included performing with Bill Laswell’s Material, and providing backup vocals for David Byrne’s Talking Heads) that few others would ever consider. Her latest album, “Mutatis Mutandis” (Righteous Babe), was released last month. Hendryx spoke with Florida Agenda’s Gregg Shapiro.

 FA: Of the nine songs that you wrote or co-wrote on “Mutatis Mutandis,” were any of them written or conceived of during the LaBelle reunion period, and 2008’s “Back to Now”?

NH: Those songs came out of me over a period of time since 9/11. I’ve written many songs since then, but these are a group of songs that live together—the most recent being “Mad As Hell.” I was in the process of writing three additional songs that I didn’t really have time to complete, which will become another project.

FA: With songs such as “Tea Party,” and “The Ballad of Rush Limbaugh,” and “Mad As Hell,” not to mention your cover of “Strange Fruit,” would it be fair to say that “Mutatis Mutandis” is one of your most political recordings?

NH: Yes, I would say it’s the most, as a set of songs. We were always [political] as LaBelle, and within my solo career, there’ve been social statements, some political, but more dealing with social thoughts and feelings and expressions. This is much more pointedly political.

FA: You make reference to the Second Amendment, and the right to bear arms, in “Tea Party.” The tragedy in Aurora, Colorado [is] another example of senseless gun violence. What are your thoughts?

NH: Only how sad it is. This has been an ongoing problem, and I think we can look to European countries, and learn a strong lesson about gun control. We are just more prone to that type of violence because of how we have accepted weaponry, since the birth of our country. I parallel that with the desire to legislate a woman’s body. One gives birth, one gives life. One takes life. And you want to legislate one, but not the other. I don’t understand it. My brain can’t compute that.

FA: Grammy-winning lesbian jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington performs on the song “Let’s Give Love A Try,” and you can be heard singing on Carrington’s rendition of your song “Transformation,” on her “Mosaic Project” album. What did it mean to have that song covered by another performer?

NH: It’s not the first time. It’s the same, but different. Terri is really talented, and she has this great ability to take something like “Transformation,” which is a funkpop groove, written by me and Carole Pope and Kevin Staples, two Canadians [of the band Rough Trade]. And she gave it another life, in terms of the horn and piano parts. I think it’s beautiful. I really love it.

FA: Amidst all the anger and frustration on the disc, love offers hope on songs such as “Let’s Give Love A Try,” and “When Love Goes to War.” Do you think love stands a chance in these times?

NH: [Laughing] Love always stands a chance. They say, “perennial as the grass, it will bloom.” As long as there are young and old hearts, people who’ve been jaded or crushed or hurt by life’s experiences, that is the thing that powers our getting up every day and walking through the pain and the difficulties that are part of the human experience.

FA: Nine of the 10 songs on the disc are original compositions. Why did you choose to cover “Strange Fruit?”

NH: I’ve been moved by that song for I don’t know how many years. I found it difficult to get to, to interpret—to feel that I could actually do it justice in any way. It was so owned by Billie Holiday. It had to do with that time when there were noose hangings in different places in America—in the South and in the Northeast. It brought back that vivid image. [In 1998, Matthew Shepard] was left hanging on a fence, he was killed. And [with] the rise of the Tea Party and other things, it just felt like that kind of thing could happen again. It felt so palpable that that kind of energy was on the rise in America. I went into my studio one day and made my version of the song, to try and get out of me feelings that came up.

FA: Do you have a Broadway musical in you?

NH: [Laughs] I have a musical, but it may not be Broadway. It’s based on my “Skin Diver” album. I’ve been working on that with Charles Randolph- Wright, who is at the moment preparing the Broadway musical of “The Berry Gordy Story.” Charles and I have been working together for quite some time. We worked on plays with music called “Blue” and “Oak and Ivy,” that were performed at Arena Stage [in Washington D.C.]. We’ve done quite a few things together. And “Skin Diver” has been our long awaited baby that we’re birthing [laughs].

FA: When your tour does come to town, what can your fans and friends expect?

NH: High energy, [and a] funky, rocking performance, where your head is nourished, and your soul is nourished, and your booty is shaking.

“Magic Hour” (Casablanca), Scissor Sisters’ fourth studio album, has all the necessary ingredients to cast a spell on their devoted fans, and to earn them plenty of new ones. Album opener “Baby Come Home” has a comfortable familiarity, and even a touch of classic Prince. The galloping “Only The Horses” is a perfect summer single, the kind of Tea Dance anthem that is sure to fill dance-floors. The irresistible “Let’s Have A Kiki” and “Keep Your Shoes On” broaden both the horizons of Scissor Sisters and their followers.

The Agenda’s Gregg Shapiro spoke this month with front-man Jake Shears.

FLORIDA AGENDA: I’d like to begin by talking about the cover art on “Magic Hour,” which is reminiscent of the album covers that British design team Hipgnosis did for Pink Floyd and others.

Scissor Sisters covered Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” on the self-titled debut: Would it be safe to say that there is a connection?

Jake Shears: It’s definitely not a coincidence. Hipgnosis was always a huge influence for what we were doing.

There’s been a running theme on all of our sleeves. The link is there’s always something happening in the middle and there’s somebody turning away from you. The fact that we changed it from a person to an animal was another thing. We like our covers to have a subtle mystery, and the color and mood that go along with it. “Night Work” was no exception. It’s totally influenced by Hipgnosis. It’s also a reference to the fact that we’re still—fortunately or unfortunately—an album band.

FA: “Magic Hour” is being released domestically on Casablanca, a record label known for its association with the seminal days of disco music. Is this significant to you and Scissor Sisters?X

JS: [Laughs] We’re happy to have a label in America that wants to put us out at all! It’s super exciting to put it out on Casablanca, just because of the history. I’m happy that they revived the imprint, it is super cool. And I like our label-mates.

FA: Scissor Sisters is considered a New York band, but it sounds like California has found its way in on songs such as “San Luis Obispo” and “Year of Living Dangerously,” which includes mention of the “freeway,” something that conjures Los Angeles. Is Southern California competing with New York for your attention?

JS: I had some really amazing times in Southern California this last year, and made some great friends. I love being in L.A. I also spent some time in San Francisco last year with the musical “Tales of the City.” I have a hard time calling myself a New Yorker anymore. I live out of a suitcase, and will continue to live out of a suitcase for quite a while. I have a house down in Tennessee now. I have a house in London now. I’m a bit all over the place [laughs].

FA: Drugs make a number of appearances throughout “Magic Hour”—in songs such as “Baby Come Home,” “Keep Your Shoes On,” “Inevitable,” and “Shady Love.” Is this cause for alarm?

JS: [Laughs] It depends on who you’re asking, and about whom. No, drugs have always been a theme through the lyrics that I write. I think they’re ever present in our lives, whether it’s alcohol, or pot, or club drugs, or antidepressants, or Ambien, or whatever. Everybody’s on something, and they affect all of us in different ways. They can ruin lives, they can save lives. In American culture, especially, they’re omnipresent. Substances and chemicals are everyplace, whether it’s espresso or crystal meth, it’s everywhere.

FA: “Let’s Have a Kiki” is the kind of song that makes you smile and dance at the same time. Is the voice mail message that opens the song real or was it scripted for the song?

JS: It’s all improv. We wanted to create a setting, to set up a story for where you would have, or why anyone would have a kiki, or what would make you feel like having a kiki. Somebody’s having a bad night, but it’s all going to be better when you go with your friends. We wanted to give it the setting before the song kicked in. It was important for us to set that place, and that answering machine monologue was the device that we used to do it.

FA: “Baby Come Home” and “Self Control” are songs that reflect relationship uncertainty, while “Best In Me” is a wonderful example of musical domestic bliss. Do you prefer writing and performing songs about healthy or unhealthy relationships?

JS: It’s a lot harder to write something uplifting than it is to write something melancholic. It’s really hard to write something uplifting about subject matter that’s really a bummer. That’s my favorite thing. To write happy-sounding songs about things which aren’t necessarily that. I like writing happysounding songs about relationships and situations that are necessarily something to get happy about.

FA: This year has seen the loss of a number of important musical icons, including dance music legends Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, and Robin Gibb. Do you have any thoughts or comments?

JS: I think when stuff like that happens, it makes me reflect on what an artist has brought to the culture, to pop culture, to the world, and how they’ve influenced and inspired people. It’s a great moment to reflect on that, and honor those people for what they’ve done in their lifetimes. It also reminds me of everyone’s mortality. When it all comes down to it, Whitney Houston was just a person—as are all of us, as are any of the biggest legends around, who will live and die. We’re all just people, nobody’s superhuman, nobody’s immortal. It constantly reminds me, especially with Whitney’s death in particular, that we’re all just people. There are some that do incredible work, and it’s great to honor the work that they’ve done when something like that happens. But it definitely just makes me think of mortality, and the fact nobody lives forever—but the music can.

FA: Scissor Sisters is known for amazing live shows. What can fans can expect from the ‘Magic Hour’ Tour?

JS: It’s so exciting, because we get to throw out a lot of songs that we played for 10 years! There are going to be some songs that people will not hear (laughs) that they might expect to, which is thrilling for the band (laughs).

Having four albums now- It’s like, “Oh my God, we don’t have to play this song anymore!” It feels like a brand new show, because we have brought in album tracks from previous albums that haven’t been heard in a long time. Likewise, there are songs that have been heard throughout our tours over the last 10 years that we have not taken out of the show and replaced with really amazing stuff off of ‘Magic Hour’. The set list is wicked – It’s really cool! It’s a fun show and I know the band has been having a blast playing these songs.