Inquiring Minds: Pop Princess Katy Perry

They say man can't exist on indie-rock and metal alone, or something like that. Rocks Off firmly agrees, so when we hear good mainstream pop we ride that horse for all it's worth. That's why a little over a year ago, when Katy Perry hit with her single "Ur So Gay," we were enamored with the raven-haired California native. It wasn't quite bubblegum, and it wasn't quite rock and roll, but it was catchy as hell. Plus it was delivered in such a non-plussed pinup/rocker-girl motif, that many likened her to a curvier American Lily Allen.

Houston and Perry have had quite the hit-and-miss relationship over the past year. She has had to cancel her last two appearances in the 713 due to illness (or SXSW) and, well, an American Idol slot. Until Sunday, the last time Perry performed in front of a Houston audience was last year's Vans Warped Tour at Sam Houston Race Park. Her 2008 album One Of The Boys has already yielded the pop songstress four hit singles including "Hot N Cold," "I Kissed a Girl," "Waking Up In Vegas" and the ballad "Thinking Of You."

Each cancelled date bothered Perry, she swears, and she hopes to be able to do something for her Bayou City fans who have waited patiently for almost seven months to hear her live. Over the phone, she suggested a pizza party, and we countered with "How about a booze party?" Rocks Off temporarily forgot we are actually a part of the silent, drunken male minority in her core fanbase that prefers Lone Star to slices of pepperoni and cheese.

Rocks Off: There's the big elephant in the room, in regards to the cancellations, ya know...

Katy Perry: I feel like everyone in Houston deserves a huge lock-in pizza party.

RO: Pizza's cool, but so is booze...

KP: I mean, I guess booze would be sufficient, but there's gotta be kids out there that can't drink it.

RO: Yeah, well...

KP: It's such a random coincidence that these cancellations had to happen. The first time I was so deathly sick, I literally had a 103-degree temperature. That was bad. Then the next time we had American Idol. I'm glad I actually get to come back at the tail end of the tour, because I feel very seasoned. Now that I have touring nonstop for a year and a half, ever since May of 2008 and then hit the Warped Tour, Europe and then started the current tour now.

RO: Have you been working on new music on tour? What's it going to sound like?

KP: I start recording in October, and it's difficult to say. I liken it to the idea that you don't know what a child will look like when you get pregnant. Like, "Maybe in three months I will have a sex for you." So, I'm really wanting to throw myself into the studio. I do know this record will make people move more, and [be] more brutally honest than the last one.

RO: What music is influencing this new album?

KP: I love Passion Pit, The Noisettes, Little Boots, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. I always go back to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, anything from Queen. I love a good Heart song. I love a good song and good story. I love being Beyonce, and I am obsessed with Beyonce. I went and saw her play in London at O2 Arena the other day and it was the best show I have ever seen. She owns the stage and she works it.

RO: I'm a burly tattooed dude, and your record is the only like, girl-pop thing on my iPod - like, you get played next to The Stooges...

KP: I love that! People ask me what my audience is, and in general I know I'm speaking to a lot of chicks, and a lot of girls relate to my music. But every now and then we get a wild card like yourself...

RO: I like it in a totally non-queenie way, I'm like [metal growl], "Yeahhhh!" Your personality comes out and it's awesome.

KP: It's endearing, honestly! Please get a Katy Perry tattoo!

RO: Tell me about that pizza picture.

KP: My pizza picture! Speaking of letdowns, I totally feel like I totally let people down when I cancelled the Houston shows. This is not typical for me. In the picture, I was in Milan and got sick on a flight and got a nasty flu. I didn't eat for three days and all I had to eat was chicken broth. In my flu brain, I was thinking, "this is going to be a very arty picture."

RO: I thought it was funny because it shows you don't take this shit too seriously.

KP: I don't try to take myself too seriously, because there are a lot of cunts out there who think they are God's gift to the music world, or just make everything so intense all the time.

With the Daylights, 7 p.m. Sunday, August 2, at Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas (Bayou Place), 713-230-1600 or www.livenation.com.