Lestat steps offstage, the crowd roaring behind him as he moves down the dimly lit backstage corridor, damp with heat and hung with posters. I walk a few steps behind him, and documentary filmmaker Daniel Molloy follows close behind—so close that the friction between them is palpable, even without a word spoken.
Lestat, shirtless, retreats to his dressing room. The door closes, leaving me outside with a couple of crew members who seem uninterested in conversation.
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A few minutes later he reappears and we are escorted through a service corridor to his tour bus, with Molloy still watching our every move.
Inside are Larry, Alex, Salamander, and TC, who make up his band, The Vampire Lestat (formerly Satan's Night Out). Lestat walks past them and disappears into a private room at the back, stretching out on a velvet bench piled with soft cushions, glitter still shimmering on his skin. Outside, behind the fence, fans linger, hoping to catch one last glimpse of the band before they head off to their next destination, Detroit.
After the publication of "« Molloy's Interview with the Vampire »" Lestat's distrust of the press only deepened. He barely looks up when I follow him in, scrolling through his phone while I go through my notes, though he doesn't dismiss me outright. For Lestat, tolerance is almost the same as enthusiasm.
When I ask if there's anything from his past he'd like people to see differently before he takes the stage again, he looks up from his phone, his eyes sharper.
As you continue your tour, is there anything from your past that you would like people to understand differently?
LESTAT: There's an entire paperback book devoted to the misunderstanding of my story. The planet is hurtling toward the end of the world, I fear we all have little time left, and I'm terribly annoyed by having to waste it defending slanderous fabrications.
There's a description of the tie I'm said to have worn when Mr. du Lac and I commiserated with Thomas Anderson. It's a hideous, angular, gold-and-red travesty. I would never wear such a tie. Start with that.
Ties aside, how would you describe your music to someone unfamiliar with it?
LESTAT: How would you describe a rain cloud that hasn't yet released rain? Or the contents of a locked box?
I don't think I would. Let's try something else. What's your favorite era in music, what inspires your sound?
LESTAT: The last five years of Bach. The first three years of Monk.« Odyssey and Oracle» by The Zombies. And "Fuck the Pain Away" by Peaches. Everything before, after, and in between is secondary.
So what should people expect from you on tour?
LESTAT: The lucky person who buys a ticket to my tour will understand their life as follows: before The Vampire Lestat and after The Vampire Lestat.
Speaking of admirers, there are some who truly believe they're destined to be with you. What would you say to them?
LESTAT: I would say their ambition is admirable, but their level of self-delusion is surpassed only by their ambition.
What to do with those fans who send their work?
LESTAT: If it was created for me, if it somehow miraculously came to me, then its journey was successful - I immediately abandon it.
Fans are getting tattoos of quotes and lyrics from the tour. Is there a particular line that you think deserves such immortality?
LESTAT: Immortality? A tattoo on a mortal body? Is that your definition of immortality? For that canvas, check out my song "Long Face.".
Speaking of immortality, you've lived in New Orleans for centuries and seen its beauty and darkness change—where should you go to see New Orleans through your eyes?
LESTAT: There's a crypt in Metairie Cemetery that recently added a new burial. I'd recommend making a pilgrimage there with offerings if anyone were stranded in New Orleans.
And finally, what kind of summer are you planning? Should we prepare for chaos?
LESTAT: Call your mother and tell her you love her. Hang up. Then put your head between your knees and wait for the sound of horsemen's hooves. You can never prepare for the vampire Lestat.
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