It’s a bit unnerving speaking with Tiffany (Darwish) on the phone. She represents that peculiar space in the FM lexicon that some might not relate to anymore, though this writer certainly does as he wears his jean jacket and tasseled boots.
Her eponymous record spawned huge hits like “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Could’ve Been” and the odd Beatles cover, “I Saw Him Standing There.” (Go ahead; do the hand motions now.) She notoriously played to screaming girls in mall food courts while fending off the “authenticity” of Debbie Gibson, her media rival. She made red hair happen. She deserves her due.
These days, Tiffany, who has branched out into scripted and reality television in addition to continuing her music career to its natural maturity (think singer-songwriter), has a great sense of humor, a great voice and a quite the curriculum vitae in the world of entertainment. She’ll be performing her hits and new songs for a special storyteller-themed appearance at Parliament House in Orlando in promotion of her 2016 A Million Miles release on Feb. 1-2. She doesn’t like to fly, see, so she’s put that many miles on her car, legend has it. Probably not quite a million, though, but she’s allowed the exaggeration. She did sell millions of records.
Watermark: I’ve been researching you for an imaginary thesis. You’ve had a pretty broad career, as one would expect after the number of years since you were introduced to the public, but I wasn’t aware as to how much you had done. But let’s start at the beginning. When the “I Think We’re Alone Now” song and video sensation first started and you were in malls, in malls, every day. How difficult was it to adjust to that?
Tiffany: It was great. I was living my dream and doing what I love to do – the music industry and learning the music industry. You know, learning about my fans. I mean, it was different than I’d imagined it to be, which was awesome. I had a blast touring the world in the early years and having my fans and just showing people that I’m was not a manufactured talent, because as successful as everything was, the critics wanted to make it, “Well, it’s the producer and she’s not really singing.” That was kind of my first inside of the music industry, of the praise and the rejection. As I toured and stuff, and left the mall tours and went out on the road; that was my biggest thing.
Sometimes I look back and I wish I would’ve been more in the moment and had fun with it, but I was so concerned about whether people knew I could sing live and that the notes were right- so opposite of what I do today. Thank goodness I really can just go out there and sing; it’s usually not an effort for me, which I’m very thankful for. I definitely enjoy my time on stage now and that’s probably the only thing I would really change about the earlier experiences in my career.
Hold An Old Friend’s Hand, which had “All This Time” on it – when that happened and then New Inside thereafter … what was the record label reaction to all of what you were doing at that point? Sales were falling.
I guess another thing is that I learned early on in the music industry about the business side of things. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. I left my manager George Tobin at age18 for various reasons. I loved the work that we were doing, but we’d just kind of grown apart and he was a very dominant figure who, at that time, really wouldn’t listen. But I think that you’ve got a young teenage girl going, “Look, if my fans don’t really want all these ballads, although I’m a ballad singer and I love ballads, I need to try different things.” And he was just really reluctant with that, and I was touring with the New Kids on the Block and I met [New Kids on the Block manager] Dick Scott, so I took him on as my manager, and I think that was a different experience.
A lot of women, especially women who started as early as you did, they’re kind of forced into this maturity thing, or they put themselves in this maturity thing and then everyone is quick to point and laugh, as opposed to accepting that this is somebody who is maturing, and I don’t see the same thing with male performers.
That’s the thing; you kind of have to do it. I think we’ve gotten better at the transition. Some people still go for shock factor. It just depends on every artist. I think there’s room for all. I was working with stylists and hair schools and I was just like, yeah!
Today, I love all of that. I have some projects coming out now as well as the new album that launched last year. I’m doing a lot of dance projects this year just because it makes me feel young. I love dance music; I love being in clubs. I’m really inspired by a lot of people that are out now and people that I’ve worked with before that I’ve reconnected with. It’s just like, why not? As long as there’s stuff that I can sing over a great groove and it’s still good lyrics and words and something that still shows my chops, I’m all for it.
I was most surprised to find out about the Hoyt Axton connection from when you were super young.
That was my start, you know. I wouldn’t be doing what I do if he hadn’t encouraged us. And my dad getting everybody’s attention, paying them whatever he had to, saying, “Please let my daughter sing!” My parents in the beginning thought I would chicken out eventually because it’s strangers. I never did. I was just kind of meant to be on stage and I still love it.
Was there an honesty that you missed that brought you back to the country or singer-songwriter ethos?
I’m still fighting through being known as a musician – I’m a producer; I’m a writer. This is a lifelong career for me. I don’t have a Plan B. I’m really inspired by a lot of different things: Stevie Nicks to Teena Marie to Emmylou Harris. I’m constantly listening to records and being around people and watching live bands. I think when people come to my live acoustic show they’re shocked. We do some of the retro stuff. We always sing “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Could’ve Been.” I’m never not going to sing those songs. I love them, they’re my start and I’m grateful, but I’d like to show off my chops now, which I think the new album does, getting back to some ballads.
We started the show last year, and this is a growing show. Every show has been different, even some of the set lists have been different. The evening takes on its own life; we might get requests, I might change some things. My poor band has to be on their toes, but we have a great time. As I’m talking I think the people are shocked that I’m so open and so off-the-cuff a little bit. I think what they come to see is Tiffany from the ‘80s and they connect with Tiffany now, the 40-year-old. They’re like, “Wow, she is more in depth and she really is a musician and a deep soul and funny.”
There’s this wicked humor that I have and we have a blast. We connect with a lot of the ladies out there; some of my songs are about failure and starting over and people doing you wrong – the heartbreak. I write a lot about real stuff even if it put it in a ballad or a dance song.
You’re playing gay bars and it seems country bars too on this tour, so you’re kind of straddling there. is that cross-pollination intentional?
Yeah, I mean I’m not going to be singing country stuff. They want to come and watch a show and that’s what we deliver. I pull out shakers and tambourines and make people play music and have fun, really. And again, it’s not something that people usually see, so you know that was kind of the purpose of the show, that the album kind of followed that idea. And you know for me now, it’s just that I love doing the stripped down stuff just because I really can show and talk about my thoughts on music or what I wrote a song about and it›s really great.
Do you have any feelings about your gay fan base because a lot of them linger. We aren’t alone now.
Well, of course! They’re my people. I think sometimes they get me more than maybe the reconnection of a lot of people who were fans originally and are now reconnecting. They’ve stayed with me throughout the years, and I think the biggest compliment that I’ve gotten from a lot of my gay fan base has been about my music and about my songs and just the realness and the heartbreak and the starting over or rejection, and that just came from my life but there’s some connection there. And I do think like that my gay fans want me to be at my best. I definitely listened to them throughout the years.
I’ve kind of lived my life. I didn’t want to just be…as much as I love music, I want to be a mom or wife or a good sister and and a aunt, all that kind of stuff. And I really just wanted a full life and I think it has made a big difference in my attitude, that I’m not bitter and that I love what I’m doing and I rejuvenate and go back out and then I come back and I show it off but looking back at a lot of times. there’s been a lot of things that you know maybe fashion-wise or hair-wise or weight wise that I’ve kind of fallen short. I definitely get emails from my fans who are like, “Girl, what is going on? You are a red-headed Barbie doll, that’s what you need to be. You’re fabulous when you’re like that,” and they put a lot of fire under me. And I don’t think sometimes you want to hear that you’re missing the mark, but you know, again, I’m very loyal to them and I think that’s the thing, is that they really push me to be the best Tiffany. I’m very grateful.
You were on a sci-fi channel for Mega Python vs. Gatoroid where you were pitted against your mall rival of the ‘80s, Debbie Gibson. how were you approached to do that and what was your initial reaction?
Well, I definitely wanted to do it. I am a SyFy fan, so that was a no brainer for me. I was like “Yeah! Okay!” And for then Deb and I to do something together – you would think it would be music, but we did some live shows together which was awesome but to find material that really showcases her voice and mine, because we’re so different – was kind of hard. So it’s been hard over the years to do music together, which would seem the simpler thing, but I loved that we did SyFy together. I loved that we were able to be on set, just to be girls and have fun. We really didn’t have a friendship, and everybody said that we were rivals. We really didn’t ever know each other, so this was our first chance to kind of hang out and talk and just become girlfriends. It was an amazing experience.
So would you say that you won the mall wars or that she won the mall wars?
Well I did, because I’m the only one that had the mall tour!
