Interview: Mark Mauriello Is Gearing for LANAPALOOZA at Arlene's Grocery

Mark Mauriello + The Manson Family Band are hosting their second annual rock tribute to Lana Del Rey at Arlene's Grocery on Wednesday, June 12. Special guests at this year's Lanapalooza include Off-Broadway and cabaret icon Natalie Walker, as well as Glam Award-winning drag star Reese Havoc. Mark and I spoke about the upcoming show – read our conversation below.

How would you describe your upcoming show?
I’m going to look incredible and sound even better. The band is absolute fire. The guests are superstars. We’re putting on our red dress, stealing your vape, and texting all the men our fathers warned us about. 

If you love Lana and know every lyric, you obviously need to be there. If you don’t know Lana or you think you’re not a fan because she was bad on SNL a decade ago, come. I will make a stan out of you or my name isn’t Jessica Lange.

What does Lana Del Rey’s music mean to you?
Lana really is your favorite artist’s favorite artist. The songwriting is just that good. My experience with music is always very personal. It's both my escape hatch and magnifying glass -- a soundtrack for running away and looking deep inside at the same. If you've ever sat on a roof smoking a spliff and watching the sun rise while "Venice Bitch" plays in the background, you understand.

How do you feel about hosting your second Lanapalooza?
I feel really, really good about it. And I'm really only doing it only because it makes me feel good and because it brings me joy to share something I love with other musicians and with an audience. That may sound simple, but it can be tough to keep in your main field of vision when you're a performer and creator and producer and sales rep. But life is a series of long cons, and this is one of my best.

Also, I’ve performed in theaters across the country and nightclubs across the globe, and Arlene's Grocery truly is one of my favorite places on the planet to sing. It's one of the best venues in the city. It’s legendary for a reason. The sound is absolutely wild, and the entire team is not only incredible at what they do but an absolute joy to work with. Rare!

Where did the idea for this originally come from?
My band and I started doing these tribute shows almost two years ago now. The idea really came from one simple fact: all I want to do in this world is sing songs that I love in front of anybody that will listen. So, I called some violently talented friends and we put together a night that was all Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love (two roles I was born to play, let’s be real.) And then… we just kept going! We’ve done Stevie Nicks, we’ve done songs all released by Real Housewives. I want to do a classic rock show called “Fag Out Of Hell,” a night called “KYLIE ROBYN ROBYN FENTY” (Kylie Minogue, Robyn, and Rihanna), a night of music from former Disney stars (mostly Demi and Miley) called “Fuck That Mouse.” Honey, we’ve got gigs ready to go. Someday, I want a residency where we do a completely different catalogue every Friday night for a year.

Aside from Lana Del Rey’s music, what else have you been listening to lately?
I’ve had Cher’s Take Me Home album on repeat for the past week. “Guitar Groupie”?? Now THAT’s a song. I’m very much a listen to a full album back to front kind of girl, some faves that have a permanent home in my rotation are: Celebrity Skin by Hole, Tango in the Night by Fleetwood Mac, ARTPOP by Lady Gaga, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + The Machine, and the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Evita. As Whitney Houston once said… I listen to singers. I very rarely listen to people who cannot sing.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I would love to play Sally Bowles on Broadway.

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Tickets for Lanapalooza are available here.

Follow Mark Mauriello on Instagram.

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