New Yawk rawker chick Madame Mayhem has assembled a stellar cast of musicians on her new album, Now You Know (released through K7 Records). Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Winery Dogs), who co-wrote, produced and played on the album, was a major inspiration for Ms. Mayhem. Ray Luzier (KoRn), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns N’ Roses), Russ Parrish (“Satchel” from Steel Panther) and Corey Lowery (Saint Asonia, Stuck Mojo) also lent their skills to the album. The 14 diverse and memorable tracks are a combination of ‘80s rock/metal with a vibrant and modern production. Ms. Mayhem has a striking look combined with a confident and rocking attitude. Plus, she even looks great in a strait jacket, as witnessed in her new single/video “Monster.”

BraveWords: The video for lead off track “Monster” shows a great side of you. Plus you get to go crazy and thrash around in a strait jacket! How was shooting the video? 

Madame Mayhem: “It was a fun shoot. We went to L.A. to a big warehouse. I really wanted to express to people what the song meant as visually and as fun as possible. The song is really about breaking out of the mold that people are trying to turn you into and facing who you are. That was something I was dealing with starting out in the industry of what they (record executives) wanted me to be or do as an artist. And over the past years, I decided I’m going to do what I love and what I like to do, and I was just expressing that.” 

BraveWords: How did your musical partnership with Billy Sheehan form? 

Madame Mayhem: “He’s been a mentor of mine for a few years and a good friend. We were writing together and we just decided to make an album. He liked my voice and obviously he’s one of my favorites of all time. He co-wrote a lot of the songs with me on the album and he produced it, and I also co-wrote some songs with Corey Lowery. It was a really cool experience, especially since he let me express myself and turn it into something that I could be proud of as well as being a really kick ass record that Billy Sheehan produced.” 

BraveWords: Every track differs from one another yet contains an infectious hook. How did you approach the songwriting?

Madame Mayhem: “We were going for a sound that we both like. I love hard rock and heavy metal and we wanted to write songs that I could express myself. I really wanted to tell the truth in every song. Each song is different because each song is telling a different story and a different situation, and we wanted the music to match the lyrics. We wanted it to be an eclectic thing where you could have all 14 tracks on the album and not get bored after the first few songs, there’s something changing with each song. We just wanted to focus on each song individually and make it the best that we could, and then figure out as a whole how we wanted to do the record.”

BraveWords: At 14 tracks, were you afraid that would be too many for a single album or were you confident that everyone would be a winner?

Madame Mayhem: “We wrote a whole bunch of songs and there’s even more that didn’t make it. When we were writing the songs we weren’t concerned about how many were going to be on the record, it was more about how many songs were strong enough to be on it. There were just so many, but we wanted the best that portrayed me and the songwriting. For me, if I’m buying a record, I want more songs. I think it’s better for the listener and fans, and me being a fan, I would like more of my artist on there.”

BraveWords: While recording the album, how did each song get constructed in the studio?

Madame Mayhem: “Different songs we did different ways, but we made sure we had the final music structure down first, then I would come in and sing the vocals. Different guest artists came into the studio and it was different each time. Which was really cool because I’ve seen sometimes records are done just one way, because nowadays everyone is so busy and having the guest artists I had, they’re busy on world tours and to have them come in and play on my record, was great. And I think it was cool that we were able to make it work a bunch of different ways to make this album a complete piece.” 

BraveWords: Your singing is consistently great throughout the album. It shows that you’re very adept at many ranges and styles. How did you find your voice and at what age?

Madame Mayhem: “I’ve been singing my entire life. I’m classically trained and I went to school for it. It’s been my passion for my entire life. That’s who I am I love singing and performing. When i’s writing songs, I like to take my voice and take it to a depth to where I can keep it at the same consistency.”

BraveWords: The album is just fantastic, but you’re still relatively unknown in huge rock circles. What do you think you have to do to gain more notoriety and a bigger fan base?

Madame Mayhem: “I’m still trying to figure that out to be honest. I’ve been at it for a little bit now and I’m just trying to keep pushing through and trying to reach as many people as I can. My passion is performing live, so the sooner I get out on the road, I think it’ll help and I’ll be happy.”

BraveWords: Speaking of performing live, what’s a Madame Mayhem show like?

Madame Mayhem: “It’s definitely entertaining; we play hard so it’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of cool things I would want to do production wise that we can’t do yet, but there’s definitely entertainment in the works. It’s not just us standing there singing, it’s definitely a show.”

BraveWords: What’s next for Madame Mayhem including gigs, and what do you hope to achieve or accomplish?

Madame Mayhem: “I hope that my fans and people who are first meeting me love the record that’s coming out October 16th. We’re having a signing in New Jersey at the gig final that night and we have a show the following night October 17th at Dingbatz in New Jersey as well. I think what I really want in the future is for people to be able to relate to this record and I hope that everyone likes it. I just really want to get out there and tour and meet everyone. Being able to make music is my life and dream, and if I can just keep doing that, I’ll be a happy girl.”