Sheryl Crow: behind the wheel of her own galvanizing career and standing up for rock 'n' roll

An independent spirit who isn't afraid to speak her mind, whether it's on the issue of gun control or recording artists' rights, Sheryl Crow is rock's rebel cowgirl. As quick with a one-liner as she is to pick up a book, she's also one of music's sharpest entertainers. On a break from sharing the feel-good sound of her latest record, C'mon, C'mon (A&M/Interscope), with fans as she crisscrosses the globe on a series of tours that will keep her on the road till Christmas, the 40-year-old singer/songwriter shares a bit of that spirit and wit with Griffin Dunne. The two friends talk about NASCAR, all-American heroes, groupies, Crow's acting career and what happened the last time she threw a party at her home in Los Angeles, a hillside compound with two houses (one turn-of-the-century Arts and Crafts, the other a Hollywood classic), a pool that looks like it touches the sky, and more cactus and palm than the Sahara.

SHERYL CROW: Griffin!

GRIFFIN DUNNE: Hi, Sheryl. So where are you?

SC: I'm in indianapolis.

GD: Doing a show?

SC: Yeah.

GD: Are you playing in the Indianapolis 500 arena?

SC: No. But, oh God, I wish I was. But you know, I'm all about NASCAR, baby.

GD: You seem like you would be.

SC: I do? I don't know how to take that.

GD: Have you ever driven one of the cars?

SC: No. Although I've been to a couple of races, and Dale [Earnhardt] Jr., is in my video.

GD: The "Steve McQueen" video?

SC: Yeah. To me, he is sort of the new Steve McQueen. Think about it: Steve McQueen was this archetypal rebellious American free-spirited dude, like Dale Jr.

GD: I met Steve McQueen once. Well, met isn't really the right word. I'd just gotten my driver's license. I was 16, and I was at a stoplight at Sunset and Beverly Glen in L.A. I look in the rear view mirror, and there's Steve McQueen behind me. I zone out looking at him, and he knew. He's looking in my eyes--

SC: --He had some intense eyes.

GD: Very intense.

SC: Was he with a chick?

GD: No. He was by himself, in a convertible. A Shelby or something.

SC: That silver thing he had?

GD: Yeah. So the light had been green for about 10 seconds, and he let me zone on him for a while, then he tapped his horn and pointed to the light, real calmly, like, "Hello?" I went, "Ooh! Sorry!" and drove off.

SC: And he was saying to himself, "Dork."

GD: What a dork! How could I have done that? Now, when you're out touring are there guy groupies?

SC: [laughs] No. We were laughing about that last night. I was like, "What the hell's going on? How come I don't have a tour manager who goes out and hands out backstage passes?"

GD: Someone who gets the Polaroids going, then brings them back to you so you can go through them and say, "Bring me that guy."

SC: Just like David Lee Roth from Van Halen. He reportedly had some kind of monetary reward system with his tour guys: Any girl that got snagged, that he made it with, they'd get a bonus. But it's not really like that these days. We're a kinder, gentler version of a rock band.

GD: I remember seeing you in one of your first shows ever, at the Beacon [Theater, in New York].

SC: Wow. [sings] "Memories..."

GD: You were really nervous. There were these guys in the audience that made me think of guy groupies. They were big, thick, jock guys, and when you were singing, "Are you strong enough to be my man?" they all rushed the stage like they were at a heavy metal concert, going, "I'm strong enough, Sheryl! I'm strong enough!" I think they took the song a little too literally.

SC: Typically it's women who rush the stage on that song. It has a pretty big lesbian following. It's funny--you never know who is going to rush the stage. There is one particular man who's been following me around on this tour who's like 65 or 70. He stands right in front and keeps his hand up like he's at an evangelical revival.

GD: Do you ever look him in the eye?

SC: All the time. He's totally harmless. But at first it kind of freaked me out. You know, I can remember as a kid waiting outside the Mid-South Coliseum [in Memphis] for Peter Frampton to come out. I told him that about 10 years ago in an elevator in Sydney, Australia. "Dude, man, you were my first concert; I was 13!" [laughs] But the only person I ever got to meet growing up was Ted Nugent. And he was cool.

GD: Did he know your position on gun control?

SC: [laughs] He didn't. But he handed me a crossbow out of his limo, and I've had it ever since.

GD: He gave it to you?

SC: And his coon cap. No, I'm kidding.

GD: [laughs] I remember when you took on Wal-Mart in the lyrics to your song "Love is A Good Thing" ("Watch our children while they kill each other I With a gun they bought at Wal-Mart discount stores") a couple of years ago. That was really cool.

SC: You know what's weird about that? read recently in the L.A. Times where Wal-Mart has kind of readdressed their position on it [gun sales]. They're being tighter than the laws actually require, and [Attorney General John] Ashcroft is up in arms. What used to happen is that if your approval, or whatever it is, didn't come up in the allotted time, they'd just give you a gun anyway. They'd assume you were going to clear, or that the delay meant it was clearing. Now Wal-Mart's saying that if the approval doesn't come through, they're not going to give you a gun at all, and Ashcroft is having a hissy fit about it. It's a really responsible position for Wal-Mart to take. And in a weird way, it's kind of validating that song.