Etty Lau Farrell: How A Renowned Dancer And Singer Navigates The Entertainment Industry And Cultivates Longevity

As a part of our series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became An Artist” I had the pleasure of interviewing Etty Lau Farrell.

Etty Lau Farrell is a renowned dancer, actor, and singer. Born in Hong Kong, she was drawn to the arts from an early age and trained as a classical ballerina at the Royal Academy of Dance’s Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Cornish College of the Arts. By 18, she had won a scholarship to the Edge Performing Center in Los Angeles. Her career began to soar and included performances with Madonna, Ricky Martin, and Bon Jovi, as well as being in the original iteration of the Pussycat Dolls revue that started at The Viper Room.

Etty Farrell has become a staple of live performances with Jane’s Addiction and in recent years, she’s become a fixture among the rotating cast of the Kind Heaven Orchestra, collaborating with members of The Foo Fighters and Bon Jovi. Always working closely with her husband Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction, Lollapalooza, Porno For Pyros), he produces her upcoming solo release ‘He’s A Rebel’, which is a cover of 1962 The Crystals Hit produced by Phil Specter. The song also features Perry Farrell, Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Mike Watt (Minutemen), Elliot Easton (The Cars), David Bryan (Bon Jovi), Carmit (Pussycat Dolls) and The Kind Heaven Orchestra. In addition, Etty Farrell is working on new music with electronic artist DJ Hyper.

Lastly, Farrell is a philanthropist supporting environmental causes and speaking out about the rise in violence against Asian-Americans.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born in Hong Kong, China but my family decided to leave and come to the United States during political strife there. We moved to Bellevue Washington when I was just ten years old.

I’ve always been drawn to the arts from an early age. I was always dancing around my room and passionate about singing. I attended the Royal Academy of Dance’s Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Cornish College of the Arts as a classically trained ballerina. When I was eighteen, I won a scholarship to the Edge Performing Center in Los Angeles and that was a sign my passion could become my professional career.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

Early on I did some acting roles as well, but my dance career really took off when I started dancing on tours with Madonna, Ricky Martin, and Bon Jovi.

I was also tapped to be in the original iteration of the Pussycat Dolls revue which started at The Viper Room. In 1997, I toured as a dancer with Jane’s Addiction for their Relapse Tour and have been working with the group ever since. That’s where I met my husband Perry.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

In terms of my singing career, that really began to take off by the mid-2000s. Satellite Party was released on Columbia in 2007 and it featured myself alongside Perry, Carl Restivo and Nunno Bettencourt (Extreme.) I sang vocals on tracks including “Awesome,” “Celebrate,” “Ultra Payloaded Satellite Party” and “Mr. Sunshine.”

The following year, I displayed bravura vocals on “Go All The Way (Into the Twilight”), one of the singles from the soundtrack of the blockbuster film, Twilight. That film become massive so it was a really great way to get my work heard and into popular culture.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I regularly perform live as a dancer and backup singer with Jane’s Addiction and I am a part of Kind Heaven Orchestra alongside Perry, which includes a rotating cast of members from The Foo Fighters and Bon Jovi.

Perry is also producing my upcoming solo release ‘He’s A Rebel’, which is a cover of 1962 The Crystals Hit produced by Phil Specter. The song also features Perry, Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Mike Watt (Minutemen), Elliot Easton (The Cars), David Bryan (Bon Jovi), Carmit (Pussycat Dolls) and The Kind Heaven Orchestra.

In addition, I’m working on a forthcoming remix track with DJ Hyper — an electronic artist signed to Deadmau5 and Roadrunner’s label. I also have plans for other creative partnerships with DJs and producers set for early 2022.

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

About 15 years ago, Perry and I flew to Atlantic City to do a show for The Doors. I believe they were called Doors of the 21st Century at that time, with Ian Astbury.

We were soundtracking for the show and they were waiting on singer Macy Gray whose plane had been stuck circling for weather and couldn’t land. Her song was “People Are Strange” was up next and she wasn’t there yet, so they had me stand in on her behalf. It was a highlight for me to be able to sing that with The Doors.

Where do you draw inspiration from? Can you share a story about that?

I draw my inspiration from strong women in history. You know it wasn’t that long ago when women were still seen as property. As soon as you were married, everything- all your money and assets including your kids- transferred to the man. Women could be left with nothing. Throughout history, women used their charm and wits as women and their brains to survive and thrive in a man’s world.

I read a lot of history about strong women like Queens of different countries, and women who made strong changes to society that once looked down on them. I read about them and learn as much as I can from historical figures.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I aim to use my success as a platform where I can promote love and kindness, not only for fellow people but more importantly for the environment. Of course, people are important, but a lot of natural disasters and things affecting people today are being started by damage to the environment. I really see my presence as a platform to spread love, kindness, and awareness.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1) Something I’m still learning is that just because you wouldn’t do it to someone, doesn’t mean they won’t do it to you, I don’t want to say you can’t trust people but you can’t count on people to not hurt you, even if it’s not their intention to hurt you.

2) No matter what people say, do your due diligence and double-check. It is not that they are lying or not telling the truth, but truth is subjective. What they see may not be what you see so always check yourself.

3) Don’t lose that trusting loving innocence even though you get hurt. A lot of times, people may hurt you but not mean to. You should trust people but always go in with both eyes open in business and personal relationships.

4) The race is not always to the swift, meaning just because somebody gets to where you want to be faster than you, it doesn’t mean you won’t get there. Don’t compare yourself because as soon as you do that is the beginning of your sadness. Only compare to your own self and focus on self-improvement. If you compare up, you will never be happy, but if you compare down you will also feel lucky.

5) Know when to quit. Sometimes what makes somebody or something so rare is that they are not available. Don’t stay until the other person or project exhausts. Leave them wanting more.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Environmental causes are something very dear to my heart. For example, I recently purchased a portable water filter for everyone in our crew on tour to try to minimize the use of plastic. I encourage people to look within themselves to see what can be done at the individual level to minimize carbon footprint on the world. Our goal should be to leave the world a better place than when we found it.

We have been blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?

Hilary Clinton because I truly believe that aside from all the ancillary things they said about her, regardless of whether you are republican or democrat, she truly is a remarkable woman, she has walked her whole life and she is geared toward being educated, she fought and led a good fit for women in general but she is someone I admire. She was honestly more qualified to be the president of the US than her husband.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!