Dirty Words: “Money’s Nothing” by Lisa Carver—On Money and Relationships

Lisa Carver is the greatest writer you've ever seen naked. She's a better writer than most who keep their clothes on, too. Her work is unclassifiable, like all art, in that it's neither memoir nor history, philosophy nor fluff piece, but all that and more. Lisa is honest and funny and insightful and very, very sexy. If you know her, then you've probably already ordered "Money's Nothing," her newest book that explores the knot of money and relationships, if not then visit her website (link below) and order it and everything else by this uniquely talented person. She's a writer you can judge by her beautiful cover.

You're newest book, "Money's Nothing," is described as "a bleeding heart and a shark get together and save the world and destroy each other while The Great Reordering unfolds and swallows whole." Can you say what the book's about in layman terms?
I'm pretty poor and I wouldn't say my politics are communist; I'd say they're poor person in America's. My fellah for seven years was a former poor person turned to businessman with the million-dollar bonuses or whatever, and I wouldn't exactly say his politics are capitalist; I'd say they're rich person in America's. The book follows our tumultuous relationship of trying to change and exploit each other, alternating with essays about the tumultuous relationship between the poor and the rich in this country over those seven years (2007-2014), filled with fear and treachery and trying to kill each other off.

Lisa Touring Europe with Suckdog

Is there a lot of sex in it?
Yes. I mean, I didn't talk about it constantly like I have in some other books, but it was a huge, clawing motivator, catalyst for some really horrific decisions.

Do you explore the financial side of intimate relations?
There's not a "the" or one financial side of intimate relations. What goes on between sex and money is complex and changes shape. And it's not separated from everything else. I mean, I don't think there's any pure intimacy where you forget all about your financial position and your partner's, because in America, money is class, is how safe you are from disease or whether or not you can get your kids into a decent career, whether or not you can stay out of jail, whether or not your pet will survive if hit by a car. Maybe these things don't come into your mind when you're doing it, but they're there all the time, and they're a driving force.

In your memoir "Drugs Are Nice" you write about being a teen prostitute, are money and sex forever tied together for you?
They are for everybody, Peter! Prostitution is just a more clear-cut demonstration of the tie between sex and money. There are a million more subtle ways.

The teen-prostitute years

How has your sex life changed, now that you are bringing up two children by yourself?
I've been bringing up kids by myself for most of my adult life. I don't think I can answer that any more than I could say how my sex life has changed by being a woman or, like, being a little fatter than I used to be, or by living in the northeast instead of the west coast. I mean, everything changes everything.

Do you kids read your books?
No. I told them if they ever happen upon it, to just be aware that if they look, they'll never be able to get that out of their heads, and there are certain things you just don't want to know.

Recording a song in NYC in the early '90s

For those who are unfamiliar with your musical performances, how would you describe the sex operas of Suckdog?
They were violent fairy tales about class conflict, problems between men and women, revolution, drugs, using animals, royalty, gods, and people kept getting naked and raping and killing and breaking things. We were troubled! And exhibitionist.

Is it true that G.G. Allin motivated you to perform? Was it the jock strap, the male nudity or the Ex-Lax-induced defecation on stage that inspired you?
I met him as a teenager and he was an inspiration for sure. Because he was doing what he wanted to do. That's what I wanted to do!

For a few years you published an explicit weekly sex diary on Nerve.com that chronicled your courtship, marriage and troubled relationship, or as you write, "ours is a tale of marital problems and solutions, just with a few more penises and vaginas than usual." Can you give us some examples?
Oh god, I guess we were just swingers. We'd go to sex clubs and have orgies or I'd send him to a prostitute or whatever. I'd do anything twice. So we had to navigate having adventures with not wrecking the marriage. The marriage did get wrecked, but after the column (and the extra penises and vaginas) ended. My favorite story from that column wasn't about my husband, but a man and a woman I'd had sex with separately getting together and getting married. It was the seedy side of romantic. Imagine if they told the truth about how they met, heh heh.

Lisa today

The column was collected in "The Lisa Diaries." How does it feel to expose your genitalia for the public, and how do the other genitalia involved feel about it?
Life would be better if there were more exposed genitalia. Before "The Lisa Diaries," I was very exposing in Rollerderby, the magazine I published for 10 years. So everyone knew what to expect. Anyone who exposed their genitalia to me knew they were exposing it to the whole world. No one complained.

You've also written a book on Yoko Ono called "Reaching Out with No Hands: Reconsidering Yoko Ono," which you toured by recreating some of her performances pieces, like having audience members get naked. How does it feel to not be nude, but have to see your fans without clothing?
It felt pretty good. I felt official. I felt happy.

See Lisa live

We hope that you still are enough of an exhibitionist to keep showing off your beautiful skin, or have you hung up your birthday suit?
Haha, hung up my birthday suit, that's funny. I picture taking my skin off and hanging it on a hook. For the "Money's Nothing" tour, I want to do three things I've never done: watch male strippers (have seen about a million female strippers, but just never really wanted to watch a guy do it to a song, but now I will… we will), the ladies adjourn to the smoking room and have cigars, and bet on the lottery (I never did that ever!)—I'm bringing 100 scratch tickets, and if anyone wins, we'll all tear it up!

Lisa at the epicenter of finance, Wall St.

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