Luciana & Dave Rockin’ OC Pride

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The 10,000+ attendees at Orange County Pride on Saturday, August 10, will welcome two of the biggest names in dance music today: Singer/songwriter Luciana and remixer extraordinaire Dave Aud�.

While they have garnered successful solo careers for themselves, they have made quite a splash working together on such hits as "Something for the Weekend," "Figure It Out" and "I'm Still Hot."

While Luciana (born Luciana Caporasa in London, England) and Aud� recently spoke separately with The Rage Monthly, their affection for one another and their music was so apparent that it seemed appropriate to combine the interviews. Also apparent was their love for the LGBT community, even though both Aud� and Luciana are straight and married.

"I noticed a few years ago that I was getting booked into gay clubs due to my involvement with Lady Gaga, Madonna and others," said Aud�. "My mantra is 'I'm there for the music.' I love playing music for everybody: Gay, straight, everybody." Aud� estimates that he has played 20 Pride celebrations to date, which includes headlining New York Pride with Cher just this June.

Luciana, for her part, fondly recalls performing at one particular Pride. "The most fabulous Pride I ever did was on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco," she said before declaring, "I'm the Pride queen!"

Luciana didn't hesitate to share her excitement about performing at OC Pride for the first time. "The LGBT community is my family, and now with marriage equality in California this is going to be Pride with a capital P! I'm always grateful and feel really honored to be appreciated by them."

While she has been singing and acting professionally since the early 1990s, it was Luciana's international hit "I Like That" in 2009 that made her a star. However, she noted two other songs that seem most popular among her gay and lesbian listeners: "I'm Still Hot" and "I Got My Eye on You."

"There's a line in 'I Got My Eye on You," she shared, "where I sing, 'If you don't like the beat, get the f-k out,' and whenever I sing it, the crowd sings along with me. I love it!" Luciana, who is putting the final touches on her new EP, mentioned fellow British singers Kate Bush and Annie Lennox as particular sources of musical inspiration.

Meanwhile, the Grammy Award-nominated Aud� has over the last 20 years created hit remixes of songs by such big names as Barenaked Ladies, Sting, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, The Pussycat Dolls and Yoko Ono, among many others. He is also the proud father of two children. Aude had his 89th #1 dance song, Ciara's "Body Party," last month.

"Remixing really became popular in the early 1990s, when my music producing career was just starting," Aud� said. "I learned it could be a good way to make a living and I enjoyed it." He is currently working on the new Erasure album, which is scheduled to come out this Christmas. Aud� cites Erasure's Andy Bell as his "favorite singer of all time" and humbly declared that, with his latest collaboration, "My life has come full circle."

"I love what I do; I get to wake up every day and make music," Aud� says. "I'm passionate about it, and I'm very lucky and deeply honored to be embraced by the gay community. It's awesome to be part of this movement."

I asked Luciana what Pride-goers can expect from her set on Saturday. "It's really funny, but whenever I get asked that I reply, 'Expect the unexpected.'" She assured me, though, that "it will be a good, fun show."

She is also looking forward to working with Aud� again. "I've done a few shows with him and we were just together in Atlantic City," she said. "It's lovely to work with him."

For his part, Aud� boasted of Luciana: "She has become one of my and my wife's best friends. She flew here (to L.A.) from England about three years ago and we spent two weeks making music together. Then, she and her husband moved over here and live right by my wife and me. I love her. She is definitely one of the most underrated artists."

Before concluding, I asked Aud� if he has learned anything unique over the years about the role of dance music in the LGBT community. "I think they respond better than the straight community because they are more in tune with the music and artists," he replied. "The straight crowd likes to be hit over the head or pummeled; the gay crowd does too but they go further in responding to the music and thinking about it."

The remix master of 89 number-one hits then said, "My music is not about me, it's about the music. It's about helping people have fun. I want people to have a good time." There is no doubt in my mind that attendees will have a great time at OC Pride 2013, thanks in large part to Dave Aud� and Luciana.

For performance schedules and full details about Orange County Pride on Saturday, August 10, visit prideoc.com