You tweeted that you’re bringing your “knuckle duster” [brass knuckles] to Las Vegas. What are you expecting to find here?

(Laughs) No, they’re fun, like decorative knuckles. It’s my first time going there, actually. I’m expecting, basically, a world made of toys and plastic, and I’m really hoping it is like that. I know the show’s at the Book & Stage, and apparently it’s simulating the lounge act kind of Las Vegas thing. So I’m gonna get my lounge on. I’m very scared. I’m gonna have to really restrain myself, ’cause I’m a very all-over-the-place, energetic performer.

You’re playing Coachella this month and touring as Katy Perry’s opener this summer. Are you comfortable straddling the line between indie and mainstream?

It’s a total annoyance, actually. From a label point of view, it’s very hard, marketing-wise. And my ambition and goals are much more geared toward the mainstream side of things. My plan for myself is not to keep to these small venues. I’m a real performer, and I carry myself and my show a lot better in bigger venues. I just don’t want to have to sound like everyone else in pop to get there. Because my voice isn’t very pop and my lyrics are definitely not like stuff you’d hear on the radio.

You recently got called out by perezhilton.com for “angering” Britney fans with a tweet about her...

Oh yeah, that was so ridiculous. No one has a bloody sense of humor. In context, if you were looking at my other tweets, you could tell I was on a rampage. She’s probably my biggest inspiration next to Madonna. It’s just ridiculous that some idiot would take that out of context. But that’s the online world. I didn’t even feel angry about it. Whereas a year ago I would have been like, oh my God, they think I’m being mean!