As the cliché goes, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." And such is the case with Margaret Cho, who somehow parlayed the poignant failures of her early career - namely, the cancellation of '90s sitcom All American Girl, a gig that, literally, almost killed her - into one of the most successful standup careers of the last decade.

Friday night, Cho will bring her raunchy comedic stylings to Grit City for the first time as she headlines Broadway Center's Pantages Theater. We caught up with her to mark the occasion.

But for reasons that will soon become apparent, we must add the disclaimer that the Volcano has ABSOLUTELY no insider knowledge of who any of this year's presidential candidates are sleeping with.

Or to put it more bluntly, please don't sue us, Rick Perry.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: A little over a year ago you released your musical debut, Cho Dependent. I was wondering how big a role music plays in your live show these days.

MARGARET CHO: It's just sort of a little aside. The shows still end up being more than 90-percent standup comedy just ‘cause ... there's so much I want to say.

VOLCANO: What inspired you to dive into music and how did you recruit all the cool people you worked with on the CD?

CHO: Comedy usually ends a little bit before music, so I'll see the end of some gig, some band in whatever city I'm in and hang out with them. That's kind of how a lot of these relationships began with different musicians. I also toured with Ani (DiFranco) and did shows with people, went to festivals with different people and ended up being on the bill with them. So when I started to talk to a lot of these musicians they were all super into making this album with me. I'm really proud of it. I think it's great, not because I think I'm great but all these musicians are so great. You know, I'm such a fan of Tegan and Sara and Ani and Andrew (Bird.) They're all amazing artists, so I couldn't ask for better.

VOLCANO: What kind of stuff are you riffing on with the tour you're doing right now?

CHO: It's always different. It's sort of ranging (from) a lot of gay rights, a lot of stuff going on with conservative, closeted gays, like Rick Perry.

VOLCANO: Rick Perry?

CHO: Oh yeah, he's such a closet case. Gay rumors about him have gone back for more than 20 years. And people don't talk about you being gay if you're not fucking gay. If a dick gets sucked in a forest and nobody's around to hear it, it still got sucked and you're still gay. (Laughs).

VOLCANO: Hmmm, I never would have guessed Rick Perry. I guess all the rumors have been about Michele Bachmann's husband.

CHO: Well, yeah, because he's Truman Capote gay. He's, like, ridiculous. That's such a "queen please" situation. So that's what I'm talking a lot about, and gay marriage stuff, what's happening politically, what's happening with my own body. I'm 42 and I've been talking about that. So it's a lot of different stuff.

VOLCANO: Your mom wasn't a big part of the last DVD (Margaret Cho: Beautiful from 2009) Is she still a big part of your act?

CHO: Yes, actually, in this new show, yeah. She's definitely very vocal. There's a lot of jokes with her - and songs with her, too.

VOLCANO: You're known for being a little racy. We've seen you describe everything from explosive bouts of diarrhea to - um - lots of "vajayjay" jokes. What is off limits in Margaret Cho's world?

CHO: Oh, I don't think there is anything. As long as it's got some merit. There's got to be some joy and fun behind it. I think that's all I care about.

VOLCANO: In that context, I recently went back and watched Beautiful again. And one of the shocking revelations is that you taught Sunday school one some point.

CHO: Yes, yes.

VOLCANO: When was that?

CHO: I think I was about 15. It was around when I started doing standup comedy. My family's real churchy. My grandfather was a minister and my parents were musicians in the church choir and sang. That's where I get a lot of my musical background from. The church was a really huge, major, major influence to my life. That's a place where I kind of (became) initially creatively alert, even.

VOLCANO: Aside from the dirty jokes, there always seems to be kind of an uplifting theme in your comedy. Like you've said, "It's very political to feel beautiful." How did you come to this realization?

CHO: Well, I think it's hard for people who feel invisible to feel beautiful, and that beauty is a kind of power that is very important to people who don't have a huge voice in mainstream society. So it's very important for people of color to feel beautiful, for queers to feel beautiful, for women, for anybody who feels that they are underrepresented to somehow overcompensate for that inability with the kind of confidence that comes from the knowledge that you're beautiful. So it's a good thing.

VOLCANO: A few months have passed since you feuded with Bristol Palin after Dancing with the Stars. Have you squashed the beef?

CHO: No, I haven't seen her. I haven't talked to her. I don't know, you know. It's weird, though, because I never felt like I talked to her. I felt like it was actually her mother's speechwriter who was doing all that talking. Because she had all this sort of response to what I was saying about her, and I was like, "Bitch, you can't read." It's so weird, because she's such a non-verbal person. She's kind of, like, very shy.  So it's odd for her to have a bunch of words for anything, especially for me. It's crazy to get in a fight with those people, because immediately after I was put on no-fly lists, and then I was on jury duty again and again and again. It was really scary. I think if they can make your life unpleasant they will. They'll find a way.

VOLCANO: Really? You think that all happened because of Bristol.

CHO: I think so. Why else? I can't imagine any other reason for that to happen.

VOLCANO: What's next for you? Are you shooting a DVD this time around?

CHO: Yes, I just did that. It was shot in Atlanta by my wonderful friend and director, Loren Machado, who's done all of my movies. We just finished that, so that will be out soon.

Margaret Cho

with opening act Dina Martina
Friday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m., $49-$82
Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma
253.591.5890 or broadwaycenter.org

BONUS: Cho will also attend a happy hour meet and greet at 6 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $100 with proceeds benefiting Equal Rights Washington's campaign for marriage equality.