"I wanted her to have pulled-together glamour and gowns. I like gowns."
Amelia's career is supported by her Australian partner who is their 18-month-old son's primary caregiver.
"I went back touring when Tennyson was four months old but that was probably too much, too soon," she confides.
"Being a mother has made me realise that every moment is precious - just watching him is such a great pastime."
Raising a child in and around the world of cabaret holds no fears, after all her own childhood was, shall we say, different.
"I was literally born on a beach to parents who were theatre-makers and started a collective in small-town Oregon in the 70s.
The aim was to raise their children in a way that would still allow them to make art.
"In a town of 11,000 there were three dance companies and two theatre companies, plus people like my Dad doing their own, weird thing - it was all very creative and there was a lot of greasepaint."
Although she calls Amber Star Merkens, a dancer and instructor with the renowned Mark Morris company, her sister, they're not related.
"We were raised as sisters," she says.
"And we were both breastfed by both mothers. I'm all for that model, if it's available. I think I'm physically healthier for it."
Amelia's voice, described as a mix of Peggy Lee, Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin, has been entertaining the paying public since she was 4, appearing as Gretl, "the smallest von Trapp", in a hometown production of The Sound of Music.
"My Dad sings more than he speaks, which is wonderful and horrible at the same time, so from the beginning I was absorbing pitch, melody and harmony. The comedy I get from my mother's family, that humour that comes from Jewish culture."
The resurgence of burlesque and cabaret was perfectly timed for Amelia and Amber who used their shoe-string showbiz know-how to "win" New York in 2004.
"What's great about cabaret is that it brings art forms together - it's a visual presentation of fashion and beauty, singing and theatre, in one sweet, sparkly package."
The first performance, hosted by Lady Rizo in a fast-food joint, sold out and the gig gathered an underground following. Amelia also won a couple of important fans - gaining a New York agent and an invitation from Moby to sing on his second album, Pale Horses.
Since then the singer-composer-comedienne has won a Grammy with Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace), the inaugural Edinburgh Fringe Cabaret Award and the London Cabaret Award for best vocal act.
"There's something immediate, personal and life-affirming about the intimate nature of small-form performance," Amelia says.
"We all, at our core, yearn to be connected to each other, it's part of our tribal DNA, but as the world becomes more secular we're losing those moments of ritual connection. We still need to sit with others and think about ideas - whether they're political or sensual. And we need a leader with a velvet glove: enter Lady Rizo."
The details
What:
Indigo Child: Lady Rizo.
When:
Wednesday, April 5 at 8pm.
Where:
Baycourt, Tauranga.
Tickets:
Baycourt or Ticketek.co.nz, $49 (plus booking fees).