Not your standard standards singer

An icon of the New York avant-garde scene, Justin Vivian Bond -- also known as "v" -- brings his performance-art cabaret act to the Hamptons and Fire Island.

Saturday night at East Hampton's John Drew Theater of Guild Hall, Bond performs his latest solo show, "Dendrophile," also the title of his new CD. Next weekend, he plays Cherry Grove Community Theatre.

Since breaking character as half the demented Kiki & Herb duo of the '90s and early '00s (Bond was Kiki, a way-past-prime-time lounge chanteuse), "v" has edged farther from downtown and closer to mainstream. In March, Bond teamed with Sandra Bernhard in a staged reading at Joe's Pub of "Arts and Crafts," a new musical they plan to workshop later this year toward an Off-Broadway venue -- perhaps beyond.

We spoke to "v" by phone while he shopped at an Apple store in Manhattan.

How did a former Adelphi student from the mountains of western Maryland, a kid who played in "The Sound of Music," grow up to be "v"?It's basically knowing who you are and setting out to do it. Negotiating how to do it in a public forum took some time. But here I am.

Kiki & Herb was your breakthrough. But do you think getting a Tony nomination co-opted you, making you respectable?No, it legitimized us. Kenny [Mellmann] and me. It brought a downtown act to a mainstream audience. But I think it's more important to serve as an example for kids in mainstream schools.

Do you put on a different show in a place like Guild Hall as opposed to Cherry Grove, where you play to a largely gay audience?It's the same whatever the audience. I don't do a ghetto

show.

About your songwriting: I love a lyric from "The New Economy" on your "Dendrophile" CD: "Take what you need and give a little back. / That's the new economy." How many songs in your show are yours?Two-thirds original. But interpreting standards is my strong suit. I've been inspired by Judy Collins, who introduced me to songs by greats like Leonard Cohen and Jacques Brel.

WHAT Justin Vivian Bond's cabaret show

WHEN | WHERE Friday night at 8, Guild Hall's John Drew Theater, 158 Main St.; 9 p.m. Friday, 10 p.m. next Saturday, Cherry Grove Community House Theater, Fire Island

INFO Guild Hall: $35-$55; guildhall.org, 631-324-4050. Cherry Grove: $35-$40; artsprojectcherry grove.org, 631-597-3192.