With her band, the Swingin’ Armadillos, Kane launches a 12-city club tour September 13 in El Paso, Texas. Among her scheduled stops are Austin, Atlanta, New York City and Columbus

Described as “a revival meeting in the parking lot of an X-rated bookstore,” a Candye Kane show brings together theatre, camp, confession and a solid blues/jazz/swing oeuvre for a show that’s part burlesque, part self-esteem seminar and all solid music.

She’s come a long way from a past marked by teenage welfare-motherhood, drug abuse and a stint as a phone-sex operator that led to a career in porn. Instead of being the cover girl on magazines like Juggs, she’s now showing up in People.

And she’s not shy about where she came from.

She speaks forthrightly about her rough past in interviews, and even credits the adult entertainment industry with helping her overcome body-image insecurities. Kane broke ground in the 1980s porn world by being one of the genre’s first plus-sized stars.

Kane confronts social issues like sexism, weight discrimination, censorship and homophobia head-on in her stage banter as well as her lyrics, often with humor. When she sings “200 Pounds Of Fun,” she means it.

The upcoming outing is in support of her fifth album, The Toughest Girl Alive. It’s her first release since signing with Rounder Records, and Kane received plenty of support from friends like Dave Alvin, Larry Taylor, and Marcia Ball – all of whom appear on the record.