From Peg Bundy to biker broad Gemma, Katey Sagal has played some very diverse roles during her successful acting career.

Sagal stars in both FX's "Sons of Anarchy" as the manipulative, fiercely loyal matriarch of a biker gang and "Futurama," where she voices the one-eyed, purple-haired Leela. She also appeared on "Lost" and worked with John Ritter until his death in "8 Simple Rules."

In 2011, Sagal won a Golden Globe for her role on FX's "Sons of Anarchy." She has been married to the creator of the show, Kurt Sutter, since 2004.

Sagal, 59, was born and raised in Los Angeles to a creative family of actors and musicians. Her younger identical twin sisters, Liz and Jean, starred in the '80s sitcom "Double Trouble" and worked for a time as the Doublemint twins in the long-running Doublemint gum ads.

Before Sagal was on the screen, she was on stage, singing solo and with a variety of performers, including the late Etta James. She will release her third album of original songs and covers in the fall.

Sagal will share her music at the Riverside Theater on Friday, April 19 for "An Evening of Music and The Cast of Sons Of Anarchy."

She will perform songs with her band, The Forest Rangers, from the show and her new album, and will host a Q&A with the audience after the music performance.

Ryan Hurst (who played "Opie" before his character was killed off) and Theo Rossi ("Juice") will also be in attendance. Curtis Stigers, who sings the "Sons of Anarchy" theme song, is also on the tour.

This event is only one of five scheduled, loosely in conjunction with the Harley-Davidson 110th anniversary happening this August.

We recently chatted with Sagal about music, how she struggled to "shed Peg" and the challenges of preparing for her role as biker queen Gemma. And it just happened the interview took place on the 25th anniversary of the pilot episode of "Married With Children."

OnMilwaukee.com: How long have you been singing?

Katey Sagal: Since I was a wee child. My mother was a singer and she played folk guitar and taught me how to play guitar and sing when I was 8 years old. I was in the choir, taught myself the piano and then I was in a band in high school. I started young and always new what I wanted to do.

As a young adult, my dreams were coming true and I could have made my living as a singer, but toward my late 20s I started thinking about other options. At the time, a friend who wrote musicals and I decided to do it and from that, I got an acting agent and was soon after asked to start auditioning for television.

OMC: What modern bands or musicians inspire you?

KS: I love music today. I think it's in a great place since we got through the 80s, which was not my favorite musical decade. I love Mumford and Sons and Justin Timberlake's new record. I love so many different kinds of music. I listened to a lot of soul music growing up, and Laura Nyro, and a lot of blues music.

OMC: Tell me more about your new record.

KS: It's a mostly covers with a few original songs. I cover a Ryan Adams' song, a Tom Petty song, a Ray LaMontagne and a Steve Earle.

I've been writing for a year and a half and then the last couple months I really focused on it. I have to space it out with my other work.

OMC: Do you prefer the stage or the screen?

KS: Both, but for different reasons. I love how live is all just right there. Camera work allows me to be more introspective and it's very layered, which is fascinating.

OMC: Are there ways you are like your character Gemma?

KS: Like Gemma, I have a lot of maternal instincts and a love of family. She and I have very different ways of handling our loyalties. She is also vain and I'm somewhat vain.

OMC: How did you prepare for the role of Gemma? Did you research biker culture?

KS: I read everything I could, but there's not a lot written about the women in that culture. It's very male-centric. I pulled from women who are queens of all different cultures, Gemma is the matriarch – the queen of the club – and she has a lot in common with other matriarchs, so I mushed it all together.

OMC: Do you know how to ride a motorcycle?

KS: (Laughing) I know how to ride on the back of one. Although I admit I ride them less frequently since I had children.

OMC: How old are your children?

KS: 18, 17 and 6. We run the gamut. (Sagal had a stillborn daughter in 1991. The pregnancy was written into the script of "Married With Children" but then chalked up as a dream.)

OMC: Was it difficult to escape the "Peg Bundy" role?

KS: Oh, it's taken a while. People now comment more on my roles in "Sons" and on "Futurama," but it definitely took some time. I was offered so many roles doing the same thing (Peg Bundy) but I really wanted to prove myself as a dramatic actress.

I got a part on "Lost" (she appeared in four episodes), but when I auditioned I had to prove I was not Peg Bundy. I kept working at it after this role, too, and peoples' perceptions eventually changed. But I get it: when you're in peoples' living rooms for so long, it's hard to forget.

OMC: What can guests expect from the show? It's part musical performance, part discussion, right?

KS: Yes, we are going to open the evening with "Sons Of Anarchy" music, including the theme song, along with other memorable songs. Then I'm going to sing songs from the show and new material from the album and then open ourselves up to the audience for questions.

OMC: Milwaukee is only one of five dates on this mini tour, right?

KS: Yes, we're trying to see how we do and if we can keep doing it. Ryan Hurst is with me, too ("Opie" from "Sons") and he is a real sweetheart, very soulful. I think it will be really satisfying for fans of the show and fans of music in general.