Starr Quality

She’s cool, she’s funky and she’s got the beat, but she wasn’t there on Tuesday’s Arsenio Hall show.

Keyboardist Starr Parodi, who usually makes some of the most eccentric fashion statements on commercial TV, was making a different kind of statement Tuesday when she boycotted the show because of an appearance of controversial comedian Andrew Dice Clay, who frequently targets women, minorities and gays in his disparaging humor.

(Hall said on the show that he respected Parodi’s decision and she did appear at the very end of the show, backstage.)

“He, like everyone else, is entitled to express himself on national television,” Parodi said of Clay, in a written statement.

Usually it doesn’t take a boycott for the keyboard player to attract attention. Parodi’s work on the synthesizer and a wardrobe that mixes not only styles but eras does the trick.

“I never used to really dress up before I was on Arsenio,” says Parodi, who’s been on the show since January, 1989. “The show really got me excited and I wanted to try different things. Three years ago, I probably would have been wearing jeans and a T-shirt,” Parodi says. “Well, maybe not that extreme. Probably jeans and a nice shirt.”

Now she’s into a grab bag of L.A. street wear, from military-style jackets to antique hats and bike shorts.

Parodi, who was part of the “Fame” cast from 1983 to ’86 and was the band on the Fritz Coleman show in 1987-’88, describes her wardrobe as eccentric, to say the least.

“I like to try different things that don’t always match,” she says. “I enjoy the colorful stuff and mixing a lot of different styles.”

Some nights she wears things that remind her of how the show’s guest stars dress.

“I wore paisley when Tears for Fears was on. When the Pointer Sisters were on, I wore a saucer hat.”

Hats, more than anything else, have become her signature fashion statement.

“It sort of just developed,” she says of her collection, which ranges from decorated berets to ‘40s caps and ‘60s pillboxes. “It started with one hat. I needed something to finish off what I was wearing and now people know me as the girl who wears the hats. People now send me hats. One store in New Jersey sent a pillbox with a leopard pattern and a purple toy.”

Where does she find her stuff?

Melrose, natch. Stores such as Two-Timer and Comme les Garcons, among others.

Parodi credits two people on the Hall show with her new sense of style.

First is Hall, a very fashion-conscious guy himself.

“Every night he comes out with so much energy and dressed so sharp, it’s very inspiring. You really want to be 100% in everything and look the best you can,” she says.

The second is the show’s wardrober, Sandy Ampon. “Sandy’s been a big influence in mixing different colors, trying things that I wouldn’t try,” Parodi says.

The play of styles and colors works well, but not always.

“You know there’s always going to be another night,” Parodi says. “There’s a luxury to trying and not worrying about it.”

In the last year and a half, Parodi says, fashion and having her own style has become very important for her.

“It’s a blossoming time,” she says. “I’m not afraid to try new things now. I have the confidence to try something different, just to express myself.”