Q & A

Soulblendr Takes Music Merchandising To a Unique Place

Last modified on 2011-09-08 12:47:58 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Soulblendr may not be a household name yet but chief music officer Charley Hoeffer is working around the clock to blend this generation’s Do-It-Yourself lifestyle with his e-commerce business model. Soulblendr is a new kind of social commerce site where bands and artisan designers can collaborate, create, and sell unique fan merchandise. We got the chance to speak with the man himself.

Sinister Girlz: What was the inspiration behind Soulblendr?

Charley Hoeffer: The idea of bringing bands and designers together to co-create, collaborate and actually succeed as (creative and business) partners in the shared expression of art just seemed to sit at the center of this generation’s “DIY” meme/lifestyle.  To then invite fans to be a voice, a living focus group, your tastemakers, and then ultimately, your best marketing partners also seemed to be a very real bonding agent for all three legs of the stool.

Bands (and eventually any entertainer, sports figure, cult hero to cult brands) now get to work with inspired artisan designers to openly collaborate, iterate and create merchandise that they’ve/we’ve always dreamt of having, easily, safely, with control, and all legally protected. The ideas are only limited to a global audience of designers/designs and fans that would love to work with musicians, artists, entertainers, cult brands of any kind.  All of this is empowered through the invention of a seamless, easy to use, legally binding IP licensing eco-system.  Sounds more businessy than it is but it’s some serious technology that enables people to easily and legally create together.

We are trying to capture a huge confluence of trends around self-expression self-empowerment, DIY, Craft, social media and the social graph in general. Soulblendr is an amalgamation of these trends that way goes beyond the first movers that captured the craft movement, product customization, and DIY.  We love etsy, Threadless, Zazzle, Cafe Press but they are hitting a ceiling of perceived value.  By opening the creative and manufacturing process with legal IP, to a global pool of passionate artists and designers will push and expand all of those models well past their current evolution, benefitting all of them, energizing fans, consumers, and entertainers of all kinds.

The concept path starts with self-expression leading to shared expression evolving to shared creation leading to crowdsourcing merchandise across any passionate fan base of any genre whether in music, entertainment, cult categories, almost any brand any community.  This is much more than music or entertainment, it’s an entirely new way of looking at consumer based manufacturing – The first peer to peer to peer marketplace of its kind focused on democratizing the creative and manufacturing process where everyone can play

Sinister Girlz: How hands on are you on the day to day goings on?

Charley Hoeffer: All day every day, but we are only just getting started as of July 1 with our true beta release.  We are a nimble and lean start-up team….what we need are more killer designers, great music thought leaders, amazing fashion tastemakers, merch geniuses, and great technologists to jump in.  Something we are proud of saying is that every single person that we have approached to help or contribute has done so.  Many have done so freely, others we have as part time or contract employees, still others do so at well below market rate simply because they are inspired and want to see the idea flourish.  That’s why I do it, and am paying myself very little to almost nothing to do this 7 days a week and often late into the night…It’s worth every penny, literally

Sinister Girlz: Would you say that social media/networking has enhanced Soulblendr’s career objectives or was it part of the business model all along?

Charley Hoeffer: Well it was designed with social media at the very center of the experience.  Instead of having a facebook button, we’re fully integrated into facebook as a means of capturing the entire creative process, live fan feedback when a band posts a cool merch idea to their fan page for fan feedback all the way to having a fully integrated facebook storefront directly on your bands fan page to sell the merch.  We’re also working on some amazing QR code technology that allows the band to take the “best of” merch with them on the road and Soulblendr fulfills orders directly through the site with a wave of your mobile phone at the venue.  A band only carries one of every piece of merch while they can fulfill hundreds in real-time.  Keep that quiet, that’s coming down the road…

Sinister Girlz: How different is Soulblendr from sites like Cafepress?

Charley Hoeffer: As suggested above Soulblendr is a natural and advanced evolution of all of those sites.  We’ve learned a lot over the past few years about the core methodology, logic and process of the craft, DIY, and crowdsourcing models that each contain.  We feel that by adding a seamless IP licensing ecosystem and flow, some complimenting business logic, and some very cool social integration, that we have created a wide competitive separation, yet a complimentary technology that they can now integrate to improve upon and advance their existing user experiences and business models.

Sinister Girlz: How can a band/artist partner up with Soulblendr?

Charley Hoeffer: Simply jump in register and start creating, it’s free, and so is the merch…!

Sinister Girlz: Can fans create merchandize of their favorite bands and have it customized and manufactured thru the site or does the merch have to be submitted by the band/artist themselves?

Charley Hoeffer: Currently all merch comes from the band/designer collaboration, iteration, creative process but not for long

Sinister Girlz: How soon from the prototypes being approved can the artist merchandize be manufactured?

Charley Hoeffer: Instantly, when a band and designer post to facebook and the fans love it then the band and designer see a winner and go right to production based on fan feedback. One band “Iration” out here in CA made some brach cruiser bike bells and in a couple hours over 100 fans wanted to buy it.  As of this week we’ve just released the final step of the beta which now provides every band with a fully integrated facebook storefront for their soulblendr merch – so that after they create, post to facebook, test an idea, then find a winner, then we give them a fully integrated merch store right into the left nav bar of their facebook fan page – for free!

For more on Soulblendr visit http://www.soulblendr.com/

Safety Word Orange Seek Acceptance with New EP

Last modified on 2011-06-06 19:13:37 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Safety Word Orange, they’re the band you should know and will know once their EP “Acceptance” hits shelves on June 14^th. Just days before its release date we caught up with the band and got the 411 on the makings of the new album.

Sinister Girlz: Your new EP, “Acceptance”, will comes out on June 14^th what can audiences expect from the record? (sound wise, lyrically, etc.)

Safety Word Orange: This EP has a little bit of everything. Sound wise, it doesn’t stray too much from the last record, On Your Mark, Get Set…, however; as a band I think its important to constantly continue to grow and make “new” music, so I feel as though we have progressed in that aspect. I think we all grew a lot as musicians in the time between our last EP and Acceptance. The EP is only four songs, so when we went into the studio we wanted each song to be able to stand on its own. We have a pumped song, and fun song, a slower jam, and then our single, Breathe, which is sort of a mix between the others in terms of sound. Lyrically, this record is pretty real. We aren’t sugar coating anything or singing about non-sense. Since last year when we put out, On Your Mark, we have all gone through a lot of struggles personally, and as a band. I think this record reflects just that. Audiences should expect a Safety Word Orange record with an extra dash of substance.

Sinister Girlz: How would you describe your band’s sound?

Safety Word Orange: Our sound stems from what we grew up listening to. We all are 80’s babies, so a lot of the influence comes from late 80’s and early 90’s bands. A lot of also grew up listening to pop-punk bands so we definitely take a heavy influence from that. Whenever I’m asked the question, “What genre is your band?” I say we are an Alternative Pop-rock band.

Sinister Girlz: What was the creative process like?

Safety Word Orange: The creative process never really ends for us. We were writing songs for this EP when we were recording our previous EP in December of ’09.  Over the course of the year, James and I probably put together about 15-20 song ideas, 9 of them actually got developed. Once we had a pretty good idea of what we were going for we would present it to the rest of the guys and take it from there. When we hit the studio we did a bit of rearranging. We brought nine full songs to the studio and then narrowed it down to three. The last song, which ended up being our single, Breathe, was a bunch of ideas thrown together during pre-production. During the recording process and leading up to it was a pretty big struggle for all of us. We were all going through our own personal struggles, as well as the obvious struggles of any unsigned band. It was a long and drawn out process, but I think in the end that is truly what made this record what it is. The record is about accepting who you are, where you are, and what you’ve come from.

Sinister Girlz:  What does it mean to be an unsigned band in this digital world? Is the promotion or distribution easier because of the Internet?

Safety Word Orange:  YES! The Internet and social media have completely revolutionized how music is bought, shared and marketed. Overall, I think the music industry is still trying to adapt to the change so we are in a weird spot. Yes, it is easier to promote your music and distribute it. But, because it’s so easy, there are so many bands out there going at it and doing fairly well. It’s hard to differentiate yourself. Being signed to a record label these days doesn’t mean what it used to. I think the Internet and digital media in general are partly to blame for that. But it’s not a bad thing. In terms of money, that’s one less person for bands to pay out. It is still tough though. Without some sort of backing, whether that be management, booking, or a label, bands are forced into a weird position. I think digital media has opened up opportunities for bands that were not previously there, but it doesn’t mean our problems are solved.

Sinister Girlz:  You’ve toured with some impressive bands like The Used and Bowling for Soup how did you guys end up on those tours and what did you learn from touring with those bands?

Safety Word Orange: To be perfectly honest, we never toured with those bands, although that would have been an amazing experience. We did share the stage with both of those bands though. Playing with bands like The Used and Bowling for Soup really reinforced why we are out here doing this in the first place. It has been great to look back and see where we came from and then look at where we are now. The times we have shared the stage with bands that have made an impact on us are great milestones and we’re going to continue to strive for more!

Sinister Girlz:  Have you ever had to work hard to win a crowd over if so what did you do impress them and if not what would you do in that situation?

Safety Word Orange: There have been plenty of crowds that we’ve had to work hard to win over a crowd haha. We have been working our way up the ladder for a while now so we have won and lost that battle many times. I think the most important way to win a crowd over is to perform as best you can, have fun doing it, and engage with the crowd. Sometimes a crowd just doesn’t want to get into it and that can be kind of a bummer, but if your having fun and putting your heart into it, then at the very least, your building character haha.

Sinister Girlz:  What are your plans for this summer; will there be lots of touring and festivals?

Safety Word Orange: Our plans for this summer are to release the new EP, Acceptance, and get it out there. We are going to be playing as much as we can. We are playing Get Heard Fest in Marlboro, NJ June 4^th, which is going to be awesome. Robbie, our guitarist is a HUGE fan of Catch 22 so he is ecstatic. We have a short run down to Florida and back after the release and we’re working on putting together the rest of the summer. It’s proven to be extremely hard to put together an extensive tour ourselves, so we are going to be doing a good bit of shopping our music around to management and booking company’s. Hopefully we can get some people behind us. At this point, we are open to anything. We’ll probably do a few benefit shows up North and just continue building our fan base in other states. It’s safe to say we are going to be relentlessly working on getting our music heard.

For more on Safety Word Orange visit them on http://www.facebook.com/safetywordorange

The Kiki Twins Space Out with Upcoming Release of Double-EP

Last modified on 2011-06-06 18:13:44 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I was first introduced to THE KIKI TWINS at a function last year.  You guys were striking poses at this charity event featuring RuPaul Drag Race alumni Pandora Boxx. From the moment you guys walked the red carpet mayhem ensued.

Sinister Girlz: Where does the name THE KIKI TWINS come from? And how does it represent your music?

The Kiki Twins: Well, let’s start first at what the “KIKI” is.  Basically, there are many origins for the word kiki just search for it on google or urban dictionary, but for us it boils down to something funny, fierce and/or fabulous.  When we use it in a sentence it goes something like this, “That little wiglet on his head is the KIKI!”  Now when we were coming up with a name for the group, we considered the fact that we know each other so well and how each of us literally can know what the other is thinking just by giving each other a look.  We finish each other’s sentences or even musical harmonies on the spot, very similar to the way twins feel each other’s pain or finish each other’s sentences.  And that is how THE KIKI TWINS name and concept were born.

Sinister Girlz: What does it mean to be an unsigned band in this digital age? Is the promotion or distribution easier because of the internet?

The Kiki Twins: Well, having been schooled in the new age of music business, it is more advantageous for non-conforming music acts like THE KIKI TWINS to market themselves.  We simply have more control over what is happening to our sound and our image.  In the end, we aren’t a household name like the artists with representation, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get a regular check in the mail from our online distribution, because guess what, we do.  That said, we are unsigned and we are always looking for someone or some company to take an interest in us and to help us get to the next level.  So please feel free to contact us at tkt@thekikitwins.com.

Sinister Girlz: Let’s talk about your new double-EP project, Spaced Out & Under Attack, what can we expect from it musically and lyrically? And when will it be out and how can we get our hands on it?

The Kiki Twins: Spaced Out and Under Attack are a double-EP release.  The sound here is more evolved musically.  Spaced Out is all about taking a “spaced-out, tripped-out, flipped-out” journey to a new dimension.  Under Attack takes that a step further with some political undertones thinly disguised within pop-centric, dance tracks.  It was originally intended that both EPs would be released separately as Part 1 and Part 2 in a continuation style.  But then we decided it would be more “kiki” to release them together as a double-EP even though there is enough material between them both to be one full album.  We never do anything conventionally or ordinarily.  The new stuff will be debuting this summer.  Stay tuned to our facebook.com/thekikitwins, twitter.com/thekikitwins and THEKIKITWINS.com for the actual date to be announced.  All of our music is available on iTunes.

Listen to a preview of the 13 new tracks from Spaced Out & Under Attack:

Sinister Girlz:  You guys have recently been getting some recognition from your appearance on Bravo’s hit reality show, Pregnant in Heels, particularly LT for working as Rosie Pope’s assistant have you found it’s been helping spread the word on the band?

The Kiki Twins: Yes.  Our appearance in the second episode as well as additional footage in the final episode of the season of us performing has definitely helped get the word out about our brand of kiki to the children.  They [the children] have especially loved LT serving looks and gagging them all season long.

Sinister Girlz:  What would you say inspires you to make music?

The Kiki Twins: “It’s just the magic of the KIKI.  That’s what it is, that is within me.  It’s got the power to make you feel.  So keep it cute and keep it real!” – lyrics from upcoming song “The Magic of the KIKI”.

Sinister Girlz:  If given the chance, what artists would you love to record a song with?

The Kiki Twins: We love dance diva Reina, @ReinaMusic.  We have a fondness in our hearts for Chevonne @Listen2Chevonne.  We also love our new friend Jessie from Jessie and the Toy Boys, @JessieToyBoys, who is an opening act for Britney on tour currently.  We also, recently found our long lost brother-from-another-mother Kid Kasio, @KidKasio, in the UK.  And we love, love, love our dear friend Simone Kaye, @SimoneKSings, also from the UK.

Sinister Girlz:  What song or songs are currently on heavy rotation on your iPod or mp3 player?

The Kiki Twins: LT is religiously listening to the Disco Discharge and Horse Meat Disco compilation CDs.  You will be able to hear that disco influence on the upcoming song from Spaced Out, “Touch The Ceiling”.  AC is obsessing on XELLE’s “Party Girl” and Frankmusik’s “Hate Your Love”.

Sinister Girlz:  Where can we find THE KIKI TWINS this summer?

The Kiki Twins: You can always find us on youtube.com/thekikitwins. Once the double-EP drops we will announce live appearances and dates.

Artist on the Rise: K.Flay

Last modified on 2011-04-06 16:02:27 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Among the crowd, she seems like your typical twenty-something year old girl, but as she makes her way onto the stage and sets up her gear you realize she’s a performer. K.Flay, born Kristine Flaherty, is one of today’s most promising young stars. Something electric, magical almost, happens when she gets on stage. Her rhymes are tight and thought provoking and sometimes humorous.

We caught up with K.Flay days after her performance at Pianos in NYC and got the lowdown on her new mixtape, “I Stopped Caring in ’96”

Sinister Girlz: I saw you perform at Pianos on Monday night the crowd really dug your performance have you ever had to work hard at winning over a crowd? If so what have you done to get them onboard?

K.Flay: Definitely.  I’ve played for crowds who have no idea why some girl is making beats on a table in front of them.  The key, i think, is remaining engaged in your own performance, translating your passion and energy into something that people unfamiliar with your music can relate to and enjoy.

Sinister Girlz: At what age did you start rhyming?

K.Flay:  I started in college, on a bit of a whim.  There was something about hip hop and the unlimited potential for rhythm, cadence, and wordplay that really captivated me.

Sinister Girlz: What’s your creative process like? How do you create your songs?

K.Flay:  Usually i develop a basic 16-bar riff/drum pattern and concept for the track, loop that ad nauseam until I’ve written verses, and then flesh out the rest of the beat.

Sinister Girlz:  You performed cuts from your new mix tape, for those who weren’t at Monday’s show what can audiences expect from the album?

K.Flay:  The mixtape is a project I’m releasing throughout the month of April — every two weeks a new bundle of 3 tracks, 1 music video, and a photo series will be made available for free on my site.  All of the tracks on the mixtape are sample-based and the content is a bit darker than some of my previous stuff.  As it turns out, I’m kind of an intense gal.

Sinister Girlz:  Everyone always talks or asks about musical influences who are some of yours and how have you incorporated if in any way into your own music?

K.Flay:  I’ve been listening a lot to the new Kanye record, which i think helped give me that push to explore more serious, dark subject matter & production on the mixtape.

For more on K.Flay and “I Stopped Caring in ‘96″ visit her at www.kflay.com

One on One with Kelli

Last modified on 2011-04-05 17:43:04 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

You may know Kelli from Bravo’s NYC Prep but the budding songstress is hoping to lure fans and captivate a new audience with her first single “Gave Up On Love.” We caught up with Kelli and she gave us the 411 on the making of her debut album.

Sinister Girlz: Everyone knows you from Bravo’s hit reality show, NYC Prep, have you found it hard to break away from that image and be seen as a singer now?

Kelli: Of course, but I never expected it NOT to be. I used the show in hopes of gaining a platform in any which way. I’m never going to break away from that image because I played myself, I can’t hide from that. I do know that my reasons for doing the show were strictly for music, not because I wanted to pursue a career in reality television. To some, I’m still Kelli from NYC Prep because that is where they know me from.

Sinister Girlz: Your first single “Gave Up On Love” will become available on iTunes on April 12^th are you excited or nervous about its official release?

Kelli: Excited because this is something I’ve worked hard on and believe in and to even have a song finally ready to be released is out of this world. But I WANT it so badly that it’s nerve-wracking.

Sinister Girlz: For those who haven’t heard your single yet what kind of sound or vibe will it be and is the single a representation of the kind of sound that will be featured on the album?

Kelli: The single has an electro-pop/dance vibe that is uplifting in contrast with some of its lyrics. The other songs I’ve written and recorded have a more soulful vibe; they’re songs I can connect with on a deeper level.

Sinister Girlz: When will the album be released? And how do you plan on celebrating its debut?

Kelli: The album being released is a far, far away thought…I just saw my single C.D. and almost passed out and took 500 pictures of it from every angle on my phone.

Sinister Girlz: What would you say inspires you to make music?

Kelli: Things I strongly believe in, especially emotions. The writing process is the chance to delve into those protected emotions and develop them through music. My favorite songs are those that make me feel fulfill me at the end. Strong female singers like Dusty Springfield, Tina Turner and Alanis Morrisette are inspiring.

Sinister Girlz:  What song or songs are currently on heavy rotation on your ipod or mp3 player?

Kelli: “Rainbow”- Oh Land, “Dust In The Wind”- Kansas, “Seek Bromance”- Tim Berg, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”- The Beatles, “Someone Like You”- Adele

Sinister Girlz: When performing live what’s the lasting impression you want to leave audiences with after attending one of your shows?

Kelli: Empowerment, the ability to relate to me and to not be so damn serious and have as much fun as I’m having.

For more on Kelli and her album visit Facebook.com/kellimusic

Q&A with Love & Other Drugs Star Jake Gyllenhaal and Director Edward Zwick

Last modified on 2010-10-22 16:43:43 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

“Annie wanted to say that she really wanted to be here but had a previous engagement she couldn’t get out of,” stated Jake Gyllenhaal regarding his notably absent costar Anne Hathaway. “She actually doesn’t care about you [guys],” he joked and thus began the Q&A session that followed the film screening of “Love & Other Drugs.” He was joined by director Edward Zwick who spoke candidly about the film’s premise, what it was like working with Jake and Anne among other things.

The film is based on the book, “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman,” by Jamie Reidy and takes place in the 1990s, 1996 to be exact. A time in which songs like the “Macarena” and alternative music were all the rave. The film’s synopsis reads as follows: Anne Hathaway plays Maggie, an alluring free spirit who won’t let anyone – or anything – tie her down. But she meets her match in Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose relentless and nearly infallible charm serve him well with the ladies and in the cutthroat world of pharmaceutical sales. Maggie and Jamie’s evolving relationship takes them both by surprise, as they find themselves under the influence of the ultimate drug: love.

Music plays a pivotal role in the film, “I never thought there’d be a time I’d use the Macarena,” admitted the film’s director. “The 90s were an odd moment in time, the mid 90s as well, it wasn’t our finest moment,” lamented Ed. He continued, “We were a little hesitant to [use music] too much,” stating that a lot of movies nowadays rely on the music to do the job of the actors. The trick is finding a balance between the two because as Zwick stated, “we had music in movies long before we had talking,” so it goes hand in hand with filmmaking.

Gyllenhaal admitted begging to be a part of the film after reading the script, “I grew up watching [Zwick’s] work,” said the actor. Zwick is the man behind such films as “Glory,” “Blood Diamond,” and “Defiance,” among others and his TV credits include “Thirtysomething,” “Once and Again” and “My So-Called Life.” For Gyllenhaal it was a no-brainer, he had to be a part of the film. Once cast he spent weeks rehearsing and researching his character, “I’m the type of actor that needs to put it into motion. I can’t just sit in a room by myself. I need to be able to fuck it up.” He went as far as sitting in on auditions, while the rest of the film was being casted, and going over the scenes with the different actors. The hard work paid off, the actor gives a moving performance which he credits all to Zwick. “Jake is being modest…I didn’t make him do that stuff, it was him. I just gave him the tools to bring it out,” said Zwick.

The film features a lot of nudity, “Annie [and Jake] are both about authenticity,” explained Zwick. The actors relied on Zwick to portray them in the best possible light when it came to the love scenes. “Fear is the killer of creativity,” said Gyllenhaal regarding mentally blocking out the fact that audiences will be seeing their naked bodies. “You have to block that out otherwise you’ll never get anything done,” he said.

Throughout the course of the Q&A Gyllenhaal lamented Anne Hathaway being absent from the session and commended the actress for her bravery and suggesting changes be made to her character in order to make it more lively, realistic and three-dimensional. “It was Annie’s idea to have [Maggie] trump [Jamie] in the sex game,” revealed Gyllenhaal. In the end it all worked itself out nicely. “We decided last night that we’re not calling this film a romantic comedy,” said Gyllenhaal. “We’re gonna call it an emotional comedy because that’s what it is, it’s life.”

Cho Dependent: An Exclusive Interview with Margaret Cho

Last modified on 2010-06-23 21:30:11 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Margaret Cho has done it all. Her comedy tours have landed her numerous televised standup specials and rebroadcasts of her feature comedy films. Her concert DVDs have grossed millions (her first special “I’m The One That I Want” broke the record for the most money grossed per print in movie history), She’s performed to sold out crowds in Carnegie Hall, The Apollo and other well-known venues around the US. Her short-lived 1994 ABC sitcom All-American Girl broke ground featuring the first Asian American family on television. While her 2003 comedy CD Revolution, based on her third sold-out national tour and concert film by the same name, earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy album that year. Today Margaret Cho can be seen costarring alongside Brooke Elliot on Lifetime’s original hit comedy Drop Dead Diva currently in its second season.

She’s an accomplished comedian, actress as well as author and now the multifaceted performer is adding musician to her resume. Her full-length music album “Cho Dependent” features collaborations with Ben Lee, Fiona Apple and Ani DiFranco among others and comes out on August 24^th. When we spoke with her in June she was more than willing to let us in on the album’s creative process as well as what’s to come for her Diva character Teri Lee.

SinisterGirlz: What inspired you to record a full music album? And what was the creative process like?

Margaret Cho: [I knew] I wanted to make a comedy album that was full of funny songs but I don’t know how to play music. I didn’t know how to make music and I wanted to enlist some of the people that I knew that know how to make music very well. I’m lucky enough to know some of the greatest musicians of our time and be friends with them long enough to make them do this with me. So I just called them up and said, ‘I want to make this album, will you be a part of it?’ and everybody said ‘Yes.’ The creative process was different with everybody. Sometimes I would have the initial meeting with the person and then figure out what we were doing or I would bring them [some] lyrics and they would write music or send me a demo. Or we would sit together and write, that’s something I enjoyed a lot too. I learned a lot about music. How to play guitar and how to sing from all these people helping me.”

SinisterGirlz: Aside from the album having to be funny was there something specific you wanted this album to have?

Margaret Cho:  I just wanted it to be good.  I wanted the music to have lasting value. I know that sometimes with comedy music they’re not as well regarded as other music that’s out there. So I wanted it to be funny but I also wanted the music to sound good, I wanted the music to rock. I’m a big music fan and have been going to shows for as long as I can remember and have wanted to be a musician in a way. I think it’s [a universal thing] for most comedians we want to do music and rock stars always want to do comedy. So I thought there was someplace in between where we could meet and I really enjoyed this process.

SinisterGirlz: When you go on tour this fall will the tour feature both standup and musical numbers? Or will you save the standup for a separate show? What are you thinking of doing?

Margaret Cho:  It will feature both music and [comedy] it’s still a standup show. All in all it’s still a comedy show. I will always be a comedian that is what I will always define myself as. There will be some music in it but the music is comedic so it’s still comedy.

SinisterGirlz: You’ve done just about everything; you’ve written books, done standup obviously, TV, movies, stage show (your Burlesque show ‘The Sensuous Woman’) and now music is there any thing else or another venture you’d like to try out?

Margaret Cho:  I’d like to do more music I really feel like this is a great place to be. I also love burlesque but I don’t think I’ll be doing that again, that was a wonderful [experience] but I definitely want to do more music.

SinisterGirlz: What would you say inspires you to keep going in show biz and keep growing as a performer?

Margaret Cho:  I always like to challenge myself and do different things and have fun. [I like to] have a great social life which I do. With making this album a lot of it was very social and getting to hang out with people that I love and make something that I love [as well]. Everybody [featured] on the album is my friend and it was a really cool time to collaborate.

SinisterGirlz: Do you ever get approached by aspiring comedians seeking advice or what kind of advice would you give a young comic starting out?

Margaret Cho:  I always try to be really supportive and watch people’s act. And give them advice or tips because I have a lot of experience in that world so I know how hard it can be so I’m very into mentoring young comics and giving them a break.

SinisterGirlz: Have you ever had any onstage mishaps while performing your standup?

Margaret Cho:  Not really, I’ve been doing it for so long and it’s pretty amazing that it’s never gone wrong. It’s always gone pretty good, I’ve been really lucky.

SinisterGirlz: I want to talk about Drop Dead Diva, it’s in its second season now what can you tell us about what’s to come for your character?

Margaret Cho:  Well this year, we’ll meet my character’s family which is cool…we’ll meet her wonderful cousin and mother, a lot of emotions for my character and we’ll later find out she’s a private investigator later in the season and some more intrigue so there’s a lot of fun stuff coming up.

SinisterGirlz: How does it feel to be on a hit show? Were you surprised by the initial success of it?

Margaret Cho:   Well I really loved the script and I loved reading the pilot. I love filming it and everyone on the show is super talented, Brooke Elliott is really talented so it’s a really fantastic to be a part of it. I love it and knew it was going to be successful because I knew the script was good. [However] it’s a big change for me because I usually tour a lot so this makes my life quite different. We live in Atlanta, I live in Atlanta now where the show is filmed and it’s my home now for half the year. It’s a big change.

SinisterGirlz: You already had a successful career prior to the success of Drop Dead Diva but now that you’re on a hit show does that open up other opportunities for other acting gigs?

Margaret Cho:    Yea, I got to do some other stuff [as well] and hope to do more beyond that, but for now I’m loving being on the show.

SinisterGirlz: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers that we haven’t already covered?

Margaret Cho:  Well I love this album and I’m really excited to get back on tour because I haven’t been able to be on tour for so long and I can’t wait.

SinisterGirlz: Any specific topics you’ll be covering on this tour? Stuff that’s going on now perhaps?

Margaret Cho:   I think I’m gonna talk about cultural stuff, a lot about race and family and what it’s like for me, cause I’m so liberal and progressive politically, being queer and how it is to live in the south because it’s such a big change so they’ll be some of that too.

For more on Margaret Cho visit her at www.MargaretCho.com and be sure to catch her on Lifetime on Sundays on Drop Dead Diva check your local listings for show times.

There’s No Stopping Hunter Valentine

Last modified on 2010-05-19 21:20:27 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The ladies of Hunter Valentine were still recuperating from their Tour De NYC two days after the 12 shows in 12 hours mini-tour around New York City in celebration of their new album “Lessons From The Late Night.” It was lead singer Kiyomi McCloskey who decided to set time aside to give SinisterGirlz.com a proper interview stating that they were at their silliest towards the end of that day. Still, the ladies managed to pull it together for their final performance of the day at Cake Shop.

How did you manage to pull yourselves together?

We just needed a little bit of a break, we weren’t fully [running] on empty but we hadn’t had a break till the morning time, we just fueled up on food and had a little bit of a mental brake for about an hour or so. It was really nice for us to regroup at the venue and see a lot of our friends and fans who had been following us along the way. That sort of recharges you when you see other people’s excitement and the fact that we actually were about to complete the challenge.

Who’s idea was it to do the 12 shows?

It was a combination of people, between Musebox—the company we work with and [our label] Tommy Boy, the band and everybody sort of fusing all of our ideas together to come up with the places we were going to play and how it would all work out. It was a combined effort for sure.

What would you say were the lessons you learned that night?

I don’t think we could have done it without [all the people involved] you were at the Skate shop show probably when we were being the most silly and probably having too much fun but I think that we held it together that we held it together for the whole day…I just think it was a great things to do, a great challenge, a different challenge and we couldn’t have done it without having such a great team behind us. The lesson I learned which I already kinda knew was that if you’re going to do something that intense it’s really important that you remember to have fun with it.

Some artists on the day their record is release either purchase a copy or go see the display at a store have you’ve gotten the chance to do that yet?

No I haven’t been to a store yet, still sort of recovering from the exhaustion because we had been up for 36 hours straight. I’m gonna go do that, I did that for the last record. It is something that’s rewarding to see the final finished product in store ready to go.

Now that “Lessons From The Late Night” is in stores will there be a lot of touring taking place? Any summer festivals or headlining performances on the horizon?

Absolutely. In June we’re going to tour the west coast. We’ll start off in San Diego on June 11^th then we’ll be doing LA Pride, Seattle, Portland and still some shows getting confirmed. Then we’ll be off to Vancouver to shoot our next video for [our next single] “Revenge.”

What was the creative process like for this album?

It was a lot more of a collaborative [effort] with the band. The first record I had written a lot of the songs when I was really young, had written a lot of them in my bedroom. This one we really focused on writing it together. We wrote almost every song together whether I was writing in the rehearsal space or in my bedroom I [would then] bring it to the band and it would end up sounding like something completely different. They say you have forever to write your first album and your second album is like a shotgun and you’re really rushed but I don’t feel it was like that. We took our time and made sure we could stand behind everything we put out and we’re really proud of our record.

What would you say is your favorite track off the album?

I really like “Scarface”

I really like that song too I also love “She Only Loves Me When She’s Wasted”

Yea that’s one of my favorites too. I think that both of those songs are really honest displays of emotion. Those are the type of music I really respect and enjoy myself so that’s why I like those songs.

So for people new to Hunter Valentine how would you describe your band musically, lyrically, etc?

I think its hard driving, honest, pop rock music.

What’s the lasting impression you want to leave audiences with after seeing one of your shows?

I want them to leave with the thought of wanting to see Hunter Valentine again. I think in music these days there’s a lack of genuine honesty when I see a band play I like to see them really feel the song they’re performing. That’s what we do whether we’re playing [in front of] 4 people in a community center or 2,000 in an arena we give the same show. We want people to say ‘that band was playing like they were wearing their hearts on their sleeves.’

For more on Hunter Valentine visit them at huntervalentine.com

Hunter Valentine is: Kiyomi McCloskey, Laura Petracca, and Adrienne Lloyd.

Semi Precious Weapons Bring Sex and Glamour Back to Rock n Roll

Last modified on 2010-04-07 03:30:06 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Semi Precious Weapons is currently sitting pretty atop of the New Zealand radio charts. The New York “garage glam” rock band has taken Australia and New Zealand by storm with their brand of sexy glamorous rock. For the last couple of months they have been touring extensively as Lady Gaga’s opening act and in the upcoming weeks will headline a handful of shows in the US before reteaming with the pop star for the second leg of the Monster Ball Tour. Justin Tranter the charismatic high heels wearing frontman of the band was conferenced in from overseas around 9:30pm EST and opened up about the band’s experience abroad, the new album and upcoming headlining shows.

Sinister Girlz: I’ve been following your many adventures via facebook and been keeping up with your tour video diaries as well…

SPW (Justin): Awesome.

Sinister Girlz: it appears that you guys are having a blast overseas were you expecting that well of a reception when you embarked on this leg of the tour?

SPW (Justin): Honestly, we always hoped for it. It’s so amazing that here (in Sydney), in New Zealand and Australia everyone has been loving us and it’s great. It’s amazing that in New Zealand and Australia radio stations that are playing the most mainstream pop are willing to talk to us, interview us and play our records. It’s pretty awesome.

Sinister Girlz: You recently went #1 in New Zealand what was your initial reaction when you got word of this?

SPW (Justin): We went fucking nuts! It couldn’t have been more exciting just to know that after so long, we’ve been working our asses off, that with the right amount of exposure and right amount of promo that our music actually does work. Ha-Ha.

Sinister Girlz: Would you say there’s a difference between American crowds and crowds overseas in regards to how they receive you?

SPW (Justin): I think that for the most part when people see us it’s always the same reaction, people for the most part about 90% of the audience really loves us and 10% really, really hates us which, we’re all for. Rock n roll should be pulverizing, we love it. But I think we’ve been really fortunate that in New Zealand and Australia it’s not just people discovering us at the shows [that are watching us perform] but also people that have been hearing our songs on the radio and have been really responding well to it. I think that’s the difference between [crowds] in America, the average person listening to us on their radio overseas has been [attending the shows] and responding really well to it. [Whereas not everyone in America has had the opportunity to listen to Semi Precious Weapons records on top 40 radio].

Sinister Girlz: Your music is very provocative and sexy and it’s funny you mentioned that 10% hating you guys because when I saw you back in January at Radio City you definitely made a grown man very uncomfortable, what do you want to say to those who may not get it?

SPW (Justin): We love it. I love the people who don’t get us. I’m always grateful when there’s someone close enough to the stage making a really uncomfortable face because there’s nothing better than being able to say, ‘you may be uncomfortable now but you will be more uncomfortable when I fuck your wife.’ Rock n roll should be dangerous and should make certain people uncomfortable, some people are uncomfortable with things that are a bit sexy but that’s what rock n roll should be.

Justin takes it off onstage during a performance at Radio City photo by: Leslie DJ

Sinister Girlz: I do have to commend you guys because I took my 13 year old sister to one of the shows and I have to say that you guys totally held your own out there and I would have gladly listened to guys for a full 2 hour set. I was blown away, I had heard of you guys but hadn’t seen you live yet so I was very, very excited. I remember you mentioning at that show how you guys use to play around NYC clubs with Gaga and you said something along the lines of acting or feeling like rock stars back then did you guys in your wildest dreams ever think that your careers would take off the way it did and almost simultaneously?

SPW (Justin): You never know how [or when] it would actually happen. But for me, I’ve always believed in myself and a lot of people don’t believe in themselves, I always thought that this would happen because I’ve been working so fucking hard for it and I’m so thankful and it’s so amazing to be able to tour with Lady Gaga. We did come from the same world in New York City and did play the same clubs together. To be able to go from playing bars in New York City to now this summer we’ll be playing Madison Square Garden with that same friend it’s definitely the best experience of my life, for sure.

Sinister Girlz: Playing the Garden which is not only huge for any NY bred musician but pretty much all musicians, have you guys thought about that much? Does it intimidate you at all? Performing in the legendary arena?

SPW (Justin): It’s [an intimidating thought] but I haven’t really been nervous [about performing] since the 90s. I’m just really, really excited. I think you’re right, for anyone who’s attended music school or moved to New York [it’s a huge dream come true]. We toured all around America; selling our own merchandise, booking our own shows, driving our own van we did all of that. It’s amazing to show people [that hard work pays off]. So many stars and so many musicians become successful now because of a game show or because their dad works for some record label or whatever it is. It’s always gone on but now I think it’s more common to become a successful musician because of some game show than because of hard work. For people to be able to look at us and see we did it from the ground up and now we’re going to be playing Madison Square Garden for the biggest pop star in the world I think it’s really great.

Sinister Girlz: You’ll be playing a couple of headlining shows this month before reteaming with Gaga what can audiences expect from those shows?

SPW (Justin): We’re so excited about doing the headlining shows for the simple fact that we get to play longer. We just finished making the record of our dreams and the album comes out June 22^nd. So to get to go play four shows in America and get to perform our whole album for people is going to be really great. We do love our guitar solos so these shows will be able to [feature] some of that. We’re also really excited about being able to touch the audience again. The Gaga shows [don’t allow room for that] because it’s such a huge production so I’m really excited to play four shows where I can touch the audience, feel the people, walk to them and do the whole filthy rock n roll thing. Hopefully make out with a couple of people during the show, you know the usual.

Sinister Girlz: What’s one thing Semi Precious Weapons fans may be surprised to learn about you guys?

SPW (Justin): We’re music nerds, we went to music school. We do like to party, swear, curse and we do love to get laid and all those other good things but at the heart of it we’re music nerds and have studied as much music as we possibly could since we were about 10 years old.

Sinister Girlz: Well thank you so much, I think you’re fabulous and walk better in high heels than I ever could.

SPW (Justin): Ha-ha. Thank you sweetie. Come see us at one of our shows.

Sinister Girlz: I sure will.

For more on Semi Precious Weapons visit semipreciousweapons.com and be sure to look out for their new full-length album, “You Love You” becomes available on June 22^nd. Semi Precious Weapons is: Justin Tranter (vocals), Cole Whittle (Bass), Dan Crean (Drums) and Stevy Pyne (Guitar).

10Zero Breaks Into The East Coast Market

Last modified on 2010-04-02 20:05:03 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The independent pop/rock 80s inspired electro band, 10Zero, took the Sullivan Room stage on Friday, March 26 around 10pm. The duo which formed about 2 years ago in Los Angeles, CA was set to expand into the New York scene. The March 26^th show was the second of New York City shows.

Attendees gathered near the stage in the form of a circle providing enough room for what was to come. Luis (Luie) Dalmasy, Jr., the duo’s vocalist is a native New Yorker from Washington Heights and professional break dancer and brings new meaning to the word performing, he’d often leap off the stage and bust a couple of moves before striking a pose and heading back onto the stage and finishing up the tune, meanwhile, Kamyar Livari seemly un-phased plucked away on his guitar.

10Zero recently completed their 12 track debut album “Love Like Stars,” available on iTunes Now, and when we caught up with the duo they gave us the lowdown on how the pair got its start and hopes for the future.

Sinister Girlz: How did 10Zero get its start?

Kamyar: After the end of my previous band, Avenue in Oceania, Andy (our keyboard player and co-writer at the time) and I decided it was time to look for another singer. I had found Luie quite by chance online and 2 years later, here we are.

Sinister Girlz: How would you describe your music for those who haven’t discovered you yet?

Kamyar: I would describe our music as Electronic Rock. To me, it’s more of a mix of Dance, Electronica and Rock.

Sinister Girlz: At Friday’s show there was a lot of break dancing going on the dance floor, in the band’s initial conception was incorporating break dancing a part of the original vision?

A Washington Heights break dancer clears the dance floor performs a couple of moves photo by: Leslie DJ

Luie: Yes, breaking is something that I have been doing for a little over ten years now and I feel it fits very well with 10zero’s performance. When someone comes to see our show we want them to walk away amazed and surprised so we do the most we can. There is already so much energy in the music how could anyone just stand still and not dance.

Sinister Girlz: Who are some of your musical influences?

Kamyar: This is always a difficult question for me to answer. I have a varied pallet, Rock, Electronic, Dance, Rap, Classical, New Wave, Industrial, etc.

Sinister Girlz: Where do you see 10Zero 5 years from now?

Kamyar: I really would like to take 10Zero to explore wider musical areas. I would love to give listeners music that embraces them. I would like to see us on our 3rd album by then.

For more on 10zero visit www.10zero.net

The Superions Are Coming!

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:58:29 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Fred Schneider of B-52s fame has been making the media rounds promoting his latest musical endeavor—the quirky, disco-electro-pop, dance-tastic band known as—The Superions. Following last week’s Howard Stern Show appearance I mustered the courage to set up an interview. Being a long time B-52s girl myself, I was giddy at the chance of talking to the man with the iconic booming voice that fueled hits like “Love Shack,” “Rock Lobster,” and “Private Idaho.” Now his voice can be heard alongside Noah Brodie and Dan Marshall’s pulsating, disco-infused beats on their self-titled EP, which features the internet sensation “Who Threw That Ham At Me.”

As I watched the snow smack against my office windows Fred’s voice came across the phone line, “Hello,” he said. “Hi Fred!” I blurted almost a bit too giddily. I tried to gather my composure but for the most part I stammered throughout the course of our conversation and laughed for apparently no good reason but fortunately Fred didn’t seem to mind.

Sinister Girlz: I heard you on the Howard Stern Show on Monday (February 22, 2010), I don’t know if you’re aware of this but your visit inspired Howard to compose a remake of “Love Shack” titled “Fuck Shack, Baby” in it he depicts the David Letterman intern scandal, it’s pretty funny you should check it out

Fred Schneider: Oh boy! Well I guess I spark interest in things (laughs).

Sinister Girlz: Was that your first appearance on the Stern show?

Fred Schneider: I was on the show back in the early 80s with Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz from Talking Heads.

Sinister Girlz: You seemed pretty natural a lot of people come off as being nervous when going on his show…

Fred Schneider: I was nervous at first but I don’t know I just relaxed. That’s the most relaxed I’ve been on TV that’s for sure.

Sinister Girlz: Let’s talk about The Superions how did this project come about?

Fred Schneider: Well I’ve been friends with Dan and Noah for almost ten years. If [the B-52s] play Orlando I’ll stay with them for a couple of days after to hang out. One day they had some music that they had come up with and I was surprised because I didn’t know they were doing music. It was lounge, tiki [music]. So I went into their bathroom because it had good acoustics and their love bird would make noise whenever I was in the room and [on the spot] I came up with “Totally Nude Island.” We thought it was funny and our friends really liked it and [told us to] put it on iTunes and we [did] and made a remix. I [spoke] to Mike Turner (the head of independent label Happy Happy Birthday To Me) who I trust and I know is honest and we were just going to put this out as a single but he kept getting people to remix it and it turned into a full-blown EP.

Sinister Girlz: Have you guys performed these gems in public or performed as The Superions?

Fred Schneider: No it’s all protools.

Sinister Girlz: So do you plan on touring with these songs?

Fred Schneider: We’d like to but it just depends on the financial [aspect]. With [illegal] downloading and not making money [it’s hard]. If we were to at least break even we would. You know live shows don’t seem to help anything; it’s all videos, youtube and the internet. If it’s financially possible, yes, plus they have fulltime jobs and I’m with the B-52s. What I’d like to do is keep putting out records and doing videos. We only have three songs, I’ve written a dozen other songs but they’re [holiday themed] Halloween and Christmas and a few regular cause we plan to do a Halloween album, Christmas album and a regular album. So I’ve been concentrating on that but now we’re starting to get offers but I don’t know how we would break even…so we’re in the process of talking about it so I’m not gonna say No to a live show.

Sinister Girlz: When launching a side project do you think it helps or hurts your chances of being accepted by the mainstream because you’re mostly known for the B-52s?

Fred Schneider: It’s both because college radio is just discovering The Superions they probably don’t even care or might not even know the B-52s because what’s going out there is The Superions now and it’s not like the B-52s. I didn’t want to be in the videos ‘cause I didn’t like how I looked, Ha! It’s more fun to [work behind the scenes] on videos. I’ve had some great videos directed by some friends and I co-directed the ‘Ham’ video in Baltimore. I think it’s very modern. We’ll perform it when the time is right. Right now, I’m having a great time writing, like I said I’m writing three records.

Sinister Girlz: So what’s your songwriting process like? Are you now strictly just writing songs for The Superions?

Fred Schneider: For The Superions I write the words they do the music and we all work on arrangements [together]. I have to go down there around April or May for two weeks and hopefully get as much as 20 songs done. I’ve already written enough for the Christmas and Halloween ones but we have to come up with [songs] for the regular one, well ‘regular’ [by The Superions standard].

Sinister Girlz: Lead single “Who Threw That Ham At Me” is generating some buzz are most of the songs off the album this quirky? And are they done purposely or do they genuinely come about this way?

Fred Schneider: They organically come about that way. We wrote 5 songs before we even put out “Totally Nude Island.” We were called the Dell Morons [then] we were told ‘no one is gonna take you seriously [with that name], we’re serious about what we do even though we may not sound serious so I came up with The Superions, we’ll probably put out a ‘lost Dell Morons track’ on a Superions record.

Sinister Girlz: I saw you perform alongside the B-52s at Governor’s Island last summer before that massive rain storm hit, other than that have you ever had any onstage mishaps?

Fred Schneider: Oh yea, when we did ‘Backyard Party’ for MTV in the summer years ago a freak hurricane-type storm blew through, messed us up, and then we went back on and we just looked like a mess. Outdoor [performances] during the summer has changed, with [all the] climate change, into [just being] weird weather.

Sinister Girlz: What do you think is the biggest misconception about you or the B-52s?

Fred Schneider: That we’re camp, ‘cluelessly funny,’ we know what we’re doing; we’ve been doing it for 30 years. We just have a surreal sense of humor. Mine definitely borders on dada ‘cause that’s how I write. I just let ideas come to me and write them down as fast as I can or type them into my iPhone before I forget them. We’re totally original, people always ask ‘who are your influences?’ and I go ‘I don’t know’ I don’t know who sings like me or would want to.

Sinister Girlz: I remember watching your videos on MTV when I was growing up and it was just fun. I never stopped to think what genre it was I just thought it was fun and cool and I’m proud to say I’m a B-52s girl.

Fred Schneider: Well thank you. We’re our own genre, I think one reason our songs played so well was because we never tried to fit in. We were doing our own thing and do it till this day. I think ‘Funplex’ is one of our best records ever.

Sinister Girlz: I really dig that record. I also think that you guys are pretty universal. When I saw you guys perform last summer, the crowd was just so crazy there were literally 10 years and 12 year olds and people in their 50s, so I think it just goes across the board everyone just loves you guys.

Fred Schneider: We’ve always said it, ‘everyone’s invited to our parties.’

Sinister Girlz: In a soundtrack to your life what would be the opening song and which one would be the closing song and why?

Fred Schneider: It would have to be “Dancing In The Street” by Martha and the Vandellas. All of a sudden I went from listening to pop music to soul music with heavy drum beats and wild female vocals. That became what I liked. When I went to parties at grammar school it was soul music I was dancing to not dreamy songs I could nap to. I think I’m planning on having “Bye, Bye, Baby” by Marilyn Monroe play at my wake.

Sinister Girlz: Will we get another B-52s record? Will you guys tour again?

Fred Schneider: We tour all the time, you have to go online to theb52s.com and our facebook to find out [where we’ll be playing]. We have a whole set of dates for this year. We’re playing some big venues and we’ll continue touring. We did record a live album and we’re figuring out the best way to remix it and the expense of it. It’s more profitable for the band, to support ourselves and keep putting out records by touring whereas with The Superions it’s with doing records rather than performing. I don’t see how a lot of bands unless they’re in country music or in rap where they don’t download for free as much [to make a profit]. It’s really difficult for artists to [profit from recording]. So many people [illegally] downloaded ‘Funplex’ it’s really depressing…I’d like to see all those people go to work for free.

Sinister Girlz: That’s actually a good message to put out there to put an end to illegal downloading.

Fred Schneider: It’s actually cheaper to buy our CDs than to download each song individually and if you do it for free than you’re just a thief.

For more on Fred and The Superions visit www.myspace.com/thesuperions

And to see when The B-52s will be playing a city near you visit www.theb52s.com

New Found Glory Celebrates The 10th Anniversary of Self-Titled Breakthrough Album

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:30:29 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Released on September 26, 2000 New Found Glory’s self-titled second studio release proved to be the band’s breakthrough album which spawned hits like “Dressed to Kill” and “Hit or Miss,” the single “Hit or Miss” was certified gold by the RIAA on June 24, 2003. In honor of its 10^th anniversary a special edition re-release of the album featuring seven bonus tracks including demos, b-sides and remixes and The Story So Far DVD hit shelves on January 26, 2010.

We caught up with Cyrus Bolooki the drummer of New Found Glory who gave us some insight into the re-release, the commemorative tour and how he hopes New Found Glory will be remembered in the Rock n Roll history books.

Sinister Girlz: The 10^th anniversary of your self-titled album is upon us how are you planning to celebrate the rerelease of the album?

Cyrus Bolooki: We are currently on tour in the US with Saves The Day, Hellogoodbye, and Fireworks in support of the re-release of our self-titled record. We’re playing the entire New Found Glory LP from start to finish each night, followed by some of our other songs.  So far, this tour has been one of our best tours to date!

SG: What’s your favorite song off the New Found Glory LP?

Cyrus Bolooki: Probably “Hit or Miss.” Although that song was originally written and recorded for our first full-length, Nothing Gold Can Stay, it was also one of the most important songs in NFG’s career, as that was our first radio single, and first song to really get out to a worldwide audience.

SG: For the record I want to say that this album significantly changed the course of my life. I was in High School at the time and I was searching for new music and I stumbled upon this record and not only was it on heavy rotation on my CD walkman for about two years but it opened me up a whole world of new music that I otherwise wouldn’t have ever discovered and in a way it lead me to creating Sinister Girlz, so thank you.

Cyrus Bolooki: Well, thank you, too! It’s amazing to hear all of the stories like this from fans of our music, telling us how we have affected their lives, and it’s something that we didn’t necessarily expect to happen when we started all of this, but something that we have grown to really respect and cherish as a huge part of our success.

SG: Three years ago I asked Ian what was it like to be together for 10 years now it’s been 13 years do you think I’ll be asking you guys the same question on your 20^th anniversary? What inspires you guys to keep growing musically?

by: Leslie DJ

Cyrus Bolooki: We’ve actually been talking about this very subject almost every night on stage this tour. A huge part of us still being here now after 13 years is how we treat and respect each other.  We’re like brothers, and we’ve all been around this whole time, experiencing the same ups and downs with each other.  So, we’re able to all stay grounded and at the same time keep each other in check and make sure we’re all united in what we do. We all still enjoy every part of our music and this band, and we continue to want to work to keep this going as long as possible, so I think that’s why you’ll see us putting out more records and touring consistently for some time to come.

SG: “Coming Home” was praised for showcasing the mature side of New Found Glory for its follow-up (not counting the cover album and the EP that followed) your recent release “Not Without A Fight” did you guys go into the studio thinking we want to go back to basics or find a balance between the old and new?

Cyrus Bolooki: With “Not Without A Fight,” I think a lot of the sound and direction of the record was due to where we were in our career/lives while we were writing/recording it.  We had been off of a major label for a little while, and had been looking around the industry for a new label.  Although we hadn’t actually signed a deal when we began recording “Not Without A Fight,” we all knew that we were going to go into the studio and make a more energetic, faster paced record, but one that still had catchy melodies and good lyrics.  We were just at the point in our career where we knew we were and what we were capable of doing, and we didn’t want to worry about having any distractions from the labels/politics here in the industry.

SG: The music biz seems to work in waves of trends after the boy band craze died down bands like NFG, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, etc began to dominate the airwaves certainly MTV, now it seems like we’re in the middle of this female dominated pop phase, what do you hope the next wave brings?

Cyrus Bolooki: It’s hard to say where music is going these days. Unfortunately, like all trends, music seems to always get watered down and saturated so quickly.  I can only hope that there are artists in each of these trends that can stand the test of time and actually survive when the trends die out. I think NFG has been able to so far survive even though a lot of the bands that formed around the same time as us have been starting to disappear.

SG: What would you say is the best advice you’ve ever been given and how have you applied it to life?

Cyrus Bolooki: I always go back to advice I got from a high school philosophy teacher. He told me a story about a friend of his who gave up a high paying government job in order to pursue a career in animation, which was a passion of his. He said his friend couldn’t have been happier, although the money wasn’t as good and there were no benefits.  Basic point is, if you have a passion for something, and you’re willing to focus and work hard at it, you can find happiness. I did that when I left academic scholarships behind at college in order to pursue this career in music, which has obviously been a life-changing decision for the better.

SG: How do you want New Found Glory to be remembered in the history books?

Cyrus Bolooki: I would love NFG to be remembered as one of the bands that helped to establish this whole era of pop-punk, and a band that did so by staying true to themselves and their fans.  We don’t have to go down in history as the biggest selling band or anything like that.  I would just want people to remember the great shows that we have, and the way that we can connect with our fans and the entire music scene through our music and our approach to this entire industry.

Artist to Watch: Mucho Deniro

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:32:15 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Hip Hop has a new rising star and his name is Mucho Deniro, the ambitious rapper who cofounded his own label, Organized Grind, gave us the lowdown on his day to day tasks, the future of the rap game and why you should give his album a listen.

Sinister Girlz: First and foremost where does one get a name like Mucho Deniro? What was the inspiration behind the name?

Mucho Deniro: I got the name Mucho Deniro along time ago when I was back in grade school. A few people I was friends with always complained of me always talkin’ about getting money so the start callin’ me Deniro. As I progress and learned certain aspects of the music game I realized I was in for a lot of money So that’s where the Mucho came in. I spelled Deniro the way I did based on Robert DeNiro being one of my favorite actors.

SG: You’re very ambitious for such a young age what inspired you to cofound your record label Organized Grind?

Mucho Deniro: The main inspiration came from me seeing so many different young talented rappers get shelved and screwed out of deals that I started to gain paranoia and thought to do everything myself. And not have to answer to nobody “BUT” myself.

SG: As a cofounder of a music label what are your day to day tasks?

Mucho Deniro: Well first and foremost is to calling my employee’s and make sure different task are being met everyday making sure:

-all meetings are met and closed.

-all artist or producers are producing enough material daily.

-any company debt is paid

-opening and seeking new projects for the company.

- and being an artist myself.

SG: What’s your creative process like? What comes first a beat? Lyrics?

Mucho Deniro: it all depends on if I’m writing a song or just a verse. If I’m writing a song I like to listen to the beat to see where it takes me and how I need to deliver on the beat. When I’m writing a verse I don’t need a beat its jus something that is a daily routine for me. I don’t need a beat for song really it jus helps the process go faster.

SG: If you had to choose another career what would it be and why?

Mucho Deniro: if I could choose another career it would be either a Teacher or a Barber Maybe even an actor/model. The reason I say a teacher is because I like to teach people new things and I like to also learn from people. The reason I say barber is because I been cutting hair since I was 13 years old and its another fun skill that I enjoy doing from time to time. Actor/model I choose those again because those are things that I enjoy doing outside of it jus been a job.

SG: Were your family and friends supportive of your music career?

Mucho Deniro: yea a lot of my friends are supportive of my music and what I’m doing because they see how hard I work doin’ this music for years and still going hard threw the hating and negativity. Some of my family are pretty supportive but for the most part there’s not as much as there should be. But that’s a whole another story.

SG: What has been the craziest thing a fan has ever done or said to you to get your attention?

Mucho Deniro: Got my Name tattooed on them And told me its mine forever. Lmfao

SG: Collaboration is a huge part of the Hip Hop game who do you hope to collaborate with in the near future?

Mucho Deniro: well of course Jay-Z is one of the biggest picks but I would have to say 50 cent.

SG: Here’s a chance to plug yourself why should people check you out?

Mucho Deniro: that’s simple if you seen a lot of money written all over a CD in Spanish with a picture of a fly young man like me. Then you would check me out too nah but I bring a lot to the table I got good music. I make all kinds of music for everybody. And I’m killing ya favorite rappers downloads hahahahaha

For more on Mucho check out his website Myspace.com/muchodeniro

The Ladies of Hip Hop Karaoke

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:35:09 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The 2010 Hip Hop Karaoke Championship is upon us, set to take place tomorrow night on January 29^th at New York’s Irving Plaza. The judges include HOT 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg, Big Daddy Kane and Buckshot. Last year’s sold-out 1st Annual Hip Hop Karaoke Championship took the Highline Ballroom by storm and this year’s competitors are aiming to take it to the next level. The event will feature 12 of Hip Hop Karaoke’s best battling it out for the $1,000 cash prize and the championship title. The competition will consist of three rounds of rhyming to their choice of any of the preselected tracks featuring over 300 classic and current hip-hop songs.

We got a chance to speak to the only two female competitors battling it out at tomorrow’s championship and the ladies assured us that they’re bringing their “A-game” tomorrow but most importantly they plan on having a good time.

Sinister Girlz: Please state your name and current occupation

Jessica: Jessica Nacinovich, Pre-school teacher/Children’s Entertainer

SG: How did you get involved with Hip Hop Karaoke?

Jessica: I read about it in Time Out NY

SG: For those unfamiliar with this competition how many tournaments or rounds did you have to go thru in order to make it to the finals?

Jessica: I qualified for the finals at the Brooklyn Regional in November.

SG: Did you perform the same song or a different one each time?

Jessica: It was the first time I had ever been to HHK, so I only ever performed one song.

SG: Do you have any preshow rituals? Something you do to hype you up prior to hitting the stage?

Jessica: No rituals yet.

SG: There are only two female competitors in the Championship finals do you feel more pressure to represent your gender?

Jessica: I feel pressure to represent in general. For the women, for Queens, and for everyone that loves hip hop.

SG: If you could model your career after any hip hop artist who would it be?

Jessica: I’ve always admired the way Afrika Bambaattaa united people through music, on his own block and all over the world. As a teacher, I utilize music and dance to bring people together whenever possible. In fact, you can catch me dancing to Bambaat’s Unity Part I with a bunch of three-year-olds any day of the week.

SG: Aside from competing in these sorts of events are you pursuing a musical career in any other way?

Jessica: I love making music and I’ll take any opportunity to do so. So, if any one is interested in making music with me, they should just ask.

SG: Is there anything you would like to say to your competitors?

Jessica: I hope you all have as much fun on Friday as I’m going to.

Sinister Girlz: Please state your name and current occupation

Damali: Veronica Bailey a.k.a. Damali. I work as an Executive Assistant.

SG: How did you get involved with Hip Hop Karaoke?

Damali: I heard about it 3 years ago via a website called Okayplayer. Some friends were going, so I went with them and was hooked from the first time.

SG: How many rounds did you have to go thru in order to make it to the finals?

Damali: I had to compete in one other round in Brooklyn. I only had to perform one song. There were 19 other competitors and the judges chose the top 6 that night to move on to the finals.

SG: Do you have any preshow rituals? Something you do to hype you up prior to hitting the stage?

Damali: Just hearing the music and seeing the crowd gets me hype.  My adrenaline starts pumping from the moment I walk in.

SG: There are only two female competitors in the Championship finals do you feel more pressure to represent your gender?

Damali: There is definitely some pressure there.  Mainly because I hope to inspire other females to try it out.  Many times, the ladies are afraid to get up onstage and rap because it’s often viewed as a male thing to do.  Anybody can do it, though.  And there is that other thing of wanting to show the other guys that we are a force to be reckoned with. But that’s a small thing.

SG: If you could model your career after any hip hop artist who would it be?

Damali: Definitely Queen Latifah.  She never allowed herself to be pigeonholed as one type of artist. She been successful as a rapper, a singer, and an actress…she’s also an accomplished producer.  And you never see her in the tabloids.

SG: Aside from competing in these sorts of events are you pursing a musical career in any other way?

Damali: Not at all. I might consider it in the future if opportunities present themselves, but for now, I’m more focused on writing.

SG: Is there anything you would like to say to your competitors?

Damali: Yes. Can’t wait to see y’all and let’s put on a damn good show at Irving Plaza on Friday night!

Heavy Metal’s High Mistress, Lita Ford’s Return: An Exclusive Interview with Sinister Girlz

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:39:15 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

My phone rang around 1pm EST it was Jim Gillette of Nitro fame who happens to be Lita Ford’s husband and collaborator of her latest disc “Wicked Wonderland,” her first full-length offering since 1995’s “Black.” He asked me if the interview we were about to do with Lita would be featured in print or on the internet and I replied, “internet” to which he said, “Good so Lita doesn’t have to watch her nasty little mouth.” Immediately Lita could be heard in the background asking, “Nasty little mouth what do you mean? What the Fuck you talking about?” she chuckles.

She was in the middle of eating a sandwich one which she seemed to have been enjoying very much. We talked about her new record, “Wicked Wonderland,” having her family on tour with her, the possibilities of a family based reality show in the near future and recording naked in the studio.

Sinister Girlz: My first question is one that you’ve probably been asked a lot lately but here goes, 15 years is a long time, why did you feel now was the best time to return to the music scene?

Lita Ford: I just had the itch to play. I’ve always had the itch to play but I’m raising two kids and I wanted them to get a little older before taking them on the road. The music scene has gone through a lot of changes. It seems like Metal was evolving again which really had nothing to do with me coming back it’s just something that seems to be happening right now. My timing was good.

SG: You mentioning having your kids on tour with you, what’s it like having your family on the road?

Lita Ford: They’re cool. They’re rock n roll kids. It’s been a real pleasure having them on tour with me; they’re a lot of fun. They’re like the coolest people I know. We don’t do babysitters or the nanny thing, we’re hands on parents. We home school our kids so that they can travel [with us]. We buy a bunch of school books and we make sure they do their work every day. It’s been easy having them along.

SG: So let’s talk about the album, what was the creative process like for Wicked Wonderland?

Lita Ford: Jim actually is the bulk of the writing. He really wrote his ass off on this record. He and Greg Hampton out of Los Angeles, California and me, all three of us sort of pitched in and wrote this album. We over wrote, we wrote too much. Songs were just kicking ass, just coming out. Everyday we’d have a different riff and different song title. It was really quite easy it was almost like it was meant to be.

SG: Where was the album recorded?

Lita Ford: We recorded it at home. My husband runs Pro Tools so we used Pro Tools to record it which is great because you can record wherever the hell you feel like it. You don’t have to worry about [having] to pay the studio bill or we can’t get in on that day because someone got the studio book. You could record naked if you wanted to record naked and we did a few times. The whole thing including the art work took us almost a year to put together. The artwork was done by Piggy D and his girlfriend Karen, she’s awesome and he plays bass in Rob Zombie’s band so they have kinda Goth side to them. I love [the artwork] I’m really happy with it. I know a lot of people are like ‘Eww that’s not Lita’ but I love it and it’s a different side, it really works well with the music.

SG: What would you say is the best advice you’ve ever been given and how have you applied it to life?

Lita Ford: The best advice for music…Wow I’ve received a lot of advice from different people. Sometimes it takes one little thing and it will take off your whole life. I don’t know…I’ve received some advice from Eddie Van Halen and all sorts of different people during wacky times. I guess I’m better at giving advice then anything else.

SG: Ok so what would you say is the best advice you’ve given aspiring artists?

Lita Ford: Just stay true to yourself. Don’t let people lead you in a direction you feel you’re not ready to go [in]. For instance if you want black hair, have black hair don’t let someone talk you out of it. If something [inside of you] tells you play heavy, play heavy. Something tells you don’t wear that, don’t play that, don’t do that then don’t. Fuck what others think.

SG: I’ve interviewed and featured a couple all-female bands and one thing they’ve said is that the biggest misconception about an all-female band is that people (critics or audiences) don’t always take them seriously or think that they are lesser musicians because they’re female, did you find that to be true when you were a member of The Runaways?

Lita Ford: In The Runaways I did. Now it’s no so much of a big deal. Back then yea, it was quite difficult to be taken seriously. Then we were doing this whole thing where the lead singer is wearing a corset and I’m wearing shorts that go up my ass. And that makes it more difficult to be taken serious but you kinda bring that upon yourself but at the same time sex sells and rock n roll is sexy, it’s a sexy style of music whether you’re a guy or a girl. Being a chick it was heard to get the message across that ‘yea that’s really a girl playing guitar.’ I remember when I first got pregnant I would go into the studio with my belly sticking out and to top it off I would wear pink fluffy slippers. Then I would plug in the guitar and I would have the biggest, baddest, meanest guitar sound and it was just wrong for a big fat pregnant woman in fluffy slippers to be playing the biggest, baddest, meanest sounding guitar you can possibly think of and it was awesome.

SG: What made you decide to pick up a guitar and become a musician?

Lita Ford: I don’t know. It was just something I wanted to do. I was eleven when I started to play. Something I just had an itch for. I heard all these bands play, Led Zepplin and Jimi Hendrix and I never thought about the fact that I was female, it never crossed my mind that there wasn’t that many girls out there playing that type of music. It was something I never thought about. People would come to my house; they’d sit around and look at me play and go ‘God, how can you do that?’ and I’d say, ‘Do what? Why can’t you do it? It’s nothing.’ It’s sort of a gift from God I guess you could say.

SG: What are some of your goals or plans for 2010?

Lita Ford: We’re putting together some shows overseas in Europe, Scandinavia and maybe Japan. We’re not gonna record another record at this point. We do want to do a reality show. We would like to have some control over what we do and make sure it’s the right one and not just one that comes along. We’ve actually have turned down a few reality shows just because they’re not what we want. So probably [having] one kick ass funny, rocking reality show would be the goal for 2010.

David Berkeley’s Strange Light

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:43:24 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Through the melodic strums of guitar, lyrics that bring about a range of emotions in his listeners, and a powerful, yet soothing voice, David Berkeley displays both his passion for music and his array of talents in his songs. Having recently performed at Mark Mulcahy’s tribute event in Brooklyn, he is back once again to play for New Yorkers at Housing Works this Friday. Curious about his early beginnings in music (he has Avon to thank, believe it or not!), his many travels across the country and the world, and his new music project, ATL Collective, Sinister Girlz had the fortunate opportunity to ask David a few questions. Here’s what he had to say:

Sinister Girlz: How did you get started on music? I read something about being you involved with Avon?

David Berkeley: I’ve been singing for about as long as I could talk. I went to a hippie nursery school, and we were singing 60s folk songs while we were still in diapers. The Avon thing is true, too. I had a babysitter who would take me around the streets on her rounds trying to sell perfumes and such. She realized that having me sing helped the sales. The people would give me Oreos and Fig Newtons, and they’d buy her products. We were a good team.

SG: Where did you live before Atlanta? Why did you relocate there?

DB: I’ve lived in a lot of places, but we moved to Atlanta from Brooklyn because my wife (then girlfriend) started graduate school. I’m a modern man and not afraid to move where my woman’s work requires.

SG:Did the various locations you’ve lived in affect your music?

DB: Definitely. I write most of my songs within the first few months of moving to a new place. I think that change helps me to see. You notice differences and can reflect on them. You feel out of place and lonely. There’s longing. There’s nostalgia. And then there’s excitement and promise. Most of my songs start from emotional places, and I find my emotions are closer to the surface when I move around a lot.

SG: ATL Collective seems like an awesome thing. Was it your idea? How do you pick the albums or artists you’ll cover?

DB: It is a lot of fun. I came up with the idea with a friend of mine, musician Micah Dalton. We do an event a month, and so far, they’ve been really great. We pick a classic record each time and handpick a group of mostly local acts to play the record in sequence. We have some sort of gimmick each time like bloody marys when we did Blood on the Tracks. Next month (October 27), we do Neil Young’s Harvest. I’m baking pumpkin pies for everyone. And the turnout has been really big, so that’s a lot of pies.

DB: We pick artists that we like and respect. We try to find bands that we think would bring a unique perspective to the songs. We’re not interested in note for note reproductions. And we look for people with the right spirit musicians who are trying to build careers but can leave their ego aside and get excited about other musicians and other people’s music.

DB: Our goal with the Collective is twofold. We’re trying to restore faith in the album as art form and celebrate some of the best records ever made. And we’re trying to unite and excite the Atlanta music scene, to build connections among musicians and to promote each other’s work.

SG: You have a pretty colorful job history what was your favorite job?

DB: I wrote for the travel guide series Let’s Go in Alaska. That was my favorite job. They paid me to explore the state with a backpack and a guitar and write about it.

SG: Do you have any advice for people who aren’t sure what path they should be on yet?

DB: I’m probably the wrong person to ask, because I don’t know what path I should be on either. Maybe my advice is that there’s no shame in not knowing what path you’re on. Maybe certainty is overrated? I play music because I believe it is the deepest, most personal, most beautiful thing I have to give to the world. But if I find something else, I will change paths.

SG: What messages are you trying to get across in your music? What provides the inspirations for songs? What are some of your favorite songs you’ve written?

DB: As I was talking about above, most of my songs start as vague emotions maybe love or longing or loss or political outrage. Sometimes an image triggered the emotion, and I’ll work with that for a while. I often try to weave a narrative that is more universal, if still specific, so that a listener might be able to experience a similar emotion. Not sure if there’s one thing that I’m trying to get across. Each song has its own purpose, I think. Maybe I’m trying to get some sort of openness across in my music, some sort of appreciation of others and the world around us. My favorite songs shift. The songs that I think are the most interesting on Strange Light are Measure of a Man and The Only Broken Man. I think that they’re lyrically more complex and provocative than some of my other songs.

SG: Do you feel your albums are very different from each other? Why?

DB: I think they’re all in the same sonic universe. But my sound has matured, and my songwriting has improved. The productions are bigger in Strange Light. Some of the guitars have more distortion.On the Confluence, I wanted it to be almost all acoustic and natural. We used some electric instruments, but the tone was pretty clean. I don’t care about that anymore. I like the tension in blending organics and effects.

SG: Your new album, Strange Light, has been compared to the sounds of James Taylor, David Gray, and Jackson Browne, to name a few. Do you agree? Are they some of your influences? What are some other musical influences?

DB: I have a hard time with influences, and I don’t pay a ton of attention to comparisons. Sometimes people name artists I love (Nick Drake, for example). Sometimes they name people I’ve never heard of. I listen to music all the time, of course. And certainly it seeps inparticularly music I grew up listening to (Paul Simon, the Grateful Dead, Neil Young), but I’m more influenced by things I read, by art I look at, by traveling, by family.

SG: How did you get involved with the Mark Mulcahy Tribute show?

DB: First off, Mark’s music is amazing. I’m honored to be part of this project and really excited by what I’ve heard A guy named Nathaniel Smalley was the mastermind behind this project. He had booked me a few times at his college and asked me to be part of this as he was coming up with the idea. At the time, he told me all these huge artists he was hoping to get. I thought there wasn’t a chance he’d get them. The next thing I know Michael Stipe and Thom Yorke had both said yes. Nathaniel is amazing. Very humble and unassuming, but he really staged a coup here.

To view a recent live performance of David’s, click here:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2009/11/watch-david-berkeley-live-at-paste.html

And to hear David in person, don’t forget to check him out this Friday, November 13^th at 7pm at Housing Works!  Click here for more information:

http://www.housingworks.org/events/detail/live-from-home-concert-with-david-berkeley-zee-avi-and-christina-courtin/

The Moog’s Razzmatazz Orfeum

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:45:50 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The Hungarian group The Moog first emerged on the American music scene with their 2007 debut album Sold For Tomorrow, this summer The Moog is back with their new release memorably titled Razzmatazz Orfeum. The members of The Moog are a group of stylish and energetic gentlemen; they are Tonyo Szabo on vocals and keyboard, Gergo Dorozsmai on drums, Adi Bajor on guitar and Miguel Gyorgy also on guitar and Csabi Szabo on bass.  The Moog sound has been compared to that of The Strokes, The Hives and Franz Ferdinand. Razzmatazz Orfeum shows a significant evolvement in the band’s sound and also shows a clear distinction from previous comparisons.

The songs in Razzmatazz Orfeum still contains some of the elements that made their debut memorable like catchy hooks, the emergence of multiple pop-rock genres like glam, goth and post punk garage rock  and of course high doses of pop. The new release also showcases Tonyo Szabo’s more forceful voice; his voice is inflicted with power and creates immediacy. Beneath the glam and pop, there is a deeper thread that holds the songs in Razzmatazz Orfeum as a well unified arrangement. The album allows an aura of darkness to emerge, an effect that provides a well needed contrast to balance the catchy hooks. Darkness assists in transforming the album into a dance with depth where even a trace of Bowie can be heard.

Sinister Girlz caught up with The Moog’s lead singer and asked him about the difference between an American audience and a Hungarian one, and what does Razzmatazz Orfeum actually means?

Sinister Girlz: Your new album is titled Razzmatazz Orfeum what exactly does that mean? And why did you decide to name the album that?

The Moog: This title is a mixture of a Hungarian and an English word which sounded great together and reflects the vibe of the album too. Razzmatazz is the English word so I won’t explain that one, but Orfeum is an old-fashioned Hungarian word for a type of ”night club” which only existed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and only around the turning of the century. That’s not the only thing which we took from that period. Some song titles and even the album cover have the vibe of that era which we really like.

SG: What was the creative process like for Razzmatazz Orfeum?

The Moog: I wrote the majority of the songs for our second album but Gerg (our drummer) wrote one too and there’s a song that he and I wrote together. Anyhow when one of us brings a song to the rehearsal all the members put their ideas in, so the final version of a song is not necessarily the same as it was when it was originally written.

SG: Which song on the new album has the most meaning to you? And why?

The Moog: I like every song of course but “You Raised A Vampire” has the most meaning to me maybe, as I think the lyrics came out really good and we were able to catch the same meaning and vibe which the song represents. This song is rather about the connection between me and the world so you doesn’t necessarily mean one particular person.

SG: For audiences who have not been introduced to your music how would you describe your sound?

The Moog: I think we sound more like a rock band but the songs are still pretty catchy and more on the pop side. Our sound began to get a bit darker through the years not only because our guitar sound has changed a bit but we started to use synths, which made the songs more exciting and more characteristic at the same time.

SG: What’s the lasting impression you want to leave audiences with after attending one of your shows?

The Moog: After an ideal Moog show everyone is sweaty and screaming like crazy. If that is the reaction then I don’t care about the impression.

SG: What would you say is the difference, if any, between performing in front of an American audience and one from Hungary?

The Moog: There is a difference of course. The Hungarian audience knows us better so they are less shy and dance more.  In America the people seem to be more open minded about attending live shows. In Hungary people after 30 don’t really go out to a rock show unless it’s a huge legend [that's] been around at least for 25 years. The U.S. is different from this view-point. We’ve seen every generation at our shows, both men and women too.

SG: Have you ever had to work hard to win over an audience? What did you do?

The Moog: Sometimes they are a bit shy at the beginning but I try to loosen them up by jumping from the stage into the floor and singing right into their faces.

SG: What initially inspired you guys to sing and write your songs in English?

The Moog: I always listened to American or British bands mainly so it seemed pretty obvious to start singing in English. Not that I’d have anything against singing in Hungarian, but almost all the bands I like sing in English so I relate more to those bands than to Hungarian ones.

SG: Here’s a chance to plug your album why should people pick up a copy of “Razzmatazz Orfeum”?

The Moog: Because it’s similar in some ways to the music which comes from America but it still has an interesting touch which makes it a bit different. Hopefully in a good way.

SG: What are your plans for the fall and winter of 2009?

The Moog: We plan to come over to the U.S. this fall and do a tour as a support or our own. The dates are not confirmed yet but we’ll know more in a few weeks so check our MySpace page (www.myspace.com/moogband) or official site for updates as much as you can!

Blondie Poised to Rock the Seaside Summer Concert Stage @ Coney Island Show

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:51:53 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Sitting in the conference room, the one across the hall, Waiting for Clem (Blondie’s drummer) to answer the telephone “Oh I can’t control myself, Oh I can’t control myself” I couldn’t help but play the opening bars of the iconic band’s hit “Hanging On The Telephone” as I waited for his voice to come across the line. Then after about a minute and a half I hear his voice say hello.

Sinister Girlz: Hi Clem! How are you?

Blondie (Clem): I’m pretty good how about you?

SG: Good, very excited about tomorrow’s show can you tell us what we can expect from the show?

Blondie (Clem): Well, it’s a show with The Donnas and Pat Benatar and Blondie so we’re not doing a really long set. We’re doing about an hour or 75 minutes and we have some of the song that [are well known] the hits and we’ll throw in a couple of surprises. We’ve been working on a new record so we might throw in one or two new things, we mix the set up a bit. It should be fun. We played in New York last summer but we don’t play here as much as we would like to for some reason.

SG: What song would you say generally gets the best crowd reaction?

Blondie (Clem): Oh I don’t know they all get a good reaction. In New York it’s really hard to say. It depends where we’re playing. If we play in an area where the hits are more known then [a song like] “Heart of Glass” [would get a strong crowd reaction].

SG: Let’s talk about your current tour alongside Pat Benatar, “Call Me Invincible,” how did this tour come about and have you worked or toured with Pat in the past?

Blondie (Clem): We’ve never toured with Pat, her music’s a little different [from ours] but nowadays the lines are kinda blurred [in terms of musical genres]. I know that when we started we probably would have never toured with her because our music was so different. I remember when she got signed to our label, I met her back then. We have an agent at William Morris now who also represents her. [With this tour] We were trying to figure out what to do in this economy with giving people value [for their buck] we have The Donnas [also on this tour] which is fun to have them kick off the show.

SG: It’s been 31 years since the release of “Parallel Lines” looking back did you ever think Blondie would still be around thirty-some odd years later?

Blondie (Clem): Well I thought the music might be around but as far as still being performing there’s no way you can tell back then. Rock n Roll was an adolescent when we started now I guess there are tons of middle aged musicians still performing. I guess the legacy of the band is the music. The music lives on. The image, the style and the circumstances that were around when we started all contributed to our success now it’s really about the music; the music is what people really come out to hear. The music lives on.

SG: What inspires you to keep going?

Blondie (Clem): the audiences. Before the show I have this routine where I listen to music whether it’s listening to The Beatles, reggae music or it could be anything. The stuff that inspired us originally was music from the 50s and 60s; we liked that music a lot. And as I said the music has lived on starting from the inception of rock n roll and it continues to be a medium that people are interested in.

SG: How have your lives changed since being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006?

Blondie (Clem): I actually use that as a muse in a way. A lot of times if I’m onstage or I’m getting ready to do a show I’m thinking ‘I’m in the Rock n Roll hall of fame’ it’s inspiring to know that we’re included in the collective of all these great musicians that have passed through the rock n roll hall of fame. As far as life changing the induction was pretty stressful [reuniting] with the ex-band members who I’m still friends with. But like I said it’s inspiring to be in the rock n roll hall of fame. I was spending a lot of time in Cleveland when they were building it, was living in the Midwest for a little while [at that time]. I saw it go up thinking ‘I’ll never get into the rock n roll hall of fame’ I was in my pessimistic stage, I suppose.

SG: What have you learned from one another from playing together for so many years?

Blondie (Clem): I think we’ve all learned a lot from each other but the most interesting thing was when we regrouped in the late 90s cause we all went our own separate way and had our life experiences apart from one another and had grown up. In the break between the time we got back together I got to work with a lot of different musicians like Bob Dylan, The Ramones and The Eurythmics. When we got back together I brought in a lot of those experiences to the table and I think we’ve learned about friendship and the ups and downs of relationships. We’re like a dysfunctional family. We spend quite a bit of time together when we’re on tour so we pick up little things [from one another] here and there. I think we’ve all learned to have an objective outlook on things.

SG: This coming October you’ll be participating in the “Rock & Roll Experience: Jam with Rock Legends” how did you get involved with that project and what can audiences expect from those shows?

Blondie (Clem): Well I am a rock legend. What it is, is that there’s this rock n roll fantasy camp that I was involved with a couple years ago where mostly adults go to a rock n roll camp and I was one of the counselors. You basically get a group of people and put a band together and you have a crash course of what it’s like to be in a band. Most of the people are musicians but here they get to hang out [with different musicians] and be a band. It’s for people who have a lot of disposable money. The one I did I had a lot of young people, 17 year olds. [I had] this one high school senior who was a drummer and this 52 year old cardiologist who was a piano player. It’s just fun. It’s something a group of people initiated about 10 years ago and now there’s this new one coming up.

SG: I’m sure you get asked this a lot but what advice do you have to offer to aspiring musicians, up and coming bands in terms of having longevity in this industry?

Blondie (Clem): You need to follow your own path, believe in yourself but I wouldn’t really follow any trends. When we started Blondie we were the antithesis of what was going on in popular music. Had it not been for CBGBs in the Lower East Side and Hilly Krystal, the owner, [we might have not gotten our start] we were able to go out and perform in front of people without being completely formed he let you make your mistakes in public, it’s similar to an actor’s workshop they give you an opportunity to suck in public and I think it’s really important. People get caught up in singing in their bedrooms and trying to be the best musicians they can possibly be but then they perform live [and suck]. [Performing live] is something I really like. So it’s good to start [performing in front of an audience] as soon as possible. I don’t know if becoming a rock star nowadays is as popular a career choice as it once was

SG: It’s still popular.

Blondie (Clem): Yea, I suppose it is.

SG: Thank you so much for agreeing to talk to us. We’re super excited about the Coney Island show. Were you aware that last Saturday Dreamland’s Roller Rink hosted a Blondie themed skate party in honor of this week’s show? Attendees skated along to your songs.

Blondie (Clem): Cool. That’s fantastic, the music lives on.

For more on Blondie or the Jam with Rock Legends experience visit the band’s official website www.blondie.net

Riverboat Gamblers Pay Homage to Music’s Purple Majesty and His Purple Rain

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:53:02 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The music community was abuzz June 25, 2009 marked the 25^th anniversary of the Purple Rain soundtrack (the film by the same title was released a month later on July 27, 1984) in honor of the revolutionary album Spin Magazine gathered a handful of musicians to recreate the purple magic on a cover album titled “Purplish Rain.â€

A piece titled “Riverboat Gamblers: ‘Crazy’ For 25 Years Of ‘Purple Rain’” ran on Npr.org in July. Alex Cohen wrote, ‘It’s remarkable and a little depressing to contemplate the fact that this week marks the 25th anniversary of Prince’s Purple Rain album. To commemorate the occasion, Spin magazine has released a free tribute album titled Purplish Rain, featuring covers performed by Of Montreal, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Riverboat Gamblers, whose members kick off the album with the party anthem “Let’s Go Crazy.”

We got a chance to do a Q & A with Riverboat Gamblers’ front-man Mike Wiebe, in the interview Wiebe discusses his own memories of the album and why they decided to stay true to the cover of “Let’s Go Crazy” he also discusses the band’s latest album and life on the road.

Sinister Girlz: How did the cover of Prince’s “Let’s go Crazy” come about?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): We were honored to have Spin ask us to do it. We had very little time to get it together before we left for tour, so we had a few long days trying to get it right in the studio.

SG: Some artists when they cover a song they take a couple of liberties with the tune, was it important to you guys to stay true to the original song?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): We tried to stick pretty close, but do it in our own way. I added my little vocal shout out at the end of the jam/freakout part at the end. I don’t mind taking liberties with a cover though. I think Devo’s “Satisfaction” cover is the best reinvention of a song ever

SG: How old were you when you first listened to the Purple Rain album or saw the movie?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): Young…. Grade school for sure. I wasn’t allowed to watch the movie but did anyway when it came on cable. It was a little over my head at the time, but I was fascinated. I knew I had some affinity to what was going on onscreen.

SG: Let’s talk about your own music for a bit, for those who havenâ’t picked up a copy of your new album yet what can they expect from Underneath The Owl and why did you decide to name the album that?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): It’s so tough for me to verbally describe music… Somewhere where rock, garage and punk meet I guess. The name is homage to our adopted city of Austin and the concept of living underneath giant predators who warily eye us as prey. The struggles that us mice face living under a giant shadow

SG: What was it like touring with Rise Against and Rancid?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): Wonderful and a lot of work.

SG: Did you learn anything from either band? Did anyone offer any advice?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): Lots of technical advice was sought out by us. We are new to playing stadiums and it’s really a different animal than playing clubs. I tried to soak in any knowledge that might make a better show. I also talked to both bands about business stuff, which is something I have much to learn about

SG: What are a couple of things you can’t go on tour without?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): IPod. IPods. Greatest invention for the touring musician. To be able get some imagined privacy in a crammed van has saved my sanity 12 times over. They also help achieving sleep when people have snoring issues (which is miserable for me). I got podcasts, books, TV shows, movies and tons of music

SG: Aside from music what are some of your other passions or hobbies?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): I started doing acting before music and I am starting to do more with that stuff. I am a cinephile of sorts although some might say film nerd. I really love standup, but don’t participate in it really.

SG: Keeping with the 25th anniversary of Purple Rain theme, where do you hope to be 25 years from now?

Riverboat Gamblers (Mike Wiebe): Making music and making films and making a living.

Riverboat Gamblers are: Mike Wiebe (vocals), Fadi el-Assad (lead guitar), Ian MacDougall (guitar), Rob Marchant (bass) and Eric Green (drums).

The Return of Girl in a Coma

Last modified on 2010-03-28 04:56:52 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

You might have seen them tearing it up onstage on the same bill as Miss Derringer this summer or perhaps at SXSW playing to a sold-out crowd this past spring. The last time we caught up with Girl in a Coma they were gearing up to partake in 2007’s Warped Tour an experience they described as being like “rock and roll boot camp. You sweat a lot. Work your ass off, rock out for 20 minutes then check out everyone else. “It’s great!” (see Issue 4 Volume 4 for first Girl in a Coma feature in SG). Two years later and countless touring experiences under their belts the ladies are back with their latest release titled, “Trio B.C.” Phanie Diaz or as she refers to herself Phanie D. the trio’s drummer gave us the low down on the release (In Stores Now)

Sinister Girlz: What was the creative process like for “Trio B.C.”?

Girl in a Coma: Well, it started while we were on tour for “Both Before I’m Gone.” Nina was writing in the van between shows… and when we got off tour and had some time at home we got together and completed the songs. After that it took about another month in the studio, at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo Tx, to add the extras and complete the recording.  After recording we went back on tour with Tegan and Sara and so didn’t get around to doing the mix until later. We completed 11 of the songs in Los Angeles mixing and adding final touches (with producer Greg Collins) and two more plus a bonus track in New York with Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna producing. Joan also did some backup vocals on Joannie In The City.

SG: Did you feel any pressure about making this album extra special or your best effort because it was named after your grandfather’s Tejano group?

Girl in a Coma: No, not really. We wanted to pay tribute to him as being a major musical influence in our life… but still do things the way we always do. He would have wanted it that way anyway.

SG: Have you ladies ever felt the need to incorporate Latin themes or sounds because of your cultural background? In other words have you ever written a song to appeal to the Latino community? Why or Why not?

Girl in a Coma: We just write what we write. We don’t ever think this song has to appeal to this group etc. When we came across Ven Cerca… we just got attached to the song and playing it live. It’s a great song. We are however aware of where we come from and our roots so I think it’s bound to come out eventually.

SG: What’s the lasting impression you want to leave audiences with after attending one of your shows?

Girl in a Coma: Hopefully a good time and an escape from anything they need escaping from. When you come to a show… it’s about the energy… so we give all we can… and hope we get it back in return.

SG: Here’s a chance to plug your album why should people pick up a copy of “Trio B.C.”

Girl in a Coma: Because whatever you’re listening to now has been in rotation too long. Here is another new album to dance and make a memory to.

SG: Please Fill in the Blanks

If we had to be compared to any artist it would be Salvador Dali (I know it’s not the type of artist you meant) only cause it never really has to make sense.

When on tour I cannot go on the road without  ___The ipod____

When I’m not onstage or on the road I can be found doing Jenn=biking, Nina= reading and writing, Phanie (Me)= possibly ghost hunting.
For more on these ladies visit their website at www.girlinacoma.com of friend them on myspace.com/girlsinacoma

Girl in a Coma are: Phanie Diaz (drums), Jenn Alva (bass) and Nina Diaz (vocals/guitar)