Switchblade Kittens Interview

Emilee interviewed Drama from the Switchblade Kittens on May 29th, 2007.

BD: Bandictionary
D: Drama

BD: How did the band get started?
D: I used to be in a popular Riot Grrl band and the guitarist and I had a row because she wanted to play 3-minute guitar solos in every song and I thought that was sooooo hair metal so I quit and started my own band, Switchblade Kittens. She was quite a good guitarist really; I am just a bit partial to the bass... obviously!

BD: Are there any themes that can be found in the majority of the songs?
D: Well our last CD was all about Harry Potter! The rest is just my point of view on walking through the world with a vagina.

BD: How would you describe your sound in one word?
D: Cheeky or lots 'o basses (that is more than one word).

BD: Do you ever have any regrets about choosing to be in a band?
D: Well sometimes I say, I left medical school for this??? But it is probably better in the long run, less people die this way. :)

BD: What are your inspirations, both musical and non-musical?
D: Well, I always thought it would be fab to start a music movement, and then I did that with Wizard Rock... whoops! The revolution has begun! Haha. Musically: I would like the band to be able to continue to make CDs and tour even though we have no label. Non-musically: I am writing a novel right now, and I just want to bloomin' finish it. It takes a looooong time and you have to sit at your computer all day. I never go out anymore... People think I have been kidnapped.

BD: What image do you think your music conveys?
D: Cheer up! Everyone is nuts anyway.

BD: What do you feel makes your band unique?
D: We are an all-bass band. The bassola is a bass that sounds like a keyboard, the bassorama is a bass that sounds like a guitar, and the drumbass is a bass that sounds like a full drum kit. I am in a textbook, believe it or not, one that is in libraries in Europe called Uncommon Sound: The Left-Handed Guitar Players that Changed Music. It is surreal when you are featured next to great players like Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix, and you turn the page and there are 3 pages all about you. I was considered a freak because not only am I left-handed but I take basses apart and make them into Franken-basses. Now I am reference material. Just goes to show that being insane has its advantages.

BD: What has been the biggest obstacle for the band?
D: Piñata injuries. Seriously, some fans are all sweetness until the sweets come out, then it is every man for himself or herself! Sometimes when I jump off amps, I miss and injure my knees... that happens quite a lot, actually. I knocked myself out hanging on a lighting rig once, but I don't remember it.
And major labels: they keep trying to turn me into Fergie. I swear, the second we talk to a label, they want me to lose weight, wear a bikini, and take dance lessons. I know it is because I am female... I mean really, no one ever did this to Green Day! We are a rock band. Besides, if I am forced to dance with other people about, a lot of innocent toes would be hurt! It is really for the greater good.

BD: If you had to choose one of your songs to describe yourself, what would it be and why?
D: 50 Ft. Pink Cupcake on a Scooter. I'm just kidding, we don't have a song called that. I suppose it would be All Cheerleaders Die. I wrote it as the theme song for the zombie movie I was in. Because I like to eat brains... Okay, not true, but I really wrote it about my experiences in school. The popular girls tormented me; it was like living in a toy store and every day, being attacked by the Malibu Barbie aisle.

BD: Have any of you previously been in any other bands?
D: Yes, but I have hidden the bodies and you can't prove anything :)

BD: How does music in general affect you personally?
D: I was blind, but now I see.

BD: Describe the perfect concert (line-up, venue, etc).
D: We already did it, it was playing Warped Tour, every year it is different and every year it is like the best summer camp ever. The pungent smell of your bandmates is a small price to pay.

BD: What are some of your pet peeves?
D: It really bothers me when he hits Hogwarts students over the head with statues, but when Professor McGonagall helped him unscrew the chandelier, I guess that was fab. But I doubt he would like you calling him a "pet"... I would run if I were you!

BD: Are you superstitious at all?
D: Hahaha, I am Irish. It's genetic. I didn't believe this before, but a rockstar friend of mine pulled a wobbly when I wrote the song Name On A Wall. She said I would kill my dad (the song is about my dad dying) because supposedly whatever you write a song about comes true. And I was all, "Rubbish! That will never happen; my dad is too young." Well, not a month later, my father had a "triple a" which is an artery collapse heart attack type-thing. So bad is this "triple a" that they are going to put him in the Guinness Book of World Records for surviving it. Luckily for me, my father is hard to kill. So now my friends are all asking me NOT to write about them!

BD: Of all the different types of publicity (internet, magazines, television, etc), which do you think is the most effective?
D: Because we are truly indie, we aren't on television often, and whenever we are in magazines, the reporters turn my words around or flat-out lie. You know who you are, I am not naming any names but... SPIN!!!! So the Internet is fab because I can blog and podcast and everyone knows it is coming from me and not some infantile egomaniacal fabricator. Haha, but sometimes the rumours are funny. Like some paper said I punched Celine Dion because she said our cover of "My Heart Will Go On (Theme from Titanic)" was terrible. I didn't do it! But my family didn't believe me! So when I would visit, they would take the mickey and say "Don't upset her, or duck! She will wack your gob at any time!" I am innocent! Sheesh!

BD: What are your feelings on downloading music?
D: You really should buy it on iTunes or some such site. But! if you are going to download for FREE, then at least buy the band's T-shirt or hoodie because indie bands like us have no label, so you are literally starving us to death.

BD: If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be and why?
D: That would be harsher punishments for parole violators, Stan, and world peace. *smiling politely*

BD: What thoughts keep you awake at night?
D: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? It is the age old question.

BD: Will the Kittens ever play another live show again?
D: Because of the high cost of petrol we toned down touring a lot. We decided to make a podcast sitcom called Switchblade Kitten. It is about what is going on in my life and with the band and it comes out about every month. www.myspace.com/switchbladekitten or you can subscribe to it on iTunes. It is a funny way to let our fans know what is happening with us. In a way, it is even more personal than waiting in line for us to sign a CD, 'cause I can talk for an hour and it is not limited to two minutes and then the next victim... you know what I mean? But this way I am not kissing as many fans, I mean, I can get serious lip paralysis and then start drooling, which can be unattractive, it is better this way. Also, our new CD coming out in 2008 is all about Meg Cabot books, so we are supposed to play at book shops to promote that one. Which I like better than playing clubs because I LOVE nerds!

BD: Anything you would like to add?
D: Don't get pregnant and go to University. My mum told me that. ★

To learn more about Switchblade Kittens, go to switchbladekittens.com.

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