I interviewed JD Samson about three weeks ago for the Mai issue of the Berlin’s gay city magazine siegessäule. She and here band MEN had just finished their tour. Here’s the (nearly) uncut version of the Skype conversation we had, JD talking about topics like the importance of touring for the band, the new member Tami Hart, the tour costumes, activism, and the inevitable Lady Gaga.
You had the last show of your tour yesterday as far as I know. What does it feel like, are you happy, exhausted, sad?
I’m really tired because we had 14 shows in a row, so I need a rest and I’m really excited to sleep in tomorrow, but at the same time I’m kind of sad, because we had such a wonderful time on tour and yesterday I just woke up with such a great feeling and I knew that the show would going to be great. And we were really all in such good moods and came together on stage, so the energy in the room was just incredible.
You played a lot of shows in general, didn’t you? I have the feeling it was a really important thing for the whole project. You played three Berlin shows for example…
Yeah, we just play whenever we have the opportunity, and when people invite us to come we figure out if it financially makes sense and if we’re even gonna make a dollar with it usually we’ll do it. I mean we don’t like to loose money, but it’s really good for us to just continue playing, I think I’ve seen this project as really a live thing. We started off playing live before we had any music out, so I think that that’s really how people make money right now in the music industry, but also the way that this band really can succeed.
What looks a little bit like costumes for a modern staging of Goethe’s “Faust” are creations of the new Mugler collection “Anatomy Of Change”, designed by their new creative director Nicola Formichetti in collaboration with Romain Kremer. The collection was presented at the Paris fashion week yesterday and has caused quite a hype in the fashion blogosphere lately – not only because the clothes are pretty spaced out and “controversial”, but because Formichetti is also known as Lady Gaga’s stylist and Gaga herself did the soundtrack of the show. A second reason for the huge attention is a new-born model called Rick/Rico “Zombie Boy” Genest, a head-to-toe tattooed guy from Monetral Formichetti has discovered on Facebook and has made his muse for the collection. Genest is also the star of this video of the collection, which features a remix of a new Lady Gaga track called “Scheiße”, a tune so boring I refuse to post the whole thing here (the video is not so exciting as well).
Pictures of the show via the ever-great fashion blog UrFunked, picture on top via Dazed Digital.
“I like underarm smell, but I’m not big on stinky breath. I’m okay with like, you know, a sweaty crotch or maybe one days worth of filth. I appreciate good oral hygiene.” Joel Gibb (Hidden Cameras) via BUTT Magazine
“When it comes to performance art, I am more interested in the failures then the so-called successes. I have never cared for entertaining anyone. My performances may have elements that some may find entertaining, but that’s not my main purpose. If you want pure entertainment value just go and see something like Stomp or Blue Man Group.” Vaginal Davisvia Interview Magazine
“In fact, I sniffed her like a kind of aggressive beast. And as we got closer, she actually put her tongue in my mouth. She just went for it. It was really good.” Heather Cassilsvia Out.com (and yes, the rest of the interview is interesting as well)
+++ The Knife have recently been working on a studio version of the Darwin opera they have staged in collaboration with the Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma last year. One of the tracks of this new album (that will be released on the 1st of May) features Planningtorock and Mt.Sims and can now be listend to and downloaded on their website (via GorillavsBear) +++
+++ Ali Love (who’s track “Diminishing Returns” completely made my New Year’s Eve evening) is back with another addictive song called “Love Harder”. Listen to it on his MySpace page or download an extended version of the song on Big Stereo +++
+++ After Dizzy Rascal’s “Dirty Cash” Róisín Murphy gives us the next good reason to be happy that the (early) nineties are back. Click here to listen to her new song “Momma’s Place” on Youtube +++
+++ This is another beautiful music video I found on Life Is Not A Rehearsal. Warpaint is a band from L.A. and the video for “Stars” was released in autumn last year:
+++ Hercules And Love Affair have recorded a remix of Lady Gaga’s “Band Romance” that makes the song pretty acceptable, you find it here (via spex.de) +++
+++ Digital Leather from Arizona renamed themselves and are now called “Warm Leather” referring to a Nazi term for homosexuals. Check out their video for “Hurts So Bad” on Queerty.com +++
+++ Animal Collective have released a new video out for their song “In the flowers” directed by Avey Tare’s sister Abbey Portner. Their new EP “Fall Be Kind” will be released in December
