Today, we're spending
Describe Wrongchilde for our readers who may not be familiar with you.
Wrongchilde is my focus right now. After touring for so many years in Kill Hannah, it was nice to take a step back and explore other creative directions. Gold Blooded is an album I've been working on under the radar for a long time... and it's so cool to finally be sharing it.
Who are your musical influences and idols?
My biggest heroes are The Cure, The Smiths, Jane's Addiction, Bowie, Love and Rockets, Joy Division, Psychedelic Furs, Catherine Wheel, Ride, Siouxsie Sioux, Red House Painters, Depeche Mode, Slowdive, Trent Reznor...
But I've been obsessed most recently with Fever Ray and Mew.
What was the first album, cassette, or CD you bought with your own money?
Haha "with your own money." Oh I love this question! You NEVER forget the first ones!
The first cassette I ever bought was Billy Idol Whiplash Smile.
The first vinyl I ever bought (from Caldor dept. store in Norwalk CT) was Run-D.M.C. Raising Hell.
The first CD I ever bought was The Cure, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me.
And the first time I ever actually pulled out a credit card and officially paid for a download of an album in iTunes was last week, and it was for White Sea, In Cold Blood.
What was the strangest gig you've ever played?
Too many to list. My very first band ever was called In A Jar UK when I was 17, and we outright lied (badly) and told everyone we had just moved to America from Canterbury, England. All the songs were about England, with fake accents and everything. We played illegal shows in train stations and parks in the suburbs, but the oddest show of all was playing in John Hughes's living room on New Year's Eve.
Kill Hannah has played countless strange gigs. We played with Lost Prophets in the middle of a rodeo in Texas. We played a college tour in gigantic arenas that NO ONE came to. So at the University Of New Hampshire, the only people in the audience were my parents and sisters, all wearing starched brand new band t-shirts. We also played the enormous Gator stadium in Florida to like 6 sorority chicks and some old guy on acid.
But I guess my favorite "strange" gig was in Manchester UK when we pulled the fire alarm, and then came on stage disguised as firefighters. Helmets, mirrored face guards, the whole thing. We started directing people to clear the room, then we picked up the instruments and started playing. Everyone was so confused.
What's the first thing you look for when you hit a new town?
If it's overseas, I look for a Starbucks. Their bathrooms are always nicer than our bus, so I basically lock the door and set up shop. Plug in my phone, my electric razor, brush my teeth, etc. If it's a domestic tour, I search for ANYTHING unusual that the town might have to offer. Like, we were in Buttfuck Utah, and it looked like nothing was around, but I walked a mile away and signed up for lessons to learn how to shoot a crossbow.
What is your current favorite guilty pleasure?
I guess my favorite guilty pleasure in music is really scary, nasty, sweaty, gross, gangster rap. Like, the raunchier the better. The shit that convicts work out to in prison. I just discovered a fellow named Stitches, who sings about selling cocaine. He has AK-47's tattooed on his face. I'm so into it.
If they named an ice cream flavor after you, what would be the name and why?
It would be called Oh I THINK I've Heard Of That Guy. And it would be Vanilla, with swirls of red wine and peanut M&Ms.
Final question: You're the opening act of a music festival. You can get any five artists, living or dead, to perform on the bill with you. Which five do you choose and what song do you all perform as the final jam?
If you're letting me raise the dead, then I would go for a Midnight in Paris vibe. I'd bring back Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Count Basie, and Charlie Parker, but as a final jam, we'd do a 20-minute improvised version of "When Doves Cry" by Prince. And we could tie the festival to some African charity. That way Bono would be there. Even though I didn't technically invite him in the original five.
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