Scissor Sisters

The words ‘Pink Floyd’ and disco were seldom used in the same sentence until an unknown band from New York crashed into the top ten mid January with their take on ‘Comfortably Numb’.

‘That was more Jake’s brainchild, it was just one of those crazy, ‘What ifs?’ It was an idea that went in the right direction, really infectious. The crazy ideas are the best ideas like ‘wouldn’t it be crazy if...’ it’s one of those crazy catchy crossover things, that’s what initially caught me, it’s almost like the little bait that gets people interested, as whoever covers Floyd and covers it like that. It’s got some magnitude up there with it. That’s what a good cover can do, it hooks people. They hear that and get kinda curious.’ says drummer Paddy Boom, over the phone from Brighton.

Welcome to the world of the Scissor Sisters. Comprising of Jake Shears, Babydaddy, Paddy Boom, Del Marquis and the fabulous Ana Matronic and hailing from New York, the band first came to our attention with the release of debut single ‘Laura’ last year.

‘Well the idea [for the band] started with Jake and Babydaddy and then they met Ana and she was doing performance art stuff downtown. So they became a three and at that point they became a bona fide project, the idea became a band. They got Del the guitar player; a little over a year ago and then I was the last to join, and that was about March of last year. So the whole thing from conception to now has been only just over a year. ‘I’m dumb founded by the reception we’ve had coz I’ve been playing in New York for a long time and I’ve done everything the old way you know, playing loads of gigs and hoping things would work out. This band is really defying all terms of convention by bypassing a lot of the leg work a lot of bands have to do. It seems to have struck a chord with people. I just think it’s a combination of things. I think it’s a combination of smart songs and smart people working with us, contacting the right people. I think that at any given time in New York there’s always a fantastic scene around but the sad reality of it is that a lot of stuff just goes unnoticed. Some bands go right to the front, The Strokes were that way. I think a lot of the leg work that bands have to do; they did in a very short time. Some bands just have the luxury. It’s the luck of the draw. Some sky rocket, some take a while to get off the ground. It’s odd. I myself have done lots of leg work. I moved to New York in 1986 and I’ve been playing since 1987, breaking my back for a lot of times and then all of a sudden I got in this band and its boom! Light speed taking of. I especially know the value of the circumstances as I spent a lot of time on the other side of the fence. So I’ve been able to really, really appreciate what’s happened. It’s a crazy, beautiful, wonderful thing that’s happening to us right now. I know how rare it is to be in this position.’

However, whilst picking up critical acclaim in the UK, like many other US acts who’ve made it big over here, Stateside the band remain almost unknowns.

‘We’re virtually a one city band in terms of the US. We’re getting bigger; we just played our biggest show to date, last weekend. It blew everyone’s minds in a sense as the record’s not even out. We have nothing over there, I mean there’s a tonne of stuff on the web, I know a lot of people have downloaded it but we don’t even have official proper releases over there but we sold out the Bowery Ball Room which is about 600/700. We’re getting popular; the word of mouth is there. It’s kinda crazy; we’re virtually a word of mouth band. Essentially that’s the only way people know about us back in New York. Beyond New York I don’t think many people really know about us at all to tell the truth. However I don’t think you can keep a good thing down. It’s like a viral sort of thing like it’s travelling person to person to person to person. I think a lot of excitement is generated from the live shows. Word of mouth is the strongest thing. Advertisers for years have been trying to figure out how to get word of mouth going. I suppose it is a combination of interesting musical influences, a good live show and it’s exciting and fun. It is spreading but we’re definitely way, way more underground in the US than we are over here. The momentum is snowballing; it’s interesting to see how it works. The work started last April when we got the deal but it’s funny to see how it’s taken off. We are doing quite well in terms of exposure and the press. We’ve sold out The Scala in London and everyone’s scratching there’s heads like, ‘Whoa! How did that happen?’ It’s great.’

Currently on a sold out tour of the UK, the band’s background on the performance art (Shears used to do a turn as Jason the Amazing Back-Alley Late-Term Abortion whilst Matronic ran a cabaret night on the Lower East Side) has certainly been an influence when playing live.

‘The live shows are a mix of, little bit of entertainment, a little bit of stage freakiness, there’s always a bit of freakiness when we get up on stage – you never know what you’re going to get! Entertaining, physically exciting, chaotic. You never know, we’ve had people jump on stage and do crazy things, they get turned on, our gigs are generally from the moment we hit to the moment we hit, just one wild ride. People seem very excited for us and the shows. I think it offers a lot to people. When we did our last gig I was on the floor by the amount and diversity of people that showed up. People who I didn’t really expect to get it or dig it came along. I don’t mean that everyone’s going to love it but I think anyone that understands music finds a value to what we’re doing, the eclectic mix, our unabashed melange of styles. It’s like with the album, it’s very eclectic, there’s different elements of stuff from stuff that sounds Elton Johnish to Bowieish to Roxy Musicish to musical parts like B-52s. Some of it sounds like disco but with a slightly punk, industrial sound. It’s so diverse that it’ll sound like a greatest hits record. It’s so dynamic; we haven’t taken one idea and run with it. It’s a combination of stories and you can’t say it’s one thing or another. It’s eclectic but cohesive in a way. We’re not afraid to run a bunch of styles together and see what works. We all are really diverse and eclectic music fans and get bored just doing one thing and our shows are a mix of very upbeat dancey stuff, some slower stuff, a little bit of rock. In my mind I think we have ADD, such short attention spans! We want to be constantly changing and moving and hopefully people will follow the ride with us.’

Although criticisms that the Scissor Sisters are more about style rather than substance, to Boom the two go hand in hand with what the band are about.

‘There’s style but we do have a stylist and it’s finding a happy medium. Within the style everyone has a genuine character that comes through. The ‘Laura’ video was a fusion of ideas. It’s an eclectic funkiness, it’s present in the way we look and the music. It’s part of the package. The stage names, let’s face it, there’s people trying very hard to not be anything other than they are but we are all embracing the ability to step out of the normally and embrace be characters. We entertainers, if you look at certain bands, the stuff that really sticks for me is entertaining, I think we all like stepping out of our normal selves and making it fun. Why do you go out at night? To have fun. What we’re doing is taking that a bit further. We have these alter egos but they’re not that different from who we are. When I joined I realised that we’re not regular, normal musicians, there is a bit of fashion, a bit of fantasy, we’re trying to do something that’s entertaining. When you go see someone onstage I think it’s kinda boring on a certain level to go see guys in dirty shirts, sloppy, that’s cool but we’re not. Have fun. We’re a very serious band, there’s a lot of diverse elements to what we’re doing but all in all I think we’re all trying to take it somewhere, have a good time, but also be conscience of things and not just like ‘hey baby, love you, the world is beautiful’, it’s different, there’s a lot of thought behind the music and we’re trying to lead the way in being serious but not to the point where you’re staring at our shoes.’