INTERVIEW. THEE MERRY WIDOWS

Thee Merry Widows are an all girl psychobilly band based in San Francisco.   They are:  Nishone on lead guitar, Mistress Mandy on rhythm guitar, Andrea on drums and Nikki Nightbreed on upright bass with Miss Eva Von Slut on vocals and theremin.   Miss Eva is also an accomplished burlesque performer and pin-up model.


How long have you been together --- do you all come from San Francisco originally?

AMANDA:  2 years.  I'm a Bay Area native originally from Palo Alto.  I've lived 10 years in San Francisco and played 1.5 years with Thee Merry Widows.
ANDREA:   I'm from Oakland across the Bay from SF.
NISHONE:  I'm from San Pedro, CA.   Miss Eva is from Wisconsin and Nikki is from New Jersey.


Why did you choose the name Thee Merry Widows?

Because we thought Fannie was a stupid name.


How would you describe your music?  What do you think defines music as psychobilly style?

NISHONE:  Our music is a combination of punk, psychobilly, goth and garage.   Our style comes from our punk edge and upright bass.


Your songs use a lot of horror music imagery.  What is your favourite horror movie or monster and why?

AMANDA:  My favourite horror movies feature human psychopaths such as Psycho, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Martin.   Human monsters scare me more than beings spawned purely from the imagination because they are the ones who are more likely to get you in real life.  My favourite non-human monster is probably the Werewolf.  I also love the evil car Christine.  Is a possessed car considered a monster?
ANDREA:  I like Poltergeist because religious people scare me.
NISHONE:  My favourite horror movies are The Blob and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

CD COVER PHOTO BY DALE RIO

FROM L TO R:  MISTRESS MANDY, NISHONE, ANDREA,

MISS EVA VON SLUT AND NIKKI NIGHTBREED

What has been your most memorable gig so far?

AMANDA:  I loved playing the Zombie Party.  We all dressed up like zombies, everyone at the party was dressed like a zombie.   There was a good cat fight on stage between Miss Eva and Nikki, and there were plenty of jello shots to go around.  It was kinda surreal.   The closest thing to being part of Night of the Living Dead that I'll probably ever experience.
ANDREA:   I'd have to say the East Bay Rats party at the Stork Club in Oakland.  Somehow having a half-naked chick make out with Eva on stage and get her butthole rimmed by Smiley has permanently found a place in my memory.  That and our first ever Command Centre party.
NISHONE:   My most memorable gig was playing with the Phenomenauts and The Teenage Harlets in Petaluma at the Phoenix Theatre.


You have lots of tattoos --- what is your favourite tattoo and why?

MISS EVA:  My favourite tattoo at the moment is the Japanese fan that Kalil from Mom's Body Shop has started on my left thigh.
NISHONE:  My favourite is the school teacher that looks like a 1940s pin-up.


Nikki, was the upright bass difficult to learn and what attracted you to it?

NIKKI:  Hell yeah!  I thought because I could build bridges and work on cars it would be easy but it kicks my ass just the same.


Miss Eva, you also work as a burlesque performer.  What is it you liked about burlesque (either performing it or the general aesthetic)?   Do you have any favourite burlesque perfomers (either past or present)?

MISS EVA:  I love burlesque as it is a combination of sexuality and glamour that I find irrestible.   I love being glamorous and wearing beautiful costumes and jewellery.  What woman wouldn't?
Some of my favourite current performers are:  Bella Beretta, Mimi LeMeaux, Kitten DeVille, Anna Bells, Kitten on the Keys, Dirty Martini, the World Famous BOB, Erochia Bamboo to name a few.
Some of the legends of the business that I love are Satan's Angel (my mentor!), Tempest Storm, Lili St. Cyr, Isis Starr, Dixie Evans (who is still running the Exotic World Museum in Helendale, California) and Zorita.


Miss Eva, I noticed on your personal web site that you said you were a big fan of Jayne Mansfield's (I am as well) and I was wondering what you like about her.  If you ever wrote a song about her, what do you think you would call it?

MISS EVA:   I adore Jayne Mansfield, along with Mae West she is probably one of my biggest inspirations.  She was so very sexual and so aware of what her sexuality did to others.  I don't think there is any current actress who has the staggering sex appeal of Jayne Mansfield!
I don't know if I would ever write a song about her but maybe we could cover "The Girl Can't Help It" (the title and song from one of her movies).


Miss Eva, why did you decide to join the reformed Insaints to replace their late lead singer, Marian Anderson?

MISS EVA:  I could hardly turn down the chance as I was a HUGE Insaints fan when I was in my late teens and early 20s.   So when Daniel (guitarist and founding member of the Insaints) asked if I would do so I could hardly say no.   Marian was an amazing woman and any opportunity to introduce people to her music is an honour for me.


What are your future plans for Thee Merry Widows --- will you be releasing an album soon and will you be touring the UK/Europe again soon?

AMANDA:   We will release an album this summer and do a little East Coast tour.   I'm sure we'll make it to Europe sometime after that.

http://www.merrywidowsmusic.com/

THIS INTERVIEW WAS DONE BY E-MAIL IN MAY 2005.  ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2005.

NOTE:  Since this interview, Jenna Ferocious has joined the band on upright bass.

UPDATES/LINKS. CRISTINA

Cristina fan page
2004 Interview with Cristina
Review of Sleep It Off
Review of Sleep It Off on Feminist Music Geek

If you do a search on YouTube you can find most of her songs but I haven't been able to find any music videos or live performances.

LYRICS. CRISTINA --- WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO.

WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO

My life is in a turmoil
My thighs are black and blue
My sheets are stained, so is my brain

What's a girl to do X 2

I've passed out with a novel
Or a needle in my hand
I've passed out with a ragdoll
And I've passed out with a man

I say my three Hail Marys
I daily paint my face
My friends decay around me
And I view them with distaste

My life is in a turmoil
My thighs are black and blue
My sheets are stained, so is my brain

What's a girl to do X 2

Well some girls have a mission
And some girls have their work
Some marry with precision
And some just dish the dirt

And once I had a lover
And once I had a profession
And once I laughed at nothing
And they called it a depression

I've tried dancing up and down
The wrong side of the track
And I've walked on the right side
Or just lain here on my back.

So I think I'll quit while I'm behind
Now that I'm twenty two
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2

My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2

LYRICS BY CRISTINA FROM SLEEP IT OFF.  PHOTO OF CRISTINA BY CHUCK SILLERY FROM SLEEP IT OFF CD BOOKLET.

LYRICS. CRISTINA --- HE DINES OUT ON DEATH.

HE DINES OUT ON DEATH.

How could he do it?
There's nothing to it
A fistful of pills in a foreign hotel
She left a note calling him
Heartless and ruthless
And wishing him well, wishing him well.

Now he dines out on death.

How could he do it?
Can I live through it?
In this week's chic restaurant
He touches the hand
Of a vapid-eyed girl who once put sweet lips to it
She says, "I understand, oh I understand ..."

Now he dines out on death.

How could she do it?
Let's help him live through it
Say the New York hostesses
He takes it so well
He lends such distinction to her self extinction
Let's throw him a party, he must be in hell.

Now he dines out on death.

LYRICS BY CRISTINA FROM SLEEP IT OFF.  PHOTO OF CRISTINA BY CHUCK SILLERY FROM SLEEP IT OFF CD BOOKLET.

REVIEW. CRISTINA --- SLEEP IT OFF.

Sleep It Off was Cristina's second and final album and it was produced by Don Was of Was (Not Was) who also co-wrote several of the songs.  This reissue also features a couple of tracks from an earlier session with Robert Palmer as well as Cristina's contribution to the Ze Records Christmas compilation, Things Fall Apart.  However, despite receiving glowing reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and The Face, the record was a flop and Cristina retired from the music business.

This has to be one of the biggest injustices of the music business I've heard of.  Sleep It Off is one of the most stunning albums I've heard in a long time --- genuinely innovative whilst seemingly deceptively simple.  I know disco gets a bad press even with those who love dance music.  Personally, my problem with it is that it simply doesn't reflect the eccentricity, decadence and biting wit of those immersed in the nightlife scene.  But far out on the wilder shores of disco, you get artists like Klaus Nomi and Grace Jones who are every bit as challenging and experimental as anything indie or rock music could produce.  And Cristina can rightly claim her place among those disco mavericks.

There is a strong sense of irony and a biting wit in her lyrics observing the bored rich socialites of New York's nightlife.  Her jaded world-weary demeanour, however, is always swathed in glamour and spiced up with a dash of sass so that she harks back to traditional movie stars like Marlene Dietrich or Tallulah Bankhead.   Her intelligent boredom and sophisticated despair also reminded me of Louise Brooks.  The album showcases a good mixture of styles (from upbeat pop numbers like Ticket To the Tropics to laidback contemplations like Rage and Fascination) and moods (from the defiant, almost punk delivery of Don't Mutilate My Mink to the disjointed bleakness of Things Fall Apart).   One of my favourite tracks is He Dines Out On Death, a stripped down acoustic ode to a gentleman who sees his lover's suicide as a social opportunity but really, there are so many gems on this album including a cover version of a Brecht and Weil song, Ballad of Immoral Earnings.

The Dresden Dolls have also cited Brecht as an influence and Cristina's stylish black humour does remind me of a disco version of Amanda Palmer crossed with the deadpan glamour of Grace Jones/Amanda Lear with the suicidal urges of Nico lurking in the background while the downright insanity of Klaus Nomi quietly laughs at us all.  It's a rare talent to be able to pull together all these disparate (and sometimes contradictory) elements but Cristina managed it.  The album also perfectly evokes that particular scene (the beautiful people of early 80s New York) but still feels timeless.  It's an amazing album that has quickly become one of my all time favourites.

Cristina's songwriting partner and producer, Don Was said of her --- "We didn't have girls like her in Detroit.  I went to dinner with her and I remember feeling intellectually dwarfed.  --- Sleep It Off is an incredibly honest representation of what she was about.  Twenty years later, I've learned that's what you want to do when you produce an album --- take a snapshot of somebody.  I didn't fully realise it at the time but she achieved a certain artistic ideal."





ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2005.

UPDATES/LINKS. WENDY JAMES/RACINE

WENDY JAMES (RACINE)

At some point I want to write a more in-depth article on Wendy James and her career especially her time in Transvision Vamp.   She has released another Racine album entitled Racine Vol. 2 (or sometimes titled Racine 2 by Wendy James) and she did another album released under her own name, I Came Here To Blow Minds. EDITED TO ADD: She is also due to release another solo album in 2015, The Price of The Ticket.


Wendy James on Facebook

REVIEW. CRISTINA --- DOLL IN THE BOX.

Cristina Monet was a socialite who'd married the heir to the Mothercare fortune, Michael Zilkha, who'd gone on to found Ze Records in the hope of releasing records that mixed punk and disco.  Although Cristina was stunningly beautiful and did some modelling for the likes of Louis Vuitton, she was no dumb bimbo (she was a prize-winning graduate from Harvard) as she was to prove with her clever lyrics.  She released 2 albums and a couple of singles in the early 1980s but despite good reviews and celebrity fans such as Debbie Harry and Siouxsie Sioux, her career failed to take off.  She retired from music and she and Michael divorced in 1990.



Now Ze Records have released both her albums.  Each album features bonus tracks and a booklet detailing her career (each album's booklet has different photos in it).  I'd only ever heard her version of "Is That All There Is?" so I'd dismissed her as a one-hit wonder albeit a brilliant one.  But on the strength of a rave review in Attitude I bought both albums and I'm so glad I did.

This is a re-release of Cristina's first album, now retitled Doll in the Box.  It also features bonus tracks of the singles she released at the time, Disco Clone and Is That All There Is? plus a previously unreleased cover version of Drive My Car.  The album was produced by August Darnell (better known as Kid Creole of Kid Creole and the Coconuts) and he wrote most of the songs on it.  They are all fairly classic disco tracks with a lush theatrical quality to them and odd hints of a tropical/Latin influence.  Which would be more than enough to sound completely camp without Cristina cooing her way through the extremely funny and completely over-the-top Disco Clone in response to Kevin Kline's mock deadpan seriousness and songs like Don't Be Greedy (where Cristina tells a lover who wants an open relationship --- "Don't ask me to share you with another mate.  I'm not that liberal and you're not that great.")

For the most part, it works extremely well although I'm guessing the songs sound at their best in a nightclub environment.  Preferably doing the hustle with Liza and Andy one coke-fuelled night at Studio 54.  I thought the light-hearted campness rather spoiled her version of Drive My Car but maybe that's just me.  I'd always imagined someone like Lydia Lunch doing a cover of this and making it sound all sleazy and dark and fantastic.   Funnily enough, that's exactly what Cristina managed to do on her infamous cover version of Is That All There Is? (the Leiber and Stoller song popularised by Peggy Lee).  In fact, the songwriters were so appalled by the deadpan nihilism of her update that they threatened to sue and the record was withdrawn on its first day of release.  Her version comes across as a Brechtian parody and was cited as one of the funniest records ever made by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.  Its rarity also made it one of the most requested songs on Radio 1 for a couple of years in the 1980s.  It was this song which hinted at the greatness of Cristina's second album.

Tangents, the website that bills itself as the home of unpopular culture, has a two part article about the reissues and the author's experience of meeting Cristina recently.
Part One and Part Two

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2005.