Thursday, September 22, 2011

FAQ - Spinnerette


(Fazermagazine.com, June 2009)

Why was the album pushed back a few times? And what’s your reaction to it finally being out?

Mmhmm… ten times, where I promised or I swore on my mother’s grave…off and on, time and time again.

Was that because you weren’t ready to put it out?

No it was just a mess, with label issues, distribution issues and kind of figuring it out worldwide.

The album for Spinnerette is self-titled, is there any reason why you didn’t want to give it a name?

I don’t know. I think when you introduce your first record it should just be that. Throwing other titles on there unless it’s super fucking cool doesn’t work too good.

Where the band name came from?

It comes from a Spider’s anatomy.

(About.com, May 2009)
With Spinnerette, we’re hearing a somewhat drastically different sound. What motivated this change? 

It wasn't intentional at all, it just came out that way, I think the sound is me and Alain mixed together, with a sprinkle of Tony. My songs are pretty simple, Al's playing adds a real maturity, zing zang and sparkle that otherwise would not be there. Tony comes in with his moody lightning playing, sad and pretty one liners, a general noise maker. 

On Spinnerette’s recordings, you compiled a pretty solid lineup, including Jack Irons. How did the (recorded) lineup come about? 

Well, Jon Theodore was originally going to play drums, but he tore his rotator cuff a couple of days before, so Al said let's get Jack to play! And that was that. Everything happens for a reason, this was that Jack was meant to play drums for Spinnerette. 

When you tour with your album, the touring lineup will be different. Why is that? 

Alain works engineering and producing, making his living and Jack Irons has a family and doesn't go on tour too much these days, although he expressed interest in doing so, so maybe we'll play some one-offs with the recording band. 

(Blogcritcs.org, May 2009)

With the Distillers you were usually singing and playing guitar simultaneously. Why this isn’t happening with Spinnerette?

Yeah, I feel a little naked without it, I don't get to play as much as I used to, don't have a ton of free time on my hands, so I didn't want to ruin everything with sloppy playing. I guess if you see me and I'm playing more live, it means I've been practicing and if I'm singing more, I've taken more showers . I do wanna play more though. In the Distillers I played and sang all the time.  

(L.A Weekly, November 2008)

How did this Spinnerette album come together for you?

Well, I wrote a lot of it on bass. I was looking to demo myself and get it out of my brain and into my ears or someone else's ears. Alain Johannes said he would record my demos for me and so we started recording them and it was like kismet. He started playing leads over my stuff and it was so magical that it kind of happened by accident. That's how it kind of came about. The record label, Sire, was like, “What the fuck's going on? We need to hear some demos.” I said, “Well, you can come and listen to them,” and afterward I found out that they were going to drop me. Sire dropped 15 bands that day and they came over and heard my demos and were like, “Well, just keep on doing what you're doing.” They didn't have much involvement in the record making process except this [A&R] guy came in and sang harmonies to my producer, which was insanely ridiculous that an A&R guy would try to get involved with the musical aspect of something. Like, fuck off, you know? 
(NY Press, June 2009)

How does Spinnerette differ from the Distillers?

I think it’s more musical, I think it’s more tonal—I think sometimes it’s heavier.

Do you think it will appeal to the same crowd?

No, probably not. Some of the kids have crossed over with it; some of them like it because they’re older. You know they’re five or six years older than when Coral Fang came out so they seem to have a little bit more of an eclectic taste. But some kids are… it’s a really strong reaction, they either love it or hate it.

I read that you don’t consider Spinnerette a band, it’s you and other various musicians… do you think you will be the only constant in the line-up as it changes?

No, when I said that I really meant the live band, not the recording band. There are two bands, the recording band, which is myself and Alain Johannes and Tony [Bevilacqua], and then there is the live band that is full of musicians that are fantastic right now that I adore. It’s just going so well there’s no need to change anything.

What I mean by that is with the Distillers there were so many incarnations, there was so much heartbreak, I don’t want to go through that again. I’d rather keep it lighter so that people understand that they can’t come and go as they please, and if it’s not working out for me with a certain person then... I try not to take it too seriously because it’s so silly. I think I’m just protecting myself and protecting my bandmates as well.

(Rolling Stone, March 2009)

How did your new band come together?

It came together as we went along. I got pregnant in May of 2005. It wasn’t planned but it was totally what we both wanted, so that put everything on hold. I had a long time to think about what I wanted to do. When I was pregnant, I felt so far removed from being a musician. The guitar could have been a lamp as far as I was concerned.

(Alternative Press, December 2008)

What was the catalyst that caused you to leave Warner Bros. imprint Sire Records?
It just wasn't a relationship that worked for either party anymore. It was distressing at [the] time, but when I look back at it now, it's not as bad as I thought it was. It's just that humans fundamentally need security. We also need to be able to see a clear path to where we're going. Sometimes a giant rock falls in your path and it takes a month to figure out how to climb over it, and that was that. It was a defunct relationship.

I think those labels are trying to figure out how to fucking save their asses. And artists are trying to figure out how they're gonna get their music out there without signing their life away--360 deals, which [are] just insanity.

So it just wasn't working anymore. And they let me walk away with my record, which I was so grateful for, because they could've totally fucked me. I had enough of a cordial relationship where it ended okay.

Were there specific disagreements you can recall?
I think the quote was, "[Spinnerette are] not enough of a departure from the Distillers"...which is, in my opinion, ridiculous. [Laughs.]

(Faster Louder, March 2010)

Do you see Spinnerette as a solo thing?
I’m not really sure. If it was a solo project I think I’d be doing more, like playing all the instruments, drums and bass and doing a lot more.


(FMQB, January 2009)

Explain the difference between Spinnerette and being in the Distillers. Obviously it’s not a straight Punk Rock band, but there’s plenty of Punk Rock in there.

The difference is monumental. I've never really had a writing partner before. I would bring my songs and the guys would come and we'd just hash through it. And I kind of always really wanted to have someone I could write with, that I could bounce ideas off. So when it accidentally happened with me and Al, I was so happy, because there's a difference there. There’s two bands [with Spinnerette]; there's a recording band and a live band, so that’s obviously very different. They're kind of interchangeable; people who are in the live band could play on the record and people who are in the recording band could play live. So it's a bit of a free-for-all. More like a gypsy camp, where every one can experiment or just have a good time. It's a really relaxed kind of environment. There's not really any rules or restrictions. It's a little more casual this time.
I feel like The Distillers were pretty serious. We had a regiment and would go into this time and make a record this time and do it like this. I'm kind of free from that. Because I have a family now, it makes a little bit more difficult to do it the way we used to do it. Plus, it's such a different climate for music, and I don’t think I could do it like I did it before.

(The Graveyard Girls, 2007)

What are some musical differences between The Distillers and Spinnerette?

Think of all the differences between a girl and a woman - Spinnerette is a full grown woman, smart, good looking and opinionated. She's refined without being anal. But she'll still knock you around and get drunk in front of your mom, oh and she loves puns.
 
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