Q & A: Scissor Sisters

Adjust font size:

The Scene hangs out with Scissor Sisters's Ana Matronic, Del Marquis and Paddy Boom at Mr. Black, their favorite New York bar.

The Scene: So tell us a bit about this bar we're in, Mr. Black.

Anna Matronic: This is one of my brand new favorite places in New York. It has a lot of history. Apparently it was a speakeasy in the prohibition era and it was a gathering place for people like Walt Whitman and Edith Wharton. They use to come here and get drunk on bathtub gin. And apparently it was at one time also a brothel. It's said that it's haunted and people are reported to have seen apparitions in the bathrooms and it's a great place to come. They have a full cabaret licence which in New York is necessary for a bar's patrons to be able to dance. So you can come and shake your bootie and at weekends it's real fun for the boys -- if you know what I mean -- and during the week there's lots of great parties. My favorite night -- and you'll often see me at the bar on Wednesdays -- is my friend's night called Stank. It's fantastic... really fun music and a mixed crowd and great drinks and cute bartenders.

Del Marquis: It has a touch of class that most places are lacking. I'm down with the dirty but you definitely need places that have a little bit of class. Being a New Yorker is kind of like having a style. Every bar can't be just a dive.

Paddy Boom: I must have played here in the late 80s or early 90s when it used to be a place called the Pool Bar and I remember the ceilings were so low that a friend of mine, somebody was holding him up and he was crawling across the ceiling to the stage, defying gravity in a very strange way. There were always hardcore shows and lots of bizarre things and it seems like it's always pulled people into a sense of enjoyment; it's a vortex of good times and free will.

TS: Are the band from New York originally?

AM: Del is the only one who was actually born in New York City. Del and Paddy grew up in Westchester just outside. I'm originally from Portland, Oregon, but have always been really fascinated by New York. I think this is just one of the most highly romanticized cities in the world -- and worthy of it. I've lived here for about seven years and really can't envision myself living anywhere else. I'm a real sucker for New York history and Mr. Black is one of those places where you can feel there's something to this space.

TS: When did Scissor Sisters get together?

AM: Scissor Sisters started with Jake [Shearers] and Babydaddy and they were just messing around in Babbydaddy's apartment studio. At that time I was hosting a cabaret show on the lower east side and Jake had performed there a few times and one night Jake phoned me up and said, "Hey, I have a group called Scissor Sisters, can we come and play?" And they did and I loved them. A few months later they asked me to join. We were a trio for a little while and then we recruited Del on guitar and Paddy on drums. So we've been altogether a quintet since late February 2003. It's been three years and now we're all together in a big happy scissory family.

TS: Was New York important in bringing the group together?

AM: I'm not sure Scissor Sisters could have happened if it wasn't for New York. New York attracts a certain type of person. In another city we probably would have ended up being the gay bar house ban instead of going on to have a major record deal. There's something about New York that really makes you wanna work.

DM: It's a different dream to Hollywood. People may go to Hollywood to pursue fame or be a hooker but I think there's a dream in New York and although we have yet to see another golden era we all have an idea of what New York was and what it could be. For a lot of us that era was the late 70s, the 80s or maybe it was 100 years ago but whatever it was that's what everybody's pursuing. With music if there's a scene to be found then we're going to work hard and push it on the rest of the world.

PB: "And if you can make it here ... you can make it anywhere ..." I think what Del was saying is completely on point . We all came here for a specific reason. Just to get out of the confines of wherever we were because there's this allure, this magnetism, this sexiness to New York that I think we were all drawn to. And the fact that we all came together and found each other, we also encapsulate what people outside of New York want from New York and that's this sense of edge, sense of glamour, sense of individuality. Luckily for us that we found each other and can translate that into a viable music group.

TS: Do you think it's easier now, being a "gay band," than it would have been, say 10 to 15 years ago?

AM: I think, first, the sexuality of the band got us a lot of gigs in gay bars. And we were never apologetic or clandestine about our sexuality, or should I say the sexuality of three of the members of the band. Paddy and I are both straight but, hey, not narrow. And I think at first being so open might have pigeonholed us and worked against us because there are certain people who might not want to listen to a quote unquote "gay band." So we had to work really hard to get through that stereotype. When people realized that the music was really good and we weren't a gimmick, we weren't the Village People or some manufactured band to make money off the gay community people, started to accept it. I also think that over in the UK they're much more permissive and much less hung up on differences in sexuality, differences in race, differences in gender. We like to think in the U.S. that we're the most progressive and we're really not. Over in the UK people just really love music way more than I've really experienced anywhere else and a good song is a good song, no matter who does it. Across the board the UK has been a lot more accepting of gay artists and they have really embraced us as their own which was really unexpected.

PB: The difference too is that in England they listened to us because they listen to music. In America if something gets a label, as everything does, it's almost as if someone said, "Oh there's this gay band," which doesn't even apply because we're just making music, we're not waving rainbow flags or anything.

DM: No, but it's how you serve it up. It's about honesty. I don't think anybody in the band who is gay felt it was something to hide. I think that has something to do with the band. If you're deceptive about who you are someone is going to find you out and people love to tear you down if you're lying. If you just come out and are honest about who you are it's a non-issue. That's how you should approach your life and music and that's how the band served it up. It was like, "If you don't like it, we don't really care," and that's something that certain audiences really love about the band.

PB: And also once people come and see the show certain preconceived notions that they have go away and it's about putting on a show and expressing yourself and making a rock and roll performance. People walk away with a different impression to when they came in. Its about getting away from the stereotypes and the stigmas.

DM: So many people think it's going to be some schmaltzy, camp disco. There's a huge camp element going on ... but I can still play guitar. I don't care.

AM: Once people realized it was about really good music and expressing whoever you are, whoever that may be. Everyone's a freak in some way. There's no such thing as an ordinary person and that's what we show people. We hold a mirror up to them and say "let your freak flag fly."

TS: You're yet to replicate your success in the UK and Europe at home. Is that something that bothers you?

AM: We want to sell records, yes. But if that doesn't happen in the States we're not going to cry about it. But I think this country needs us right now. I feel like the music scene is pretty annoying and dull. There are really talented and amazing artists out there who just don't get the play they should and I think that has a lot to do with the corporate nature of radio these days and just the way America has kind of been sold. Everything is sold, everything is packaged, everything is merchandise. It's sad but I think there is a great deal of complacency right now.

Tools:
Save |
Print |
E-mail |
Most Popular |

Next story in Travel

Travel

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN

CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

Q & A: Scissor Sisters

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN

QUICK VOTE