Scissor Sisters Issue #29

The band’s front lady, Ana Matronic, talks about the effects of love on the new album, working with New Order, and how she feels about Cher in her audience

By Jennifer Kellas
Published: September 1st, 2006 | 3:46pm

The first time I saw the Scissor Sisters perform was in New York in April, and I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much at a show in my life. I danced until I could no longer feel my feet and when it was all over, I shamelessly screamed for more. The Scissor Sisters have that effect on people. Despite the rainy cold outside the doors of the Bowery Ballroom that night, inside, the band — which consists of singers Jake Shears and Ana Matronic, keyboardist-bassist Babydaddy, guitarist Del Marquis, and drummer Paddy Boom — had made a disco-ball shining club where gay, straight, and doesn’t matter jumped together in what can only be described as pure joy.

On the eve of their sophomore album, Ta Dah!, the Sisters were busy globetrotting with their new single “Don’t Feel Like Dancin,” a poppy, ’70s disco-infused Elton John collaboration. Getting an interview, therefore, proved to be … just a tad difficult. But the Gods of Rock must have been looking down on me, because the night before this issue was set to print in mid-August, I finally got word from Matronic.

Have you always wanted to be a performer?
Most definitely. The first time I ever went onstage was for a church recital, where I recited a poem from memory. I was 3 years old. Ever since then, I've never really known stage fright and have felt very comfortable being in front of an audience.

What was it like coming to New York for the first time?
I was 13 years old, and finally here was the city. Gotham City, Metropolis, place of myth and ultimate black-and-white movie musical glamour. I knew from the moment I took my first walk on the Manhattan streets that I would live here one day.

How did you first hook up with Jake and Babydaddy?
I met Jake through a mutual friend of ours, and had heard about him way before we ever met. When we did, it was Halloween night 2000. I was dressed as an Andy Warhol Factory Reject, and he was dressed as a late-term back-alley abortion. Yes, it was as gross as it sounds. I took one look at him and knew he was my kind of freak and invited him to perform at my cabaret show then and there. He did the next week. It was September 2001 that Jake called me and said he had a band — just him and a guy named Babydaddy. They called themselves Scissor Sisters and wanted to know if we could perform together. I loved them, and just a couple months later, they asked me to join their ranks.

Your live show is a full-on experience. I think musicians too often forget that they are performers as well. Is the cabaret style of the live show your influence, and do you always make a conscious effort to entertain?
Performing our songs live is, ultimately, communication. Creating a connection with the audience is the reason I'm in the band and it’s my primary focus. We try to make the audience feel just as vital a part of the show as any member of the band, and the more mental they are, the more they'll get from us. My past in the cabaret circuit directly influences what you see me do onstage — I try to make any size venue, no matter how big, feel like a small, smoky back-alley club.

When the Scissor Sisters’ first album came out in 2004, journalists — I think wrongly — called you the gay Darkness. Now that the Darkness is pretty much defunct, are you at all worried about going their way?
Not at all. I think our new album is better than the first one, and we will continue to grow in new and positive ways. I believe Scissor Sisters is a pony with many, many tricks.

Of the last album, people often equated its style to your influences. Having listened to the new album, I couldn’t help but do the same thing. I think your influences are even more pronounced with the styles of Queen, Bowie — and even the Beatles on “Might Tell You” — permeating throughout. Does Jake make an effort to write music as an homage to those greats, or does it come naturally from his love for them?
The influences people list for us are not necessarily the ones we pulled on. We're constantly listening to music, not just the obvious references you touched on.“Might Tell You Tonight” is just as influenced by Harry Nilsson and Paul Williams as it is the Beatles.

The overarching theme of the new album seems to be love. Lyrics include "Love is what I want, love is what I get" and "I have a right to be loved." The first album was about acceptance and freedom. Is there any reason for the love theme?
All the members of this band are currently in love, which I think had a lot to do with the music on this album. The last one was, in my opinion, a "going out" record, while this one is very much a personal party. There is an intimacy on this record that I think was born out of a desire to reconnect with our lovers, our friends, family, and ourselves.

Speaking of love, how hard is it to maintain a relationship on the road? Any tips? Maybe just in general — lord knows a girl in NYC could use the advice.
The first and most important thing to maintain a relationship is to find someone who’s worth maintaining. I have luckily found somebody I am completely and totally in love with, somebody worth all the waiting in the world. Having that security is paramount to a long-distance relationship. The other thing is to make time to call and talk to each other every day, even if it's just a quick "Hi, I love you." He also joins us on the road whenever he can, and luckily, he works freelance, which makes it possible on a regular basis.

When I was in Scotland a few months ago, “Filthy Gorgeous” played about every half hour on the radio. The Scissor Sisters are undoubtedly huge in Britain. Why do you think that is, and do you wish for this amount of success in the states?People in the U.K.are always hungry for new, good sounds. No matter who makes it or what genre, British people love discovering new sounds. I believe music — more than even football, more than beer, more than rugby — is the national pastime. It's second only to tea drinking, in my opinion. Another factor is the size — it's much easier to get word out in a country the size of California. It takes much longer to get word out in America. As far as equaling our success in the U.S., I really could not care less. If it happens, cool. If not, I couldn't be more happy with what we've accomplished thus far.

I was at your Bowery Ballroom show in New York in April and loved your style. Do you design your own clothes? Do you have any style icons who influence your wardrobe choices?
I am constantly tearing things out of magazines or pulling pictures off the Internet to pass along to the designers I work with. I've been dressing up since I was a little kid and definitely know what works with my figure and what doesn't. As far as my style icons go, the three men who really shaped my fashion aesthetic are all filmmakers: Federico Fellini, John Waters, and Russ Meyer. Their women are all these amazing, venomous, gorgeous creatures loving and devouring everything in their paths.

You recently sang with New Order on their song “Jetstream.” I thought the song came out great. Are you planning any more songs with them?
Working with New Order was beyond anything I'd ever dreamt. I'd jump at the chance to work with them again, though there's nothing in the works at the moment. But there are so many people I'd love to work with — the top two being Siouxsie Sioux & Ann Magnuson.

The Scissor Sisters have a large celebrity following. I just read that Elton John insisted you all stay at his house in London whenever you are in town. And Cher was at the Bowery show I attended. Does it make you nervous or self-conscious performing in front of celebrities? I ask our tour manager not to tell me who's in the audience, because depending on who it is, you can really get self-conscious or psych yourself out in a bad way. I think the people who see our shows all come for the same reason: to hear good music and get lost in a good show. I try to treat everybody equally.

Matronic talks about diehard fans and her favorite bands, movies, books on venuszine.com.