January, 1992

Whether the feminist movement is helped or hurt by these girls, Kim Kissably and the Red Lips Sextet are definitely a major presence. They are one of the most controversial, and some say best, femgroups to come out in a long time.

            As their tour for Torn Horses has just finished up, the girls have a bit of time on their hands, and were able to meet up for many interviews. I had the strange luck of getting them all at once, which is an interesting experience to say the least.

            Join me for a taste of Kim and her girls.

AP: Do you think being labeled a "femgroup" is really fair? Or do you feel you go beyond simple male-bashing, into something more?

Kim: Well, we've got a lot more content than it actually seems from, say, just a peak at the song titles on our first musical endeavor. I'm not as vicious as I come across, [though] some of us are. My work isn’t male-bashing, it's girls--nah, grrls--finding a place in the world.

AP: You certainly have a unique flair, though some people say that Heather Hunter was brought in as a sort of foil -- a gimmick. What do you say to that, Heather?

Heather: I’m definitely not a gimmick, I can tell you that. I play my drums well enough that they kept me instead of going the drum machine route. And if anyone in this band is the gimmick, it's Kim an' her strip show she has every gig.

AP: I'll get to that in a few minutes. Strangely enough, it's Chatha who has become the sex symbol of the band. I'm sure this wasn't intentional, was it Chatha?

Chatha: No, I never really tried. It’s sort of weird to be on the stage with a bunch of blokes asking you to take your shirt off. I guess if I weren’t so occupied trying to dance with my bari-sax, I'd consider obliging at least once, but really, it's not who I am. I didn’t know the blokes out there were out after me, anyway.

AP: We conducted a readership poll, though, and you came out on top. Many said they felt you were the sweet center of the band, while Jessie -- pardon me -- was more into the music than the crowd, and everyone else is "bitches all." Kim, you look ready to burst.

Kim: Look, I don't see what the bloody problem with being bitches is. It means that we're grrls who are in control of our own lives; we don't let the bloody men around us take us over. In this industry, that's a bloody hard thing to do.

AP: Ah, but some say that you're also exploiting womanhood by wearing such revealing things. I mean, you're known to flash the crowd when the hollering reaches a certain pitch. Do you think that's really empowering to women?

Kim: Yes, I think it bloody well is. My body is a weapon. Hell, everyone's body can be a weapon if they want it to be, and I learned that a bloody long time ago. So if I take advantage of the fact that I'm able to take control of a situation, is that really all that bad? The fact that I am a woman makes the entire being in control thing so much harder, but when you're sure of yourself and unashamed of your body, you can take over the world if you bloody well want.

AP: Well, you certainly have conviction, which is nice to see, and very evident in your lyrics. But then again, Geneveve and Ebony don't flash the crowd. Now, Gen and Ebony, I'm sure you feel comfortable with your bodies, right? So why not flash the crowd, too?

Ebony: I think mystery has its appeal. If the men in the audience see something they want about me, let them imagine just exactly what it will look like and drive themselves insane.

Geneveve: Yeah, that's always a good thing, plus it's rather difficult to go around flashing the audience when you're always holding a guitar. Not that I would. I don't know; I'm not quite as out there as Kim is. She has very different values from anyone else I've known. I envy her for that, but I could never be her.

AP: Comment, Kim?

Kim: Nice to know there'll never be another me.

AP: Back to you, Chatha. Tell me how you got to playing sax so ... uniquely?

Chatha: Well, the sax and other such brass things really hit what would become the rock world with jazz, so it was never played all that traditionally. It's such a fun instrument, and it just makes noises that nothing else can. So I say have fun with the thing. It can make cool sounds, so make it make cool sounds! Plus, it's a great workout to run around the stage with one of those babies strapped around your shoulder.

AP: Ebony. I know you're a close friend of Chatha's, and also one of the best keyboardists on the scene today. You and her could have easily gone into jazz together. Why this?

Ebony - Well, first off, jazz isn't really in my style. I have Murphy and Eldritch waiting for me on my stereo back at home; I wanted to some day hit a band that would do their music justice. Now, I'm not sure if work with the Sextets is quite doing gothic justice, but it is a lot closer than jazz. As for Chatha, they got her when she was still in school and wasn't even thinking of getting into a band.

AP: I see. And Jessie. What shaped your vision? What made you want to be part of this band?

Jessie: More than anything, I want a band with conviction. ... Actually, Kim asked me a question much like this when I tried out for the band. "Why us? You're good enough to have any band you want." Something like that. I didn't want to go into something where everyone was perfect and happy and knew what they were doing. The Sextet is more like real life, with its problems and triumphs and everything. I really like the thought of being in something so raw, and I could tell from the beginning, from the demanding ad in the paper searching for "grrls" and condemning "anything with a prick," that this band would be a good experience for me.

AP: But it's exactly that anti-anything with a prick mentality that has gotten the band snubbed by so many critics. Were you attracted to that idea?

Jessie: I saw it more as being playful than destructive. You can't take Kim as seriously as she seems. She's had some rough spots with a few men in general, and I can see where her aggression comes from. I, too, have had my bad run ins with those things of the male persuasion. I've made a few good friends of them, but only the ones who didn't find me attractive or the ones who were so desperate that they turned to being nice to get female attention.

AP: Speaking of female attention. Kim, when Gwen Tolden broke up with you, you pretty much derailed at the Stones Throw, but now that's on the way to becoming the best-selling bootleg of all time! Do you think the turmoil in your life is aiding your band's success, or would you ever want to live a less drama-queen existence someday?

Kim: Drama is nice. I never realized how nice it was until Stone's Throw, when I went so far over the top that even I am having troubles reconciling what went on that night. I don't think I want to create more tragedies in my life just to get off another show like that, but I think a small part of me is hoping and praying for some other extreme to toss me back up into the spotlight. I've been out for attention since I was a young girl, and I'll openly admit to that. Elke knows what I'm talking about; she's been with me since before either of us knew what our bodies were for.

AP: Would you like to add onto that, Elke?

Elke: Actually, I think she never started looking for attention until it became apparent to her that I was the one getting more attention. We were young teens then. She could never stand being less in the spotlight than me.

AP: I hear you're all working on a new album in the studio right now. Will any of it be colored by your breakup, Kim?

Kim: I don't know as of yet. The only song we have recorded right now is from a long time ago, but we didn't feel it fit on Torn Horses. It's actually written through the eyes of Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. I haven't written the entire album yet.

AP: I'm guessing it's usually an a&r man who usually chooses singles for groups. And whoever chose Ducking out of Danger didn't do half bad. But who in their right mind would choose Nice Shoes, Let's... as a band’s introductory single? Isn't that just sneering in the face of any possible success?

Kim: [James Carroway], back at Beggars, tries to give us some direction. He's quite used to the fact that I do what I will when I will. The poor bloke's got no other choice. He suggested Ducking out of Danger, I said okay, so long as I can put whatever song I want out first. Nice Shoes, Let's... actually made it rather high up the charts, considering its lack of radio play. See, the more controversial a song, the more likely people are to want to hear it. Say 'fuck' as often as you can, and it just gets the public's attention. Infamy is much better than just being famous.

AP: Chatha, you still seem rather fresh-faced and youthful. You don't seem bitter or anything at all. How'd you manage that?

Chata: Everyone takes thing so seriously, which I just don't get. Life is a game, that's how I think about it. Nothing really has to be all that big or anything. If you can't have fun, is there really any point at all?

AP: With that flair for fun, I also sense a sort of hostility among most of you. Is this group seething all the time, ready to erupt? I'd like each of you to comment on that. We'll start with you, Kim.

Kim: I don't see that much of a hostility between us. At least, some of us. There are tiffs now and then because I'm always taking up the role of the leader, and some of them don't like it all that much. I can cite one specific bandmate who refuses my ideas at every turn, but I'm not about to go naming names and poisoning her towards me even more.

AP: Heather? You're sort of shifting in your seat. What's your take on this?

Heather: I was the last to join this band, and I feel like I've been treated by an outsider by everyone except Elke ever since. Kim won't let me put in a single word or idea; she's like that with everyone, really. Everything has to be her way. She says she doesn't really care how much authority she has around us because we're all her friends and equals, but she definitely never acts it.

AP: Speaking of Elke, let’s change topics for a bit. I know you and Kim were best girlhood friends. Is that still true now that you're in a band?

Elke: We're on and off best friends, I guess you could say. I set her up with my ex girlfriend back when this band started, though, so we had reasons to fight since the beginning. Quite often. The fact that I brought our drummer in without her knowledge or permission sort of hurt us, too, but I'd still say we're rather good friends. It's just that we're making habit of hurting each other emotionally now instead of physically.

AP: That's what many of the male critics are saying, unfortunately. That this band can't last because it's all girls -- too much subterfuge and emotion. I mean, you've got men like Metallica who have been together for years, despite whatever skirmishes. And you don't see that too often with girl bands. I'm not sure I believe that, but that's what much of the press is saying. Kim, you look a little red in the face. Care to comment?

Kim: Just because we don't have pricks doesn't mean we're going to be ending any time soon! That's just stupid, ludicrous, and bloody well insulting! This band is going to keep on until I'm bloody well forced to quit it, and that's probably going to be at gunpoint. So we have a few bitch outs now and then, so what? Without a few good fights, tension will build until we all snap and all hate each other

AP: Well put. Now, Jessie -- I notice you sort of look uncomfortable whenever Kim gets riled up. In concert photos, you're seen playing your bass more to Kim than the audience. Is something going on between you two?

Jessie: I don't really think of Kim as anything other than a very unique, strong friend. She's the reason I'm in the band; I walked in for an audition and was immediately struck by how strong and how herself she is. I must admit, yes, that I have more an affinity for girls than boys, but I believe in a certain standpoint of Kim's, and believe that it should never be broken. There should be no romantic or physical relationships between bandmates. That will tear the band apart.

AP: The only reason I asked, Jessie, is you never see Geneveve playing to Kim. She's usually closer to Kim than you at first, too, but she faces the audience the whole show.  You saunter on over. But I can understand that you respect her.

Jessie: I like to watch Kim so I know if she's going to be doing something unexpected. The bass line is what holds our songs together; what holds most songs together. I need to know what she'll do.

AP: Moving on. Geneveve, despite your hair, you seem to be one of the quieter members of the group. Do you concentrate more on the music than whatever squabbles are going on?

Geneveve: I just try not to play favorites. At the beginning, I sided with Elke a lot. Actually, we were both against Chatha--and I'm sorry about this now, darling--entering the band. Since I found out that being that closed-minded was just the wrong thing to do, as Chatha's an amazing musician and she brought with her another amazing musician, I've tried to keep my mind completely open to everyone in the band. All in all, it's more fun to watch the cat fights than to partake. The music, also, is a nice focus.

AP: Now, Ebony. You're sort of in the background on the stage, despite your stellar keyboard work. Do you ever feel left out from the rest of the band, or is it a community sort of thing?

Ebony: I chose to be in the background, actually. It was a really short discussion that chose our places on the stage. Chatha, of course, gained free range, and we had to put Kim and the guitars up front. I don't really feel that the keyboard is such an important part of this band; it just adds an extra layer to the sound, so I just add an extra layer to the look; actually, a goth in the shadows does draw the eye. But we're sort of operating on a democracy. Most every decision is made by all of us.

AP: Do you agree with that statement, Heather?

Heather: I'm wondering if she's on drugs, actually. I'm told what rhythm to use, I'm told what speed to go, I'm told exactly how to do every little thing. Kim wanted a drum box, so she's treating me like a drum box.

AP: Then Kim, may I ask, why you don't use a drum box? Why the aggravation?

Kim: I wanted a drum box, Elke didn't. I kept telling her that The Sisters of Mercy did it, that Depeche Mode did it, that even the great Siouxsie Sioux had some run-ins with a drum box. But Elke got pissed off at me one night, so she headed off to bring back this drummer of ours, knowing full well she'd picked up the perfect little girl to antagonize me at every moment. A low class, uneducated, filthy little thing.

AP: Should I take it that your band doesn’t spend much time together aside from interviews and the studio?

Elke - And gigs. Kim lives in the same apartment building as Jessie, Chatha, and Ebony. Gen has yet to leave behind her latest boyfriend's house. I am splitting the rent on a flat with Heather. We're scattered around London, and it's a bloody big city. Seeing each other for the interviews, gigs, and studio sessions is quite enough. We'd kill each other with any more.

AP: I'm posing this question to Kim, but the rest of you feel free to jump in. You have this attitude that seems to say you despise your audience; you think they all just want to see you naked (which you oblige, mostly). If you hate the crowd so much, why do you play at all?

Kim: I want to get a point out. I want to be heard. Now, the first album was all shock so people would start listening. I just find it bloody sickening that the exact things the album should scare off are what come to watch our shows. I'll pretend they're not there, mostly, but I have to keep doing this, or I'll ... just have nothing to do with my life.

Elke: Yeah, the audience can be a bunch of pricks sometimes, but once you've hit it big, once you're signed, how do you back down?

AP: How do the rest of you feel about the crowd?

Chatha: A bunch of them are perverts, and if they really want to see bare chests, they can just watch TV after 10! But some of them are really there for the music, and that's rockin’.

Ebony: I usually don't consider the audience at all. I focus on the sounds of the drum and of Kim, and play off of their moods.

Geneveve: Well, as I'm up there at the edge of the stage, I'm a bit wary of the audience. Some of them throw things, and I've had one guitar seriously dented by a full beer can. You'd think they wouldn't want to destroy the instruments they're listening to.

Elke: Yeah, it's our job to destroy them! Well, at the end of a tour, at least. Seems to be the only time we can afford to smash guitars. But I don't really see all that much wrong with the audience, except for them being a bit rowdy and kind of horny.

Jessie: So I suppose that leaves me, though you have already commented on how I don't seem to play to the audience anyway. So we can leave it there.

AP: This band seems to like leaving out Heather.

Heather: I don't get much exposure to the audience, anyway. The drummer is always at the very back.

AP: Any idea when the new album is coming out? Or is it still in its formative stages?

Kim: I’m not sure about the date yet, I’m working on the feel. I want it to be more contemplative. I may even be writing songs with Jessie, but that's still up in the air. I'm really iffy about sharing a song with someone. I know that there is going to be some more serious content. [Torn Horses was serious] in a tongue in cheek way. It was all extreme, out there, and angry. There will be more contemplations and it will show that nobody is really as strong as the image that was put out throughout all of Torn Horses. I think the next one will be more the consequences of the egotistical, violent life in Torn Horses.

AP: How about the music? Jessie, I know you're usually the mind behind the tunes this outfit produces -- sometimes you even transcribe from bass to horns for Chatha. Do you see a musical shift with this new album?

Jessie: Musical is a very good word to use, actually. Yes, the first album was very chaotic, sometimes even touching on atonal--but what do you expect with the word 'punk' in mind when you put together a band? This next album will be much more musical. You'll get to hear Kim singing more than screaming, and she actually does have quite a nice voice for that. In general, I think this album will be slower, though Kim has shown me one or two songs that may rival the mood of Torn Horses.

AP: How many tracks have you cut so far?

Kim: As said prior, only one is complete. Darkling Asking, inspired by Wuthering Heights. I think it may be the opening to this album, setting the new mood of regret and maybe even introspection. We have bits and pieces for Forgetful Forgettable too, mostly the amazing bass line

AP: Sounds intriguing. I wish you all luck and continued success. Any final thoughts? From any of you?

Chatha: Yeah, I'd like to say hi to my mum, in case she's reading this. Could you say that for me?

AP: Sure. Anyone else?

Heather: Don't make Kim look any better than she is. I'm sick of how people do that.

AP: Kim, as the most visible member of the band and frontwoman, I think you should have the last words. What are they?

Kim: I'd like to hope that our next album will be out sometimes next year. We’ve all grown up a little; this being nearly 20 thing has really gotten to me, and I hope to do my best to show that I am a different person now.

AP: Different how?

Kim: I'm much more low key, if you could believe that. And having that one-year break from dealing with guys and sex with guys has actually lightened my opinion of them.

AP: Do you see yourself ever going back to men?

Kim: Emotionally? I might, just to see how it goes over, but then again I might not. It depends. It will take time for me to get with anyone, man or woman. We'll see when it happens.

- written by Nora Wild, of Alternative Press

Interview written as a collaboration with Mike Chmielecki.
 

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