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AN INTERVIEW WITH...
PERFORMANCE.

SO WHO IS IN PERFORMANCE AND WHAT DOES EACH MEMBER DO?
Joe Cross (electronics) Laura Marsden (guitar/bass/vocals) Billie Marsden (keyboards/vocals) Joe Stretch (lead vocals)
HOW DID YOU ALL MEET AND COME TO FORM A BAND TOGETHER?
Joe S: I've known Joe since school and Laura and Billie used the same womb, at different times though. After that it's complicated and rather sensitive. I guess the four of us were united by sound, sex and a couple of good ideas.
IS IT STRANGE HAVING SISTERS IN THE BAND?
Joe S: Not really, in fact, no. Laura?
Laura: No.
Joe C: No then, it's not strange.
WHAT DID YOU GET EACH OTHER FOR CHRISTMAS?
Joe S: Nothing, oh no, Laura bought Joe and I a rather elegant bust of Appolo.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE OF MUSIC?
Laura: Good.
Joe C: Mathematical shards of disco.
Joe S: Good mathematical shards of disco.
WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
Joe C: Early everyone.
Laura: Wire, Ladytron, Kraftwerk.
Joe S: Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen.
WHERE DID THE NAME PERFORMANCE COME FROM?
Joe S: All the world's a stage, Performance is everywhere from sex to war.
Joe C: and the Mick Jagger film.
IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN A LIFETIME OF FREE AND AVAILABLE SEX OR A LIFETIME OF FREE AND AVAILABLE BOOZE AND FAGS, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
Laura: Impossible to choose - actually booze and fags, sex is always free and available.
Joe S: I think either would be fine, providing there were hot and cold taps and a variety of expertly apulstered furniture.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE BAND PINK GREASE?
Laura: Evil geniuses, a sinister congregation of bond villains.
Joe S: We're confident we're their biggest fans.
DO YOU GET NERVOUS BEFORE GOING ON STAGE?
Laura: No, except Joe who gets psycho scared.
Joe S: yeh I get uncontrolably nervous, I tend to vommit four to five times prior to taking the stage. Porcelain is my confesser, no one else understands.
HOW DO YOU STRUCTURE YOUR SET?
Joe S: In accordance with songs we've written and like to play. We tend to play quite a good song first, then we work through all our shit ones, but we always make an effort to end with something vaguely memorable.
WHICH TRACK DO YOU MOST ENJOY PERFORMING?
Laura: Female Gaze. What do you think Joe?
Joe S: I think the same as you.
Laura: Female Gaze yeh?
Joe S: Yes. Female Gaze.
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU DO AFTER A GIG?
Laura: Start filling the void, drink and drugs help.
Joe S: Depends entirely on the quality of the gig.
WILL YOU BE PLAYING ANY OF THE SUMMER FESTIVALS?
Laura: Doubtful, but would love to.
DOES EATING CHEESE GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES?
Joe S: Depends entirely on the quality of the cheese.
Laura: That's right, the intensity of the dream relates directly to the quality and quantity of cheese consumed.
Joe S: Sometimes I wake up drenched in goats milk, if I've been binge cheesing.
Joe C: No he doesn't. Shit question.
MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY, WHICH OF THE SONGS YOU'VE WRITTEN IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
Joe C: Musically 'Straight Lines'.
Joe S: Lyrically 'Love Life'. Both are yet to see the light of day though.
WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER DOING ANY COVERS?
Joe S: We do already, we cover 'Janey Jones' by The Clash.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT YOU COULD MAKE AS A BAND?
Joe C: We'd like to make an album, beyond that, imortality.
Joe S: We'd like to break silences with finesse, break them in new and meaninful ways.
YOU�RE DEBUT SINGLE IS CALLED �DOTTED LINE�. WHAT IS THE TRACK ABOUT?
Joe S: We were trying to capture the thoughtlessness and subordinance of lyrics in much contemporary music, so it's a satire I guess.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS TO RELEASE AN ALBUM ANYTIME SOON?
Joe S: Yes.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD?
Joe C: Oh some piece of shit...Rent a Ghost, Thundercats, Gummy Bears.
YOU�RE FROM MANCHESTER. WHAT IS THE MUSIC SCENE LIKE THERE AT THE MOMENT?
Joe C: Manchester's split into indie and electro territories, The Vox are the pick of the former while decent electro acts tend to congregate around Valentine Records. In terms of commercial success, watch out for Oceansize and The Longcut.
IS THE BAND NOW YOUR FULL TIME CAREER OR DO YOU STILL HAVE OTHER JOBS TOO?
Joe S: Joe was a Butcher for half an hour recently but now does the music full time. The rest of us have part time jobs or study.
WHICH DO YOU ENJOY DOING THE MOST� WRITING SONGS, RECORDING THEM OR PLAYING THEM LIVE?
Laura: Close call between writing and performing, probably performing.
Joe S: When we write songs we argue, when we record them we get bored, when we play them live we love it.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TV SHOWS SUCH AS POP IDOL AND FAME ACADEMY?
Joe C: Butcherers of songs and lives.
WHAT FIRST MADE YOU WANT TO PICK UP A GUITAR AND JOIN/FORM A BAND?
Joe C: Keith Richards.
Laura: Thought I'd be good at it.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE THINKING ABOUT STARTING UP A BAND?
Joe S: Practice and have good ideas.
Laura: Don't bother learning scales.

ALL QUESTIONS BY SCREAMING TARTS.

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