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AN INTERVIEW WITH....
JESSICKA FROM SCARLING WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM GAREY AND CHRISTIAN.

SO, APART FROM YOU, WHO ELSE IS IN SCARLING AND WHAT DOES EACH MEMBER DO?
J: We Just had a member change. Ask me who does what in a month. Garey: drums & Christian one of our guitarists will throw their 2 cents in this interview where necessary.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO CALL YOURSELF SCARLING?
J: Scarling. was a name I came up with during the final days in JOJ. It means: 1- the smallest mark on your heart left by the healing of a severe injury. 2- he or she who is scarred densely; almost emotionless. 3- a mentally challenged/physically handicapped sibling of a normal star. 4- a band from Los Angeles. My band mate Christian and I thought that this name was appropriate because of the ways that both our former bands had ceased to exist and how had we felt scarred by them.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE OF MUSIC?
J: It's so hard to describe your our sound so I tell you what I think and list some things others have said. Right now I think we sound like Sonic Youth on Paxil crashing violently into the pearly gates of heaven.
" I've always thought your sound was Fleetwood Mac meets Love and Rockets in the Deepest Bowels of Hell....."
"like a combination of My Bloody Valentine, the Cure, and Sabbath with Jessicka's signature vocal style, if Subpop had put it out in its label's prime. Crucial music for real music connoisseurs", "Indie goth pop, dark noise or just plain good stuff", "Sigur Ros meets Babes In Toyland in Robert Smith's garage." And everybody's favorite, like "the Cure with bigger distortion pedals and a violent case of PMS"
WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
J: Lydia Lunch, PJ Harvey, Babes In Toyland, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth,Curve,The Cure, Boy George/Cuture Club, Shudder To Think, The Melvins, the Jesus & Mary Chain . Painteens, Syd Barret, Babes In Toyland (very diverse)
C: My Bloody Valentine, Loop, Cure, Blur, Curve, Sonic Youth, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Jesus & Mary Chain, Swervedriver, Radiohead, Portishead, etc,.etc., (I think you get the point)
G:The Swans, Sisters of Mercy, Cure, Rozz Williams C-death,Tones on Tail,Joy Division, Boris Williams,(Ex Drummer for The Cure) BUDGIE!!! (Siouxie and The Banshees.) ,Bowie etc.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH JACK OFF JILL? I MEAN, WHY DID YOU SPLIT UP?
J: A lot of people have asked this question *what happened to JOJ?* I'd like to be brutally honest but I fear that later it might come back and bite me in the ass. So I'll give you the edited "Highlights Magazine" version. For a long time Robin and I had not been getting along. I honestly don't know for how long or why it started. She often felt like she deserved more credit then she received in JOJ. I know this frustrated her and because of our background and age difference we slowly began to grow apart. During the recording of Clear Hearts Grey Flowers our differences were starting to affect our working relationship. This Is half the reason Michelle Inhell departed for the second time. Although maybe things could have been salvaged, the pressure of finishing an album, our record company's shady financial deals and emanate collapse, and her need to gain more financial compensation and recognition made the rift between us irreparable. Early 2000: (After trying to sell our band for ludicrous amounts of money to major labels Risk Records files for bankruptcy and hands our album over to their Atlanta office 404 records. This leaves CHGF with no promotion, no A&R ,no street team, no money- yet incredibly it still sells every single record they pressed).
August of 2000: (I'm frustrated with the record industry and vow never to be in another band. JOJ officially breaks up.)
Since this we've gone our separate ways. I stayed in Los Angeles to form scarling. and she moved to Detroit and got married. Afterwards, I later found out that she still has a lot of hard feelings. That is a shame because I have no regrets except that I would have left that bad situation sooner. But there is something that really irks me at this point: the fact that she surrounds herself with opportunists that try to make the situation between us more volatile. But we all have to decide what makes us happy, I guess. The one amazing thing that came out of Robin and my split is that I reconnected with Tenni and Michelle from JOJ's original line up. We finally got a chance to air out a lot of our old dirty laundry and found that a lot of JOJ's problems had stemmed from our old bass player's insecurities. But with that said, still the original lineup was quite magic. I wish more people could have seen it. September 2001: scarling. a scar is born/bourne
ARE YOU STILL FRIENDS WITH THE REST OF THE BAND?
J: It varies from person to person. It's weird, the more time has passed the better my relationship is with certain members. I saw Tenni and Michelle 2 years ago when I went home to Florida for Christmas and it was a really great experience. We finally got to talk about EVERYTHING.. How they felt slighted by Robin and myself but as we talked we realized there was more miscommunication then anything. Then we ended up sitting around doing a lot of "What ifs?" I still think the orginal line up was the most brilliant. I don't speak to Jeff (Ho Ho Spade) or Laura ( Lauracet Simpson) And I actually haven't since they were fired from/left the band. ( depending on who you talk to) They had so many problems with their relationship, mostly fueled by drug abuse, and in the end they became more liabilities then friends or bandmates. I hoped that they had gotten their shit together but after watching that atrocity "Demystifying The Debil", it seemed as if they were still using and complete pissed off at me and with each other. You know what they say: "You can't teach old dogs new tricks". Robin... This is a really sticky situation. I thought that eventually everything would simmer down and be OK, but the Internet and opportunists from her camp have made it very difficult to bury the hatchet. I think they believe if they fuel a feud between us it will gain them some sort of recognition. Honestly, even if I went head-to-head with her it wouldn't gain them any more fans or make their music any more then what it is. What can I say, maybe someday we'll be able to play the "What if" game but I doubt it will be anytime soon. Last but certainly not least, Even though Hellen Storer came in at the tail end of JOJ, I consider her one of my best friends and think her new band Thee Heavenly Music Association is quite fantastic. All and all, each member of JOJ were instrumental in getting us noticed at least on a small scale. In retrospect I doubt I'd do anything differently. JOJ certainly ran its course musically and emtionally in my opinion.
WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE JACK OFF JILL SONG?
J:Clear Heart Grey Flowers
JACK OFF JILL SPLIT ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO NOW. WHAT YOU BEEN UP TO IN THAT TIME?
J: I kept myself pretty busy the year and a half between bands. Here goes if my memory serves me correctly. Right after the demise of JOJ, I started working with Messy, a Los Angeles based project created by Kevin Haskins (a founding member of Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, and Tones on Tail) and Doug DeAngelis, a producer/musician from NYC on a project called Messy. After Messy I worked on a video game soundtrack with Chris Vrenna called American McGee's "Alice" http://www.alice.ea.com/main.html.
On a trip back to Florida I recorded vocals on a dream pop/shoegaze track called "Last Day In June" written by my friend Howard Melnick from the promising blank wave pop band Fashionista. We decided to call the project Honey To Ash.. www.honeytoash.com.
After my melding of the minds with Honey To Ash, I was lucky enough to work on a few trip hop songs with the lovely Miss Samantha Maloney. The one I'm most proud of is called "6.am"; it's amazing. Her solo stuff is going to be a serious breath of fresh air or punch in the face to the electronic/free style communities. After working with Sam I was really wanting to get back in the studio preferable with some of my girlfriends. Since we all lived in the same city (some of us in the same building) and were all either on hiatus or reforming our current projects we decided to do Project X. Because we never got as far as naming it, it currently stays Project X -very mysterious) This is a little project I started working on with Nadja from Coal Chamber, Harry , Anna K.and Martina Axen From Drain STH (now Superfix), and Helen Storer from Fluffy/ Thee Heavenly Music Association. We started to work on some cover songs together as a big all female super group but in usual supergroup fashion the project got put on the back burner because we all had to return to our own respective bands. I really hope this project comes to fruition. I think it would be fun to see what we all came up with. It also gives us all a chance to catch up, now that everybody is so busy.
'BAND AID COVERS THE BULLET HOLE' IS THE FIRST RELEASE FROM SCARLING. WHAT IS THE TRACK ABOUT?
J: It's actually about a dream I had about a toothache. I go to the dentist and when I awake, I have a strange pain in my head. A botched Lobotomy or a nitrous nightmare? Think Tony Montana from Scarface wearing Strawberry Shortcake's dress "Say Hello to my little friend?" Basically it ends in a bizarre killing spree.
HOW WILL UK FANS BE ABLE TO GET HOLD OF IT?
J: Try Cargo UK. Records or your local record stores that carry vinyl.
Online you can still purchase the record from Sympathy for the Record Industry and Mordam Distribution.
http://www.mordamrecords.com http://www.sympathyrecords.com
AS YET, DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS TO RELEASE AN ALBUM?
J: Yes, sometime at the end of June.
ANY PLANS TO GO ON TOUR YET OR PLAY ANY OF THE SUMMER FESTIVALS?
J: Not yet.
HAVE SCARLING PLAYED MANY GIGS YET?
J:Yes, we toured with The Start last summer, did Ladyfest L.A. and played with Rasputina last October. Since then we have been mixing our record on and off.
WHAT ARE BEST/ WORST PARTS ABOUT TOURING?
J: Best parts- playing and meeting fans. Worst- road food and van insomnia.
DO YOU GET NERVOUS BEFORE GOING ON STAGE?
J: Sometimes, nothing a shot of Jose Cuervo won't fix.
YOU HAVE PLAYED WITH LOTS OF BANDS. WHO HAVE YOU MOST ENJOYED PLAYING WITH AND WHY?
J: Most recently I really enjoyed playing with Rasputina. Perhaps because I am such a big fan of the band and find what they do with cellos most fascinating. Every band I've played with has been pretty enjoyable even bands that I thought sucked added so comedic joy to my life.
IF YOU COULD PLAY ALONGSIDE ANY OTHER BAND PRESENTLY, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
J: Either Interpol or Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club. Interpol because I love the band and my old friend from Florida Sam is the drummer and BRMC because I'd never get sick of hearing *As Sure As The Sun*, *Love Burns*, and *Red Eyes And Tears* every night. Not to mention Nick Jago........ :)
WHAT DO YOUR FANS MEAN TO YOU?
J: I really like our fans. They are the reason we tour and makes the live scarling. experience very enjoyable.
WHAT IS THE STRANGEST PRESENT A FAN HAS BOUGHT FOR YOU?
J: A crown made of razor blades, I guess. It was actually very cool. Hard to wear though unless you are Christ.
WHAT FIRST INSPIRED YOU TO PICK UP A GUITAR AND FORM A BAND?
C: I never truly felt like I fit in with anyone or any group of people before I started playing music, I always felt lost & kinda bored. Then a friend of mine showed me his guitar that actually had a small amp built right into the front of it (I think it may have even been a Les Paul knock off from Sears). All he could do with it at the time was annoy his mom with REALLY LOUD feedback & static. It was then when I thought.... this is for me. I think I'd have to also blame my sister for showing me an AC/DC record with Angus Young stabbed by a guitar (If You Want Blood), that may have had something to do with it as well. Then of course I started listening to The Cure, Ride, Sonic Youth, Black Sabbath, etc. & instantly I couldn't put the guitar down. ........I've been cursed ever since.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE THINKING ABOUT STARTING UP A BAND?
J: My only advice is please be who you want to be and write your own music, music that touches you. Take risks, make bold statements, and be original, if you don't you'll always wonder what if and regret it. Don't be ashamed or afraid because you don't fit into what some people consider convectional beauty standards.
This goes for men and women! Demand that they talk about your music not your ass and how it looks in jeans. Don't let anybody (labels, journalist, writers, fans) tell you about your appearance, music, or career... see it for yourself. Listen to yourself more often, you'll find you are usually correct. And Lastly, Although I believe you should always stand up for yourself, I've learned very recently to pick your battles wisely. You can't fight everyone and everything that may not approve of your art. You will get an ulcer. You can only chip away at mediocrity and hope that some intelligent people pay attention.

ALL QUESTIONS BY MR MARTYN,

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