And now, The Opposite Sex.
BIO
To mirror the identity of the times, The Opposite Sex express a shocking vision of dark beauty in a world to come. They are a post-punk band with a dark pop sense. Their live performances are a charged exploration of theater & sound.
The band has been characterized as having an "atmosphere of lurking hope, with an air of excitement " by Drop Dead magazine. At a recent live show BigTakeover magazine described their performance as "arresting post-punk, complete with a slightly saucy glam stomp".
Upon their e.p. release in late 2005, they were invited to play Drop Drop Dead Festival 4 (nyc), as well as Winterfest '07 & Popnoise 3 in Philadelphia. Displaying the band's versatility they recently performed a spring fashion event for the well known designer Betsey Johnson.
INTERVIEW
(The following questions were answered by Shawn, the band's singer)
What is your music background? Did you play instruments growing up?
- I know that Dave played different instruments growing up and I think Paul had a guitar which was later destroyed by his father at a young age. I (Shawn) have no background in music. I don't think any of us played the french horn!
Growing up, how did music play a role in your childhood/adolescence?
- Escape, a place with new worlds, a place where you could find yourself and forget about everything.
What other activities / things do you enjoy doing when not playing music?(hobbies, crafts, events, eating, family)
- Impersonating worker bees! Certainly eating fits in there somewhere too.
Who are your favorite musicians?
- The Doors, MoodyBlues, Gordon Lightfoot,
Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cure.....and so many others.
How did the band start? Who had the idea and why?
- Paul...the scondrel... he's the one to blame. We had watched others...and finally it was our time.
How would you describe your music to people?
- We are a Post-punk band with a dark pop sense. Our live performances are an exorcism on the pysche.
There are no Boundaries.
Are you happy with the direction the band is going right now? What is the current goal of the band?
- Yes, we've become unhinged....a real primal expression going on right now, but, still a strong emphasis on melody and song arrangement.
How do you balance your music with your other parts of life (job, family)?
- Its very difficult, as everyone in the band has a full time job. We make it work because we know whats at stake.
Growing up, did you want to be a rockstar or did you consider other careers?
- I did one of those tests in grade school that said I would be better off cleaning toilets. According to the IRS, our music career does not exist.
What is the greatest compliment anyone has ever paid to you regarding your art work? What about the greatest insult? How should an artist respond to such compliments and insults? Is it easier to talk about the compliment or the insult?
- The greatest compliment would be that something you've done has deeply affected someone creatively speaking. As far as insults go...criticism can be a good thing when it comes to exmaining art....You have to get a sense for the persons intensions......and make sure its not some self serving abuse. I think its a challenge for people not familiar with our genre of music to grasp the intensity.
What causes artistic blocks? What do you do to solve them?
- Thankfully we have a collective process and don't face the burden of writing on our own. We suffer more from the lack of time to secure ideas. Relaxation...just trusting yourself something will eventually come. Thats the curse of it all. Stimulating yourself in different ways creatively outside of what you do is key.
If you could play a show with any band, past or present, who would it be? What music would you want them to perform?
- Any seminole post-punk band would be great. We recently played with Bunnydrums earlier this year.
What are you trying to do to people with your art? Inspire them? Move them? Educate them?
- Hopefully all of those things...but, the trick is you make them come to terms with those things on their own.
Where do you see the band in the next few years?
- Traveling across the country like some dark carnival.
How would you like to see the local music scene change? (venues, fans, other bands) Do we need to have better venues? Better ways of booking shows? Which way do you find best to get fans to come out to shows? (word of mouth / internet / flyers)
- Where should I begin?.... It's a strange place in DC these days....everyone is operating independently fighting over scrapes of old meat. The venues found a way to secure a place in hell by booking as many DJ events as possible, In turn, making it next to impossible for bands to build a bigger fan base.
We have taken to playing specialty events in town to gain more exposure. Such as, playing fashion events and art openings....basically organizing our own events. We primarily play out of town throughout the year...places like New York, Richmond, Philly and Baltimore. We do everything we can to market shows. When it comes to business, art is always secondary to money.
WEBLINKS
http://www.myspace.com/theoppositesex (official myspace page)
http://www.oppositesexmusic.com/ (official domain : under construction)
Buy The Opposite Sex albums from the following vendors :
http://www.hungryeyerecords.com/store.html
http://www.dischord.com/
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