with
conducted by chris beyond, 10/16/02
Sing Sing is a new band fronted by Lisa O'Neill and guitarist Emma Anderson (you may know her from her last band LUSH). There is definitely a new wave-y kind of feel to this new project and their song "Panda Eyes" has made a few appearances on No-Fi "Radio" so far. This interview with lead singer Lisa O'Neill was conducted at The Troubadour in West Hollywood during a break in their soundcheck. (How many interviews are we going to do at The Troubadour anyway?)
L = Lisa O'Neill (Sing Sing Singer)
C = Chris Beyond (Interviewer)
C: Ok, maybe it's obvious, but where did the name "Sing Sing" come from?
L: Uh, well, there's two girls and we both sing and it was very pretty and we just liked the sound of it...and we also liked it because it sounds pretty, but it's also a prison and we kinda' liked the twist and apparently Sing Sing prison has a lot of jazz musicians holed up there so it's kinda' got a musical connection there are well. Sing Sing is a lot about the singing and the vocal harmony so that's kinda' reflected in the name as well.
C: What is your favorite store sign in Camden? Cuz I heard that's where the band got together...
L: There's a really good boot...a huge cowboy boot outside one of the shops and that's pretty cool. but there's loads of them. D'y'know I don't really like Camden much anymore. I hardly ever go there. I usually go to Notting Hill if I'm gonna go to the market. I go to Portabellow...that's my favorite.
C: (laughing) I like the cat, though.
L: You like the what?
C: The cat. The creepy cat that's like that. (I go like that.)
L: Oh, yeah! Yeah, yeah.
C: I was there last September.
L: You've got a better memory than I have. I just remember the big boot.
C: I don't remember that. I remember the plane.
L: I don't remember the plane.
C: Ah! Why are English people so afraid of people with "ginger" hair?
L: You know I think that's really pretty SHIT. It's a nasty thing and I don't understand it at all. I love ginger hair...and I think it's just an excuse for being nasty about people. No, I love ginger hair. We call them "ging-ers." I have many a ging-er in my own family. My mother has ginger hair.
C: So we LIKE the "ging-ers." What's the weirdest or worst thing you've ever seen while on tour?
L: The weirdest thing... The worst thing I saw was when we were driving from Seattle to Portland. This was just two days ago. We were driving along fine and, um, a truck in front of us had a fridge and a washing machine in the back and the washing machine FLEW out of the back of the truck just in front of us and skidded down the road towards us, sparks coming off it and everything and we swerved and avoided it luckily, but that was the worst thing. The weirdest thing was some guy standing on the side of the road in Seattle with a cowboy hat on a really old guy and he's holding a big sign saying "Thank god for hamburgers." That was it! That was his day job.
C: Do you like to eat the meat or are you a vegetarian?
L: No, I'm a carnivore. I love eating meat. No, I thought about vegetarianism, but I figured if I gave up eating meat, I'd have to give up wearing leather as well and I'm a shoe lover and a handbag lover so that would be very difficult for me...more difficult than giving up bacon sandwiches.
C: I want to be a vegetarian very bad...it's just hard. I have two hardcore vegetarian friends (talking to the tape recorder) actually you're not very hardcore, are you, because you eat fish!
L: That's another thing! See, there you go! How many vegetarians do you know that eat fish and they have no explanation for it. It's just cause fish aren't as pretty as little piglets and chickens and it's very hypocritical so therefore my argument is eat everything.
C: Eat it all! Um...Have you ever held a monkey?
L: I've never held a monkey, why?
C: (sad) Ahhhh. One day. One day...you're big and famous. There'll be monkeys everywhere. If you were allowed to bring only one album on a dessert island, what would you do with all the rest of your records?
L: (laughs) What would I do with the others? I'd take them to a charity shop. Actually, no,...I'd give them to my little brothers so that they could have a bit of an education. That's what I'd do to them. I'd distribute them to my siblings.
C: I deem that to be the correct answer.
L: (smiling) Yes.
C: Um, if one of our readers won a contest to hang out with Sing Sing for a day, what's the first thing they would learn about you?
L: Um, uh...that I like marmite. Because probably the first thing I would do in the morning is make toast and marmite for them with a cup of tea and...I don't know. They'd probably just find out that I'm really nice.
C: Ahhhh! That's sweet too. Do you have any secrets you can tell us?
L: Secrets. My secrets. Um....um...um... Oh god. I have an Irish stepfather, an American step-grandmother, and a French Vietnamese stepmother. There you go.
C: You know, I was actually hoping that you wouldn't tell us cuz now we know that you're a bad secret keeper. (silence) Sorry. But you're nice.
(Lisa smiles)
C: Which Star Wars character do you relate to and why?
L: Jabba The Hutt...because he's hyper-lazy.
C: (laughing) Yes, JUST like you. I can tell. (still laughing) Name five reasons why people should buy your record.
L: Good, good, good, good, and good.
C: Well...well...DAMN! You beat me!
L: What did you want?
C: (laughing) Whatever answer you gave me! Ok, what are your closing words of wisdom for our No-Fi "Readers"?
L: Eat more fruit.
After the interview Sing Sing's manager Jo invites me to check out the soundcheck which was great as was their show that evening. You can find their debut album in stores everywhere.
(Special thanks to Sheila Breen at Tag Team Media and Jo Lenardi at Flea Marketing for their help in getting us this interview)
SIng Sing's website can be found at: www.sing-sing.co.uk
