Interview for Noizefront

General Questions:

What are you up to these days?

MVK: ABP…Always be Promoting.

LS: Programming and planning.

KIKI: Plotting new bass lines.


What is your one true passion?

MVK: The journey of the soul. Music is how the soul speaks. Makes it easier to ask for directions.

LS: Other than Mistress Victoria? The tribal energy of good music, played at high volumes in a room full of people who are captivated by the sound. Whether I'm involved with making the music, or simply a member of the audience, it's the place I most like to be.

KIKI Always the music, weither its ours or any of my favorites. I will never loose that passion.


What did you want to be when you were younger?

MVK: I spent most of my time as a kid putting on performances in the living room, usually long musicals with costumes I acquired from my grandmother's closet. I'd involve my friends but they were more like props. They didn't know the words and probably didn't care. My Barbies would go clubbing. I had a hand-me-down orange quadraphonic stereo and this rotating multi colored light - so my Sonny and Cher would go dancing with Wonder Woman and end up naked (If my Mom walked in I would tell her I was changing their clothes, I thought I was a genius for thinking that up). Wonder Woman's outfit was painted on, so she never got much action. Besides I didn't know what action was. I haven't changed much except I found friends that like to get involved in the musical performances and I figured out what action was.

LS: Earlier in life, I wanted to be a writer. But I found it unsatisfying to sit alone in a room, dreaming up fantastic experiences for fictional characters. I wanted to have those experiences myself.

KIKI I really wanted to be a race car driver you know follow the foot steps of my Dad, but then i found out i had good rythm . But still to this day when i do grow up, i really want to be a Rockstar .


Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

MVK - Two earrings in both ears, one nose ring, a closed hole in my belly button that got infected, I've had two sets of nipple rings that worked their way out both times. They were gorgeous when I had them. Those have since healed back to normal (although they are more sensitive now - in a good way). I'd do it again if I thought they'd stay in. No tattoos, I know what I want, just have rather invested the money in equipment instead.

LS: No. My interests and aesthetics are constantly evolving and changing. There were several ideas for tattoos that I've had in the past. I'm glad I didn't get them because they wouldn't represent what I'm about now. Some people have asked why I don't have a tattoo of the band's logo. It's because every time I've painted our logo on an equipment case, the gear inside ended up being damaged or becoming obsolete.

KIKI Ive dabbled in both areas.


Where do you see yourself in ten years time and what would you like to have achieved?

MVK: I think we all know the answer. I'd like to tour all over the world with the band, play big audiences, sell lots of CD's and experience things that only a few have ever experienced.

LS: I'd like to have the power to introduce new bands to the world. To create an army of musicians to challenge blandness and clichés.

KIKI To have many , many memories of traveling the world with my bestfriends MVK and LS sharing our music to everyone. And maybe to have a home in the south of France .


Musical Questions:

How did you get started in the music industry?

MVK: A group of our friends wanted to start playing music. We thought it was a great idea so we all got together every week and practiced. Eventually we started playing bigger and bigger shows. We saw it had potential so we started to take it seriously. That's when everyone around us got less dependable. Long story short we switched members and now we all know what we need to do and we are all focused on doing it. Every show we play gets us closer to the ultimate plan.

LS: I've been playing guitar and making electronic instruments since I was 13. Originally, playing music was a reaction to living in a town with nothing to do for young people. You either had to form a band or spend your time getting drunk and having babies. The choice was obvious to me.

KIKI I messed around with my Bass for several years til i fell in the lap of Spanking Machine and well the rest is beautiful history.


What are you musical influences?

MVK I’ve always loved electronic music. My love for Duran Duran turned into a love for Nitzer Ebb which then blossomed into a love for Icon of Coil, VNV and Apop. I also love the harsher stuff like Grendel, Panzer AG and Combichrist. I'm into Industrial mostly, but all the bands I adore are synth pop or trance. It just can't get too fluffy or I'll hate it. I really appreciate when a song can be raw and honest emotionally.
I recently realized my favorite is Depeche Mode. I watched 101, took out all my old cd's and remix records and still love everything. They managed to work weird electronic sounds into love songs and do it perfectly. Dave Gahan's voice is unbelievable along with Martin Gore's lyrics. I admire those guys, including Alan Wilder. All of them are still at it too. Who knew leather hats, chest harnesses, baby faces and suspenders would be such a winning combination?

LS: Growing up in a backward town, I was only exposed to corporate rock and metal. But my eyes really opened up when one of my friends moved to San Francisco and invited me to come visit. We went to this all ages club, which was in Menlo Park or some other bedroom suburb. But to me, it was like walking into Ministry of Sound. I heard bands like The Cure, Human League, Depeche Mode, New Order and Dead or Alive for the first time. I was completely blown away that so many musicians could feel the same way I did. It began a lifelong obsession with electronic dance music.

KIKI Nitzer Ebb, Front 242 , Marilyn Manson Just a few of whom ive given alot of hours to of listening. Also Lord Spanky is one of my Influences .


What does the future hold for Spanking Machine?

MVK: The future is bright for us. Is it presumptuous to know with every cell in your body that this has to be? I've never felt so sure of anything, except when I met Lord Spanky and Kiki. I just know. It is that that is.

LS: In the near future, we're working on putting out some dance remixes and taking our show outside Southern California. In the long term, I'd like to be one of the bands that unites all the factions of the dark electronic music scene. It seems every week, someone invents a new little subgenre that serves to further fracture an already small scene. I'd like our shows to be a gathering of people from all sides of the genre.

KIKI the future holds so much, and we are all more that ready to have it all.


Your favourite song that you have written and why?

MVK I love them all differently. Emotional Vampire is the mantra that taught me the most. Sometimes songs slowly reveal themselves. Two years later it clicked. I wasn't singing about a specific person, I was singing about a way of being. It's hard to describe. Now when I perform that one it is a whole different experience and the cd does not remotely do justice to the live version. Rectify is one of my favorites. It’s such a simple sentiment. If I had to chose just one it is Konstruct. Can't explain particularly why. Maybe it is because I never saw the beauty in myself until I wrote that song.

LS: For me, it's Game. I'm really happy with the programming and the lyrics deeply resonate with me. It elegantly puts into sound and words something I've been feeling for a long time.


Your favourite song to perform?

MVK: I love them all. Rectify is probably my favorite though, it's just really fun to sing and a bit challenging.

LS: I'd say Rectify. It's one where my guitar can really play off what Victoria is singing.

KIKI Favorite Slave, i like the way our audience reacts to this one.


How would you describe your music?

MVK: That's a good question. I'm finding out that we are not easily categorized. I thought we were Industrial synth pop. But then I've been told that we solidly fit into Electro or EBM. Hell, I don't know but I'm glad we don't sound like everything else out there. We started the band because we were sick of all the same songs over and over and over. Boredom is a great motivator.

LS: I agree. I don't think we fit solidly into any one genre. Which is the reason it's been hard to get a label deal. I like to simply think of us as dark electronic dance music.

KIKI Super Sexy Sounds


Do you have any future tour plans in the works?

MVK: We are talking with another band about touring the South East. But the hurricanes have been making that a bit difficult.

LS: We're working to put together some US tour dates in the near future. As an independent band, without rich parents, money is always the problem. But CD sales are starting to take off and we plan to invest a lot of that money into a tour.


Where would you most like to perform?

MVK: Right now I'd love to play the Agra warehouse at the Wave Gothic Festival at prime time on a Saturday Night. That would be fantastic.

LS: Amsterdam. It's simply my favorite place in the world.

KIKI In the German Cake Universe of course...............


Name one band you'd like to tour with?

MVK: I've always liked Covenant, but who knows what they'd be like every day on a tour. That's the problem, it's not just the music. It's the personalities and egos that can make touring tough.

LS: Depeche Mode. But, realistically, anyone in our scene with a good attitude and proper grooming habits – sloppy bottoms need not apply.


Playtime:

What do you do to relax?

MVK: After this weekend I realized that to fully relax I dress up as porn star Vashenka Von Kilavitch, Russian KGB. This usually means that Lord Spanky puts on his sandals and Trans Am t-shirt and becomes Lance Dickmore and Kiki aka Taylor Fontlee dons her rollerskates. Then we dance for 8 hours and drink blow-jobs. Don't ask me about the Cleveland Steamer.

LS: Relax? Not likely for the next year or so.


What is your favourite movie and why?

MVK: I have a trilogy. The Matrix, Fight Club and Fear and Loathing. All of them are essentially about the same thing. Breaking free from the rules and regulations of society and being yourself.

LS: I agree with that trilogy. I also love the movie Goodfellas. Endless great quotes for all situations.


What is the one CD you can't live without?

MVK: There is one I treasure above all others. It is my CD with "Come Alive" by Nitzer Ebb. I also treasure my Recoil CD.

LS: If I had to pick one, it would be "Welcome to Earth" by Apoptygma Bezerk. I've literally worn out two copies of it. It came out during a really hard time in my life and the lyrics really spoke to me. Also, it was so inspiring to see melody, sentimentality and originality being brought back into the dark music scene.

KIKI Oh no dont make me pick!!!!!


What one CD should never have been made?

MVK: Anything that is currently played on mainstream American radio or American MTV.

LS: Our first EP, "The Homemaker's Guide to Electric Sex". I'm a lot more critical with our work than other artists because I know what we're capable of creating.


Who are you favourite, current and old school, bands?

MVK: Spanking Machine, Diva Destruction, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Nitzer Ebb, RECOIL, Covenant, Seabound, Eon, VNV, APB, Imperative Reaction, Icon of Coil, Lords Of Acid, Formula Redux, Panzer AG, Informatik, De/Vision, Wolfsheim, Cut Rate Box, Front 242, Hocico, And One, Fictional, Frontline Assembly, Lustral, Clan of Xymox, In Strict Confidence, Assemblage 23, Funker Vogt, Juno Reactor, Faithless, Suicide Commando, Grendel, Lisa Lashes, Darude, Four Strings, Armin Van Buuren, Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, Timo Maas, Absurd Minds, Meat Beat Manifesto, Ministry, Velvet Acid Christ, Wumpscut, Die Form, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, Duran Duran, Combichrist, Siouxie, Concrete Blonde, Cure, Bjork, Wayne G, Leaether Strip...in no particular order.

LS: I love all the ones mentioned above. I'm a fan of musicians with interesting synthesizer programming. I know a lot of the tricks of the trade and really get bored with derivative or stock sounds. If a song has lyrics, I like them passionate. Currently on my iPod: Armin van Buuren, Seabound, Above and Beyond, Solar Stone, Imperative Reaction, Motorcycle, APB, Kazell, Darude, Lisa Lashes, Lab 4, Hocico and VNV Nation.


Rapid Questions:

Leather / Latex?

MVK: Latex, the smell is heavenly. The sound of a latex slap instantly relaxes me.

LS: Latex is definitely my thing. Sometimes, putting on the latex is the most fun part of going to a fetish night.

KIKI LAtex..... feels, smells, tells about a good memory every time


Master / slave?

MVK: Master, but I admit I like a good burning spanking occasionally.

LS: Depends on the situation and the size of the sound system.


Vodka / Absinthe?

MVK: I like the ritual involved and taste of Un Emile Absinthe. But Vodka is more versatile.

LS: I love them both, but vodka tastes better with Red Bull.

KIKI Absinthe, and when that runs out, Vodka


San Fran / Miami?

MVK: Both are great in opposite ways. The scene in Miami is unbelievable right now.

LS: If I were to leave the US, San Francisco is the city I would miss the most. Amazing architecture. Incredible record stores. And a real positive energy. I've never been to Miami but nearly everyone I've met from there has turned out to be an incredible person. It may yet become my favorite city. Plus, the clubs stay open hours later than the ones in California.


Lords of Acid / Icon of Coil?

MVK: Lords of Acid have always been good to us and provide much inspiration. I also love IOC though. I like everything you mentioned.

LS: Both groups are amazing, but I think I have to give the edge to the Lords for the volume of work they've created and the quality of the vocals.


Noizefront Questions:

Which of the Seven Deadly Sins best represents your personality and why?

MVK: Pride. Everything I do has to be perfect.

LS: Lust – defined in biblical terms as the caring more about the pleasures of the earth than securing a place in the afterlife.


If a fan were to bring you a carepack, what could you find inside that would make you smile?

MVK: Maybe something for my alter ego Vashenka. A pair of shoes would light up my face, I wear a size 8.

LS: Any software by Native Instruments.


Do you believe in ghosts and have you ever had any creepy experiences?

MVK: I don't think ghosts are spirits of dead people. I think they are projections from the psyche - our own fear being amplified and projected. Yes, I’ve felt the chill of the paranormal.
I did once see a UFO while at a stoplight. It was a large metallic spinning ball, like a ball spinning inside of another. It came down into the intersection and moved very oddly – like a hummingbird. Almost like it was looking at the different cars. It wasn't that far away. I instantly froze. It's amazing the instinctual reaction something like that causes. At that moment ANYTHING was possible. I remember being worried that it would focus on me if I moved. The light changed and nobody moved. Then it took off straight up incredibly fast. I pulled over and watched it, in no time it was gone. I didn't tell people for years because I figured they'd think I was crazy. I was 19 or 20, what was I going to say "Hey, there was a UFO outside." And there was no internet to look it up. Now I don't care what people think. I'd love to find a logical explanation for what I saw. I still don't know what it was.

LS: I've been wanting to see a UFO since I was a little kid, but it hasn't happened – yet.

KIKI Some creepy experiences indeed, but i tend to freak myself out on purpose. Its more fun that way.


Tell us a random fact about anything...

MVK: Life insurance pays off triple if you die on a business trip.

LS: The richest two percent controls 80 percent of wealth in America.

KIKI Penguins mate for life...............


What was your opinion on how Hurricane Katrina was handled?

MVK: Where to begin. It makes me sick. I can't believe how far we’ve fallen in 8 years. With all due respect to those who suffered, I wish all of the victims were wearing t-shirts that said in big bold letters "Coming Soon to a City Near You."

LS: It's very typical of this country. Throw a rave or a fetish party and a thousand cops show up out of nowhere. But when an actual life threatening emergency happens, they all seem to be too busy to respond.


What is your opinion on The Bush Administration?

MVK: I’m ashamed of what my government has become and angered at my country for allowing this kind of blatant excuse for murder. We've all seen what happens when a country falls into nationalism and fascism. People must wake up and stop believing that these immature weaklings are leaders. It's not that hard to fight. It's not that hard to believe in yourself. It's not that hard to see the truth. They are afraid of the truth. Their arguments couldn't even withstand a mild debate. Bush and Company are nothing but schoolyard bullies shaking the Iraqi's and the American people for lunch money.
This isn't an administration. This is organized crime. And we can’t just stick our heads in the sand and expect it to go away.


LS: I agree with everything Mistress Victoria said. The Bush Administration is a direct result of the takeover of America by corporations. It really began with the Regan era and has been going full force ever since. Of course, other presidents were actually able to speak proper English so they could disguise their deception better than Bush. Even Clinton, who many look upon as the best president in recent history, dealt one of the biggest blows to free speech when he signed the Telecommunications Deregulation Act. It removed the barriers from big companies taking control of all the TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, record companies, magazines and online service providers. It wiped independent radio out of existence. It used to be fun going to different cities and check out the local stations. Radio played a lot of new and smaller acts. Now, with big companies in control, every station in the country sounds the same. You can go to San Francisco, Fresno and Boise and hear the same music. I think that corporate America is using this control to enslave us in a cycle of endless consumption. Just take a look at the message of music and videos that major labels are putting out. Guys are told they aren't attractive unless they have expensive cars with expensive rims and drink $200 a bottle champagne. Women are told they aren't attractive unless they're so thin they resemble concentration camp survivors. We are set up to believe that we must be something that we can never achieve. We must work endless hours so that we can buy products that make us feel better about ourselves or anesthetize the pain of disappointment. And along with creating the problem, corporate media offers equally damaging solutions. Supposed "athletic" artists like Sheryl Crow write songs extolling the virtues of smoking cigarettes. We are bombarded by prescription drug ads. With corporate media in control, we will never be free. The only way to defeat them is to stop buying their products and choke off their source of power.


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