I'm sure I'd be forgiven for being a little apprehensive at the prospect of meeting the self styled 'Border Ville Punk' band Voodoo Hussy. The group compiled of four headstrong, independent, stylish and not to mention down right intelligent young ladies was more than a match for my morning after the night before brain. Add that to a 'Dons of Soho' description I'd found on the internet, as well as the notorious confidence they exhibited when auditioning for T4's Mobile Act Unsigned and I was more than prepared to be 'sleeping with fishes' before the interview was over.
Luckily for me, my preconceptions couldn't have been further from the truth, what I was faced with on that crisp, cold Saturday morning in January was a group of girls I could easily be mates with, chill with and most definitely down a few Jack Daniels with.
From the minute I clapped eyes on them it was easy to see where Voodoo Hussy get their style inspiration. Dressed in black and white from head to toe there's a definite Cabaret influence laced throughout their appearance. Now, I'm not talking sequin wearing, jazz hand waving, Las Vegas style Cabaret. I'm talking twisted, dirty, Border Ville Cabaret, the type you certainly wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Shabby the lead singer gets straight to the point in explaining why.
"I've always loved the Dresden Dolls; that look combines perfectly with our music and performing style. At first we stuck to the colours red and black (look great, easy to buy) but after appearing on Mobile Act Unsigned and me being likened to the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, we changed our key colours to black and white"
Not that that's the only comment to have been aired when Voodoo Hussy performed on Mobile Act Unsigned. Lily Allen was in fact notoriously cutting about the band, as were her fellow judges. Its something all of the girls took on their chin, remaining dignified and restrained even though they admit that "there is nothing worse than standing on a stage in front of loads of people being told everything that you are doing is wrong."
Regardless of the controversy that Mobile Act Unsigned brought the band has continued to go from strength to strength, with the high point of 2007 being when they headlined at London Pride, a gig that according to Shabby looked like it was going to be disastrous, yet turned out to be better than they could have imagined.
"Standing backstage, we heard our names being called, followed by a massive cheer, we all just looked at each other and mouthed a collective "Oh Shit" before running on stage. The crowd were just going mental"
All this for a group of girls who merely had a dream of making "a proper band," who met through putting out ads on music websites, were gigging together after two weeks and played without a bassist for god knows how long. Not bad at all.
Unfortunately, all too soon my interview time comes to an end, with photo shoots beckoning for Voodoo Hussy and an afternoon of retail therapy for myself. I finally pluck up the courage to ask the girls about the 'Dons of Soho' label, were they deliberately trying to sound like extras from a new mafia film?
"You know what," says Shabby "it's absolute rubbish, we've never even said that, who'd want to be the Dons of Soho when we're actually Moulin Rouge meets The Sex Pistols"
And to be honest I couldn’t agree more.
Luckily for me, my preconceptions couldn't have been further from the truth, what I was faced with on that crisp, cold Saturday morning in January was a group of girls I could easily be mates with, chill with and most definitely down a few Jack Daniels with.
From the minute I clapped eyes on them it was easy to see where Voodoo Hussy get their style inspiration. Dressed in black and white from head to toe there's a definite Cabaret influence laced throughout their appearance. Now, I'm not talking sequin wearing, jazz hand waving, Las Vegas style Cabaret. I'm talking twisted, dirty, Border Ville Cabaret, the type you certainly wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Shabby the lead singer gets straight to the point in explaining why.
"I've always loved the Dresden Dolls; that look combines perfectly with our music and performing style. At first we stuck to the colours red and black (look great, easy to buy) but after appearing on Mobile Act Unsigned and me being likened to the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, we changed our key colours to black and white"
Not that that's the only comment to have been aired when Voodoo Hussy performed on Mobile Act Unsigned. Lily Allen was in fact notoriously cutting about the band, as were her fellow judges. Its something all of the girls took on their chin, remaining dignified and restrained even though they admit that "there is nothing worse than standing on a stage in front of loads of people being told everything that you are doing is wrong."
Regardless of the controversy that Mobile Act Unsigned brought the band has continued to go from strength to strength, with the high point of 2007 being when they headlined at London Pride, a gig that according to Shabby looked like it was going to be disastrous, yet turned out to be better than they could have imagined.
"Standing backstage, we heard our names being called, followed by a massive cheer, we all just looked at each other and mouthed a collective "Oh Shit" before running on stage. The crowd were just going mental"
All this for a group of girls who merely had a dream of making "a proper band," who met through putting out ads on music websites, were gigging together after two weeks and played without a bassist for god knows how long. Not bad at all.
Unfortunately, all too soon my interview time comes to an end, with photo shoots beckoning for Voodoo Hussy and an afternoon of retail therapy for myself. I finally pluck up the courage to ask the girls about the 'Dons of Soho' label, were they deliberately trying to sound like extras from a new mafia film?
"You know what," says Shabby "it's absolute rubbish, we've never even said that, who'd want to be the Dons of Soho when we're actually Moulin Rouge meets The Sex Pistols"
And to be honest I couldn’t agree more.
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Frieze Art Fair to launch new section for young galleries in 2012
Frieze have today announced details for the 2012 edition, their tenth art fair in London. Taking place...