Interview with Sex Ghost!
Seeing Sex Ghost! perform live is sort of like having actual sex. Their hot and sweaty electro rock relies on tantalizing naked grooves that make you want to grind and abuse that completely random person standing next to you all night long. Now being that Sex Ghost! is playing our MCR Revue show on Saturday night at the Pike Room in Pontiac, we decided to go deeper with this dynamic duo.
How did Sex Ghost! first get together?
PATRICK: I first met Natasha at a collective meeting for live electronic artists who were going to be doing a indie show at Bert’s Warehouse in 2006 and I told her I was on acid when she saw me looking at her crazy, but really I was just looking at her and someone behind her was giving me goofy faces and I cracked my back and had a couple shots and beers. She played in a project as well as I and eventually we realized we both are kind of alike and artsy and started collaborating on shit. Finally, one night she came to Lansing {be it i do not drive} and we recorded our first song together “Meet Me In The Bathroom”.
NATASHA: We were both in other drum machine/ keyboard driven projects: Perfect Summer (me) and Ghoulie (Patrick’s solo) when we met and thought to collab. Since we lived so far away, we did it through email. Patrick would send tracks, I’d pick what I liked and through down vocals. We played a few shows with the little material we had and improved the rest. My need for organization took over and we started meeting once every few months to record on weekends. There is no such thing as practice for us. Once we record together, we pretty much have it.
Who does what in the band?
NATASHA: Patrick creates sequences and when we get together we both decide on a pattern for a song. We decide on lyrics by the style of the song and once we have a topic, lyrics kind of just flow really naturally and easy for us together. If there is video projection capability, I will also create a single channel video installation to play behind us. For a while, I felt like a total idiot not playing an instrument live but now I love it because I get to just freak out and roll around while Patrick controls 5 machines live and sings all while smoking a cigarette. He’s amazing!
Being that’s it just you two, do you think it’s a plus or a minus?
PATRICK: As far as promoting I think Natasha would agree with me that we both do not like to do it. But as far as promoting socially, trash is great!!!!!!! I always end up getting treated like a rapist especially if I’m not in Youngstown, Ohio or Lansing, or the dirty dirty D – I’ve met very nice cracked out people there”.
NATASHA: worst part of my life. HATE PROMOTING. I feel so lame. At least there is the internet now and I don’t have to go tape up computer paper print outs on every corner just to have them taken down or rained down like I did for ten years back in the 90s.
Have you ever thought of adding other musicians like a drummer to the band?
NATASHA: Been there, done that. I treat music as “performances” and the instruments we use are our props. It would be super cool to collab with other bands and have people throw down once in a while but SEX GHOST! is Pat and I and our machines. I thought about bringing in some of my keyboards live but to me, that would kill our energy (and my ability to sit on the ground, ha).
Who are your influences?
PATRICK: .you, that one chick who vomits when she gives drunk head {or that guy for that matter} my ma, Goblin, Captin Beefheart, Barnes and Barne, Phillip Glass, Gap Band, Slave, Roy Orbinson, Atomic Rooster, Question Mark & the Mysterians, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, free crazy anti-sex religious tapes that crazy fucks would give to innocent or bad kids in the mid 90′s at malls.
NATASHA: All my friends doing solo projects or anyone I meet that is single and successful. Yeah, Patrick and I are a duet but we still function separately.
When will we see a full length record?
Natasha: Hopefully soon. My dumbass has to keep changing plans but it will be before the end of the year. Shooting a video this Sunday after our Saturday show which will be included with the release.
FEATURED DOWNLOAD:
“New Science” – Sex Ghost!
What is in store for us at Saturday night’s show at the Pike Room?
PATRICK: constant slamming of songs and proper execution of continuity without really breathing. Maybe a midget orgy or a amputee on rabbit on porcupine fuckfest. Really though when its time to perform we do and we rip without needing 5 fucking people
NATASHA: The Crofoot is fun. The room we are playing in is like a bigger cleaner version of places like Corktown or Lager. It’s also a place where there is no one telling you what to do so you can run your own show. I’ll probably be doing somersaults with my skirt over my head and Patrick will bust out some free style about living at home with his ma. No, his garden. Which reminds me, he might bring some vegetables from his garden to sell as “sex ghost!” vegetables. Maybe I’ll paint faces on them with edible paint. That can be my arts and crafts project because I always have to have one each show.
** Sex Ghost! will perform at the Pike Room in Pontiac this coming Saturday night (8/22) with Jesus Chainsaw Massacre, Electric Lion Sound Wave Experiment (a.k.a. Electric Lions), and local hip-hop rapper United States of Mind.