Mattachine Social
Interview Continues from pg. 50
JW: I’ve known Tammy forever. We kinda grew
up together in Vancouver. At first she was just
emceeing. Then we discovered she was musi-
cally inclined.
TW: They just gave me a tambourine and told
me to shake it real hard.
AK: She’s our Neko.
Ben Jansen: I grew up playing in punk rock
bands. [Andrew] didn’t know if I was any good.
TW: Girl, lemme tell you, he is magically delicious.
And he sounds good too.
AK: I had done electro-folk stuff, opened for
the Butchies, on the east coast. But I was really
out of practice. Our fourth show was as a local
headliner for Pride. That was Tammy’s first official
show. A mic, a big dress, and a triangle.
Q: That was last year?
AK: Yeah. Electronic music during the day in the
rain. Ben’s first Pride.
BJ: I got free underwear.
TW: It was a visual feast.
Q: Are you playing Pride this year?
JW: We are. And we just got confirmed to play
the 2nd Annual Queer Music Festival [in July]
with Imperial Teen, which we played last year.
AK: We’ve also applied to play Seattle Pride.
JW: We applied for HempFest and the Capitol
Hill Block party as well.
TW: Heavens to Murgatroid what am I going to
wear to that? An all hemp tinsel dress? Justin will
design it.
Q: What do you each bring to the table in terms
of musical and fashion influences?
JW: I’m very influenced by all the glam rock that
came out of the 70s and also the New Wave
from 80s London. I kind of try to make everyone
wear what I want.
Q: Fashion Police?
JW: We like to have a cohesive look.
AK: Color coordinate. Musically, I grew up on
post-punk like Joy Division, Echo and the Bunny-
men...riot-grrl, college rock.
JW: Me too, but I’m also influenced by 20s/30s
music.
AK: I also like difficult listening music like Sigur
Ros. Fashion wise it’s between a schoolboy gone
wrong and a corrupt professor. I don’t look good
in jeans and a t-shirt. I like dress clothes.
JW: We like to sparkle on stage.
Q: You all have very different aesthetics that you
like to bring together by theme or color on stage.
JW: Exactly. But I don’t push anyone to wear
something they don’t want to.
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AK: Gold lame cowboy shirt last time. Never do-
ing that again. It was cooking me on stage. But it
looked great.
BJ: Musically, I was into punk and 90s rock,
Smashing Pumpkins, and some southern hip hop
and rap. Now prog rock and jazz. Independent
hip hop. David Bowie.
TW: I have a weakness for the tender mom hits.
Everything you used to get a contact high in the
back seat of your mom’s station wagon. Plus I like
bad girls and Motown.
Q: Is it as much about the spectacle as the music?
AK: It went from being two of us and a laptop to
four of us and video screens, and glitter canons
and projectors...
JW: We like to put on a show but the music is
most important.
Q: Tell me about your new album coming out.
AK: In June we’re putting out an EP with 3 new
songs and 3 remixes but we also have a new
album coming out in the Fall.
JW: Somewhat all recorded we just need a pro-
ducer, although we sort of have one.
AK: ...Jesse Holt up in Seattle, who has worked
with a lot of amazing people.
Q: And what will the new EP be called?
AK: Nice is the new punk rock.
BJ: We’ll probably have videos for download.
AK: Holly Andres might be at the helm of one of
them. She actually did the photoshoot for our
album cover.
Q: You have a sort of neo-gothic/old-timey aes-
thetic to your videos. One even delves into the
zombie craze. Where does that come from?
JW: “Risers” [their zombie video] was about a
different subject entirely and we went literal with
it. But it’s really about how culture has gone
downhill...
AK:...clone culture.
JW: A comment on shallowness.
Q: So is Portland queer culture less mainstream?
More interesting?
TW: I think the gay community here...they don’t
think “I’m gay” initially. “I’m just here.” Everyone
is more accepting and tolerant as long as it’s
consensual.
JW: Every bar in Portland is gay friendly.
AK: The problem here is that all Portlanders look
the same.
Q: And how do you feel being the token straight,
Ben?
June 2012