LIVE SPOTLIGHT
Oct 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Kylee Swenson
Sir Elton John is a fan of this New York City-based group, and it's no wonder why: The piano, the voice, the kitschy gay vitality and humor — it's all there. Add disco synths and rhythms (as on the group's upbeat version of Pink Floyd's “Comfortably Numb”), Bee Gees — esque falsetto and moments of David Bowie and Roxy Music, and you get the picture. Although the band's self-titled album (Universal, 2004) captures all of that energy, it all started with its live show.
“We were always a live band; the first performance we ever did was of a song we had recorded that week,” says multi-instrumentalist Babydaddy, who sings backup vocals and plays synth, bass and guitar. But soon thereafter, the band was working the other way around, writing songs in the studio and then “adapting that into a rock 'n' roll setting,” he says.
Despite the six members onboard — Babydaddy, singers Jake Shears and Ana Matronic, guitarist/bassist Del Marquis, drummer Paddy Boom and keyboardist/bassist JJ Garden — a few parts are still sequenced onstage. “We really do approach each track as a new project,” Babydaddy says. “‘Take Your Mama,’ for instance, uses playback of a conga loop underneath the band, as well as a synth bass line that we had trouble mimicking with the current setup. ‘Tits on the Radio,’ as another example, has barely any loops in the live setup but works because the song is fairly minimal and heavy. But we definitely err on the side of less samples, as we feel that in the end, the risk of doing this live is much more exciting than a studio-quality live set.”
The group recorded Scissor Sisters at Babydaddy's apartment “on a minimal budget,” he says. But some of the studio sheen was stripped off for a more realistic stage show. “We have cut down heavily on the processing in our live set,” he admits. “It's funny, but, sometimes, I go back to the recordings and realize how processed everything is compared to what I hear onstage every night. But it's the nakedness that we can show people through pulling back on these things that makes our shows an exciting alternative to listening to the album.”
To keep the guitar, bass and synths in line onstage, drummer Boom is fed a click from a Mackie SDR24/96 (also used for the sequenced sounds). “I love the tightness that a click brings to the band,” Babydaddy says. “As we have evolved, there are songs that have little to no loops or samples coming through, but we still use the machine for the tempo.”
Another necessity for the band is backup gear, such as extra amps and synths, but most important, a backup of sounds that can't be replaced in a hurry. “I usually have a laptop around with all of my backed-up sounds, as well as a MIDI card to replace my sounds if they get lost,” he says. “Our biggest insurance against live disasters, however, is Ana, who can entertain for hours under pressure with nothing but a microphone. Disasters will happen, so it's best to assume the worst and laugh it off when they do; your audience will appreciate you more.
“Less-than-stellar shows used to happen over technical problems, bad monitor mixes and other uncontrollable elements,” he continues. “We have learned to ignore these things and keep that smile on our faces; if you let these things control you, then you aren't giving your audience your 100 percent, which they have paid to see. Part of what happens onstage is acting, and the sense of excitement needs to be there despite lousy conditions. Most people never know that you can't hear yourself onstage. These days, a less-than-stellar show really only happens when we perform to a lazy, shoe-gazing crowd that stands there with their arms crossed, wanting us to prove ourselves. Of course, our job then is to let the five people who are enjoying the show lift us up and remind us of why we are doing what we do. But we often just entertain ourselves onstage if it seems to be an off night, so I have to say that truly bad shows are few and far between.”
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