Firstly, who makes up Citizen Sex? And how would you describe each other in a word?
Tom – baby spice, Coleman – sporty spice, me – posh spice, Pat – scary spice. No gingers thank god.
For me, your debut EP sums up Summer just how I like it, boozing and wearing less clothing – is this how it intended to be perceived?
Thanks! That’s really cool. It just sort of ended up that way. We write the songs together while half-naked and drinking beers in a tiny, sweaty bedroom, so it always feels like summer in there. I guess that has come out pretty naturally. But the lyrics are actually not as summery as they seem. As far as I can tell Robbie sings a lot about drugs, sexual rejection/frustration/perversion, feeling like a dickhead, and mental illness. He went to a Catholic school, so there might be some peripheral guilt going on there. I could be wrong, I’ve never really asked him.
You mentioned you were heading over to Europe, is this considered a tour and when can we expect you back?
We’re going to be in Berlin for three months, then coming back unless we die or start new lives or something. We’re basically going to have heaps of fun, play heaps of music together, and see what happens. The way I think of it is this – you know how at the end of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, they arrive at the talent contest and realise that Wyld Stallyns aren’t ready for the big show? And then do you remember how they basically use their powers of time travel to become this amazing band, and time travel back and play an awesome version of ‘God Gave Rock’n’roll to You’ by Kiss and they have weird facial hair and totally kill? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cEdqWZi13I
That’s basically what we’re hoping Europe will have done to us when we get back to Melbourne.
What does one expect from a Citizen Sex live show?
It’s always a bit different, Citizen Sex is pretty unstable and unprofessional so we’re not very good at just turning it on. It’s definitely not a performance that’s separated from the people who are watching us, we feel very impacted by how they’re responding. We’ve always seen our shows as just part of someone’s night out… along with intoxicants, the place they’re in, other people, maybe a bit of sexual tension with a dude or babe. That’s why we try and play in interesting environments when we can, to try and create some vibe and atmosphere beyond the 30 minutes of noise we want to make.
When we get the vibe of our show right, and the audience is in the same kind of place as us (which usually means being a bit drunk), it’s fun and funny and I think energising and exciting. But sometimes the energy is a bit sour (which usually means being too drunk) and things can be a little bit catastrophic and self-destructive. Some people like that kind of thing. If Robbie gets nude, it means it’s a good show and we’re having a great time up there. If I get nude, it’s a not-so-good show and I’m freaking out about us playing badly, so take my clothes off to distract from that. But usually we have a great time.
If you could have anything at all in your performance rider – what would it be?
Melbourne bitter cans, Jameson, Jager, and Brazillian BBQ (RIP) from the place that used to be opposite the Vic Markets. We’re easy to please.
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