polaroids of androids

Nov 15, 2006

Interview: The Russian Brides (Sydney, Australia)

The Russian Brides are a rocking three-piece out of the Inner West of Sydney, and are partly to blame (commend) for a recent rooftop party in Annandale being shut down by the Po-Po, due to excessive awesomeness.

They are currently working on a new EP titled An Ode to Jeremy Piven which should be out in the next couple of weeks and found at all good local record stores.

Keegan (vocals/guitar) and Aja (bass/vocals) from the band were kind enough to spare a few moments to respond to our silly questions.

Hi peeps, thanks for answering our stupid questions. What's going on in the world of 'The Russian Brides'? I heard you guys were planning on taking over the world James Bond Villain style sans the being thwarted by 007 part? Am i correct? Mostly correct? Somewhat correct? Partially correct? Wrong?

Keegan: Somewhat partially correct. Most of it, anyway. I don't know if we work the same way as normal bands… a lot of them seem focused and driven and born to be wild (Newwwww na na newwwwwwww new newwww), but we're incredibly lazy. We're recording an EP at the moment, but that's been our motto for 18 months. There were a few months there where we didn't even touch the thing. And it's only about 16 minutes long, and on top of that it's not very good! So when you ask if we're planning to take over the world, I pose another question – can I do it from the comfort of my bed or lay-z boy? If not then I don't think I'm interested anymore.

Aja: I think Keegan missed the last SPECTRE memo, which detailed the russian brides plan for world domination. Which makes you both partially correct – we plan to hold the world to ransom, but from the comfort of our own bedrooms – Blowfeld style.

Remember that time you played a rooftop gig at my house? You were quoted after the show as saying 'This gig is bigger than the time that John Lennon said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus'. If you were to name the second best gig you have ever done, what would it be and why?

Keegan: This isn't really a Russian Brides gig per se, but earlier this year Aja and I went around the map to play a few shows with Death Mattel, a kickarse Sydney band that own more floor space than you'll ever own. It was in the basement of a house in Philadelphia, PA called 'Danger, Danger'. It was pretty much a party house every Friday night, where a bunch of kids get drunk on fine American beer and dance their socks off to arty, screwed up electronica/punk/hardcore/country ballads. We were one of the last bands to play, and being an Aussie band the owners of the establishment decided to get a whole heap of the crowd down for us, filling up the basement. By the end of the set I had people bowing at me as a played my beer drenched guitar against the wall, with the crowd screaming for more. So punk, so good. I reckon the other band members would be with me on that being a highlight, for sure.

Aja: The second best show for me would be a tie between the Phillie show Keegan mentioned and the final show of that tour in San Fransisco – we got to play at an honest-to-God gay bar!! The show was awesome, the audience was awesome and the support band were a bunch of 60's style chick's who played surf rock. Second best 'brides gig though, would be a tie(again) between the launch of our EP last year at the Annandale (we got to do our first ever encore which was feakin' sweet!) and a totally tragic but fun show we did at the underground venue 'Lan Franchi's Discoteque' .. we had lugged our gear up 4 flights of stairs and the headline band hadn't turned up and we didn't think anyone was going to show .. so we downed a bottle of berry passion pop each .. then all these people and the other band showed up and we had to play!! It was totally crazy rock'n'roll fun.

What is the cumulative total of the amount of groupies that band members (past and present) have impregnated, or in the case of female members of the band, ripped the testicles off with their bare hands?

Keegan: I impregnated one girl, but it got all cafuddled and they made a bad book about it. Da Vinci Code, heard of it? That was me. That was back when the band was called 'The Last Suppers'.

Aja: I have an ever growing collection of testicles hanging in my tent … hold on 'that was that guy in that bad Brad Pitt movie, and he had ears not testicles'.

I remember you mentioning fellow Sydney band 'Altona' and how the singer used to be your drummer. Any plans to maim him extensively for being a traitor, or alternatively collaborating on more musical ventures? Or touring with them? Wait scrap that, this interview is about you, lets just make the question: Any plans to tour?

Keegan: Jez is such a dude. We strung him along for about a year, we won't be bothering him for any more help anytime soon. You know that bit in Life of Brian where the old dude helps out that guy with the cross, then ends up carrying the cross and gets crucified instead? That's Jez. I've ran half the way to Bethlehem by now. That's another movie with me in it! As for touring, we're going to Melbourne in a few weeks. We worked out the furthest the Brides had ever played from home - that was Spectrum on Oxford Street. 8.2km away. We decided we needed to spend more money on fuel, so we're heading down for a show (or 2). Brisbane in the new year, maybe.

I never told you this before, but your drummer 'Harry' has the same name as my brother 'Harry'. Its not a big deal and is only a minor coincidence. This is not actually a question, but if it somehow was, how would you respond?

Aja: You seem to have failed to realise that our drummer Harry is in fact your brother!! Although his name is in fact not even really Harry.

If you were to program a music festival with only Sydney bands, who, other than yourselves, do you think would be on the bill? Would you allow pass-outs? Would it be all ages? How much do you think it would cost for a beer? What about printing names on tickets and checking ID's on entry to thwart the scalpers? Can I come?

Keegan: Oooh. Good question. Here's mine:

1. Richard in Your Mind. (they're better than most)
2. Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers (just coz there's so many of them – loveliest band in Sydney)
3. I (love) Space (velvet.core, apparently)
4. You Am I (they count, I don't care what you say)
5. Laura Imbruglia (grab her new album!)
6. Spod (where's he been lately? Top notch live show)
7. The Camels (put on a good show, fun, boppy)
8. Dappled Cities Fly (If you don't know them by now you won't know them)
9. Death Mattel (yeah, but not with us in the band)
10. The Lovetones (classic)

There's probably more, but I can't think of them right now. Passouts would be necessary. I'd love it to be all ages, purely because I campaigned so hard for more under 18s gigs when I was younger. Beer would be at the cost of the Federal Government. They should also pay all the bands, so everyone gets in for free. You can come, but you've got to operate the baseball dunking game at the side of the stage, where Ministers of the Federal Govt will have to sit.

Aja: Good question Hansel! I would make tickets only available on the day, so you just turn up in the morning and line-up and go straight in. Combined with not having pass-outs this would mean everybody has to be there all day and see every band (haha- I would never attend a festival like that myself – I am the queen of pass-outs and leaving early!!) Beer would be free – pour your own from kegs in the over 18's section 'Dazed and Confused' style, and yes it'd be all ages, 'cause as much as under 18's piss me off these days, I remember how much it sucked being under 18. You'd be allowed to come, but only if you wore a joker hat and promised to dance! And the line-up would be:

1. You Am I - because I lurve them and they are absolute champions
2. The Camels - cause they're fun
3. Andy Clockwise - plays a good mix of music
4. Ben Lee - 'cause he makes me smile.
5. Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers - 'cause they're fun and different.
6. TZU - 'cause they're great and fun and they play music you can dance to!
7. Gyroscope - something a bit heavier for the boys - they know how to put on a great show.
8. The Ground Components - amazing band.
9. Jebediah - old school awesome-ness
10. Spiderbait - ditto!

Is it ok that i have used the word thwart twice (now three times) in this interview? Is it going overboard or am i still within reasonable bounds?

Keegan: If you take out TH it becomes WART, If you take out W and R it becomes THAT. Take away THAW it becomes ART. Well, not really. But I wanted to add The Thaw as another band but I only gave myself 10 in the last question.

Aja: here are some alternatives:

• n:disenchant, hinder
• adj: calamitous, crossing, stubborn

What are your thoughts on Pizza joints in and around the Annandale/Leichardt area? I've tried a few at The Forum on Norton St and they were average, and Roberto's on Young St is ok, but i mainly go there because it is 12 seconds from my house. Do you have any other recommendations? We are big fans of Pide (pronounced Pie-Dee, or Tur-Kish-Pee-Tza, but not Pee-Day), what are your thoughts on it?

Keegan: I think you're selling Roberto's short. It's basic pizza, but pizza done really well. The crust is the right thickness, the veggies are always well placed. The guys are friendly. No real issues there. Benvenuti's at the end of Norton Street is great if you like a fuller crust, and their lasagne is fantastic. Nonno's on Canterbury road (across from the old roller rink) in Petersham is also fantastic for old school pizza. I guess it really depends on your specific needs. Pid-day is how it's pronounced, yo! And we're big fans. Too many good places to comment, though.

Aja: Roberta's rocks the casbah - best pizza in the area by far… Nonno's at Petersham next best, for tasty thicker crust. Speaking of pronunciations, how do you pronounce your name Aja? I have been saying Ay-Jaa, and i have also heard Ay-Yaa and Ar-Jaa used. Is this a common issue, or are we just incredibly uncultured? What are the origins of the name anyhow? Aja: You are both uncultured and victims to a common problem. I accept all pronunciations - I got over correcting people by the time I was five. However my preferred pronunciation is 'Ar-Jar' (but go soft on the 'r's') – think Zsa-Zsa Gabor, but change the first word to Argh… I am not explaining this well!! My name is actually the title track of a record by Steely Dan which was released in 1978. The song is allegedly about a Korean girl that the songwriter was dating. The song is a 7 minute epic romantic ballad. The story goes that my dad saw me for the first time and my mum asked 'what are we going to call her?' and my dad said 'she's Aja' – and thus I was named.

Ok, this is the spot i leave for you to plug anything you wish which may include EP's, gigs, merchandise, websites or dodgy pyramid schemes you are involved in. The one catch is that answers will only be accepted in point form. Else you will be thwarted.

Keegan:

• I'm convinced my mum works for ALDI. EVERY SINGLE TIME I visit them my Mum's saying 'You like this food? Would you believe it's from ALDI???'. Utterly convinced. Like Amway. Fully.
• Our EP should be out soon. We'll be pressing a batch for live shows then seeing if someone wants to release it properly.
• If any of your fans are in Melbourne, we're playing the Old Bar on the 18th November.
• myspace.com/russianbrides is quite helpful.
• www.therussianbrides.com rarely is.

Aja:

• If you would buy our EP/album/whatever when we release it, let us know, so we can make something and then release it for you… ditto if you would come see us live if we played more… we need some feedback people!
• Why are umbrella's and raincoats the best protection we have from the rain..?? We know it's going to rain – it's been raining for all of human existence… how are some bits of plastic and not quiet water proof fabric on metal the best solutions we have..??

Thanks for your time folks, looking forward to big things from you guys in the future, and being remembered and being bought free drinks when you are rich and famous.