Luxt - interview (2009)
Updated by Draconina on 12/04/2009 19:09
2009-12-04 | Katarzyna NINa Górnisiewicz and Marco Gariboldi | e-mail interview
NINa: What was the reason Luxt quit?

Anna Christine: Artistic differences. I wanted to go more mainstream and the rest of the band preferred to stay "underground".

Marco: Erie and Crash, that played for many years with you in LUXT, now have their own band: Blownload (http://www.myspace.com/blownload) and they'll support, together with Left Spine Down and Jim Rose, the RevCo new tour (Lubricatour) this fall. Erie and Crash have also reformed LUXT with a new line-up including a new vocalist: Aaco, and they're planning to publish a "best of" album incorporating old reworked LUXT songs. What do you think of the Blownload Punk/Industrial Metal sound as well as this new incarnation of LUXT?

Erie and Crash are really enjoying playing in Blownload and I know that it has opened up a number of doors for them.
As far as the new reincarnation of LUXT. I wish them the best of luck, but I have not given them my blessing. LUXT was me and Erie and others such as Crash, who was with us the longest. I was never asked to reform LUXT, I was just told by Erie that he was re-forming it without me and that I didn't have a choice. And as Erie was the main creative aspect with the songs, there really wasn't much I could say or do unless I take him to court, and it really just isn't worth my time.

Marco: What do you do for a living now that don't play anymore with LUXT?

I actually do a few different things. Just to set the record straight though, LUXT unfortunately did not afford us the luxury of not working, or making a living. LUXT did not make us a living, we all still had to have day jobs. I am doing internet marketing and I am also somewhat involved in the signing and finalizing of real estate transactions.

Marco: Your sound has evolved from Coldwave / Industrial Rock to a more Rock sound. Was this evolution due to your natural growth as musicians, or was this change intentional?

It was a little bit of both. We wanted to appeal more to the rock crowd in Sacramento, our home town. And we felt that adding the rock edge would allow us to expand our fan base. We also wanted to not be known just in the dance or Coldwave music scene. The rock addition gave our music a lot more dynamic and it ended up being a lot more fun and gave me more leeway to expand my performances on stage. We also expanded our fan base tenfold but still maintained the fan base we had already built prior to that, so it was a win-win situation and we all had so much more fun.

NINa: Have you ever taken vocal lessons, or is that a passion you have developed on your own?

No I never did, I always just loved singing. I started to take some lessons after American Beast came out, when we were changing our musical style, but the band broke up and I stopped.

NINa: What’s the most favorite song of yours that you identify with and why?

Unfortunately, that is such a difficult question to answer. I like so many LUXT songs and would change which one I liked on a consistent basis. They all had something in them that either gave me a spark while signing or performing or even just listening to here and there.

NINa: How about bands founded by all girls like L7, Rockbitch, Kittie, Babes in Toyland, Isis; would you enjoy playing in an all female band sometime, or are you rather for playing with guys?

I actually enjoyed playing with the boys. It is much more fun that way, and a lot less drama. They were always just so easy going and fun to be around. I can't say never though, but it just didn't ever cross my mind to want to play in an all female band.

NINa: How much time does it take you to write the lyrics for a single song?

Erie wrote all of the lyrics. There were a few songs that I gave him ideas for, the ones that jump to mind are Nerve and Life is Pain (both from American Beast). But Erie was definitely the "man" behind LUXT.

Marco: In the past you've worked two times with the Electro-Industrial artist Bryan Erickson (Velvet Acid Christ). His latest album "Lust For Blood" is one of his best albums. Are you still in touch with him?

I haven't talked to Bryan since we did those tracks for him. We just lost touch after that.

NINa: When it comes to touring, do you prepare yourself in any special way like yoga, working out, diet, vitamins, no sex etc.? ;)

Honestly, I was the worst about that. I never really did any physical preparations for touring. I got my exercise from loaded and unloaded gear, and jumping around on stage. We didn't make enough money or have the label support to afford us roadies, so we had to do all of the work ourselves. So that was my way of somewhat staying in shape. And that is an overstatement. I never felt like I was really in shape and I could have definitely done a lot more for myself. In fact, I am more in shape now than I have ever been.

NINa: Do you have any special visage maker who takes care of your image before the show or do you that yourself, I mean make up, wardrobe etc.?

I wish, that would have been wonderful. No I did it all myself.

Marco: Women in the last 40 years, in Western countries, have managed through feminism and female emancipation to achieve essential objectives for their rights; Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, women are still thwarted by religions and patriarchal societies that deprive them of happiness and the sacred right to live free. Are we still far from an equality between man and woman? Having had the opportunity to travel and live in various countries what is your opinion about it?

Absolutely, we are still far from equality. And yes, I have seen it over and over again, even here in the U.S. I also lived in Malaysia for a year and have been back to visit several times since then, and being that it is a Muslim country, there definitely is no equality between men and women.
I think it will take a long time before that happens even in the Western world. But we just keep fighting it and we keep persevering, because in the end, although women and generally not as physically strong as men, we are still stronger in so many more ways.

Marco: BigPharma is pushing for approving the "Mothers Act" decree in which women are treated, either during pregnancy, childbirth and post partum with mind-bending drugs. Obviously there is the risk of treating simple stress and anxiety just as serious mental disorders; not forgetting that these psychotropic drugs can affect also the foetus. What do you think about it?

I think I would need to do a lot more research on that before being qualified to give you and educated answer. I honestly have not heard about that until now. So I will have to take a look at it.

NINa: A lot of women try to live strong and independent lifestyles these days, while many more men are becoming less aggressive, if not metrosexual. How do you believe this reflects in the minds of modern femininity, and where could it lead to? Is this either dangerous, or comfortable for women if you look deep into the next five generations?

I think it is a good thing. It just means that more men are becoming less domineering and more equal to us females. It is OK for them to be sensitive or to cry. I also think that there will always be men out there who don't become "metrosexual". There will probably always be some aggressive men out there, it is really in their nature. But having more sensitive and understanding men in this world, could lead to less spousal abuse and more men actually respecting women, so in my mind it is definitely a good thing.

Marco: Anna, you are born in the African continent and specifically in the Republic Of Malawi; Africa is probably the richest continent in the world for resources, but talking about your native land, 3/4 of the Malawi population live with less than $ 1.25 a day. This situation is repeated in many African countries, like the neighboring Zimbabwe, which is going through the 2nd biggest economic crisis in human history.
Do you think and believe that this situation can change quickly in the coming years? or will Western civilizations continue to "vampirize" these fabulous lands?


I wish I could give you a positive answer on that one. But I can't. I think that until the Western world actually truly gives a shit about countries that they believe have nothing to offer them, they will continue on the same path. Unfortunately, that is the way I see it. Government officials in the Western world seem to see Africa as a place that has nothing to offer, although the continent possesses so much beauty in so many ways, it just isn't enough for greedy politicians to care. But yet they will continue to buy diamonds and gold.

NINa: What are your other passions besides making/listening to music? Anything about gardening, car repairs, travels, fashion, shopping, collecting..?

Traveling. I love to travel and see and experience other cultures and other worlds. It has always been my passion. I also enjoy working on computers and learning more and more about modern technology.

Marco: Which of your songs, or albums, would you recommend to the Fabryka readers who don't know your music? Is there a particular song that expresses the utmost of your potential?

I would probably recommend American Beast, I feel it was our best recording out of all the albums. And then Chromasex Monkeydrive, it was just a fun album.


http://www.myspace.com/luxt | http://www.luxt.com | http://www.discogs.com/artist/Luxt
Pictures come from Luxt archive, all copyrights reserved by © their authors.