All-Star Interview:
Undercover Slut's 'O'
A hypodermic needle in my mailbox was to be expected from France's Undercover Slut. After all, this is a band that openly snorts cocaine in their videos, names their songs after terminal diseases, and relishes in making a mess of everything they touch.
What was not to be expected was the music. Undercover Slut is dark and sexy, reminiscent of when goth was still anti-establishment. They have been compared to bands like Christian Death, Marilyn Manson, and London After Midnight. And while that description is apt, their sound is totally new.
On their full-length album Naziconographick: Terrorism Tracks for Nihilistic Numbers, a fresh hybrid of goth emerges. Razor sharp guitars, spooky keyboards, and subtly menacing vocals accompany Undercover Slut's decline into the decadence of drugs, promiscuous sex, and the truth that sometimes even make-up can't cover up the excesses of Glamour.
But these days, the only excesses Undercover Slut are dealing with are those of attention. They are being featured in the upcoming book Sleazegrinder; membership in their fan club, "The Sick Fuck Society", is rapidly rising; and their singer, 'O', recently collaborated on a tune for a porno movie. With their controversial music and abrasive self-promotion, Undercover Slut is everywhere, embracing what most abhor.
Perhaps Undercover Slut's biggest feat is that anyone is paying attention at all. Being able to cultivate such brash posturing comes with a price, and in this case that means being completely DIY. But Undercover Slut, with their huge following this side of the Atlantic, hardly notices anyway.
So how can a band that doesn't even have a scene in their hometown of Paris manage to break out to world recognition? I went to Undercover Slut's lead singer, 'O', to learn more about the music, why someone as unlikely as Christina Aguilera is a fan, and the needles in my mailbox.
Dixie Tucker: Can you give us a brief history of Undercover Slut?
'O': Undercover Slut is "Paris #1 & unique Industrial Glamour Punk Terrorism Act". We are Europe's worst nightmare since World War II. An UFO inside today's music industry. Probably the last real 'agents provocateurs' in activity nowadays... looking for the truth, bringing you the truth...
DT: Undercover Slut is proud to be 'decadent and unsafe' and you back that up by incorporating razor blades, amongst other things, into your packaging. What have been some of the reactions to this? 'O': Extreme ones!!! Some individuals adore it, other hate it! We've received used ones back, death threats too! Prior to September 11, NYC's J.F.K. airport security officers laughed at it...
DT: For an unsigned band, Undercover Slut has a huge following in North America. How does the D.I.Y. approach differ from that of a signed band and has being on your own helped or hindered your progress?
'O': It proves once again that you don't need to get signed to be successful. At the end of the day, we're free to do what the fuck we wanna do. If I want to call our album "Naziconographick", or attack Muslim, Jewish or Christian religions, I do it and nobody, absolutely nobody's gonna tell us what to do!!! As far as our progress, we're some kind of a fuckin' disease that will never go away... 'perseverance' being one of my favourite words...
DT: What is Sleazegrinder and how did UCS get involved?
'O': That project is a book, it will be out in the U.S. of AmeriKKKa sometime next year. The person behind it seems to like us and asked us for our contribution to it. I fucking hate most of my ex-band members, so the whole thing looked like some kind of 'a freedom of speech therapy'...
DT: Goth has often been called glam without the sense of humour, though Undercover Slut appears to have both in sufficient doses. What do you think of the goth vs. glam battle and how does UCS relate to it?
'O': Undercover Slut is way too dark to be glam and way too shiny to be goth! You cannot label us that easily, baby! Regarding that so-called 'Glam/Goth battle', I don't give a fuck!!! Both crowds love us to death anyways...
DT: How do you feel about the comparisons to bands like CHRISTIAN DEATH and TYPE O NEGATIVE? In what ways is Undercover Slut different than most guitar based goth bands?
'O': The people, they love labels, sometimes it's those bands, sometimes others. Fuck labels! Most goth bands are pathetic nowadays, we are definitely not! All of my respect to Mr. Williams, fuck that motherfuckin' opportunist!!!
DT: With songs like "Date+Rape" and "My H.I.V. Beauty Queen" you court some controversial topics. Where do you get the ideas for your songs and how much of it is a based on real life experience?
'O': Sadly, most of the girls that I know have been raped. I just witness shit happening and then write about it my own way...
DT: Tell us about your collaboration with REBEL REBEL's Teddy Heavens. How did this song end up in a porno film?
'O': Teddy and I have been known each other for several years now. I do have alot of respect for his band. We recorded that track last September at his own studio in Los Angeles. So far, the porn movie thing is a rumour, time will tell... Go to the video store, look for it, rent it, or steal it and masturbate... masturbate... masturbate...
DT: You've said that "in order to stay alive, glamour has to be evil". What is evil to you, and why is the element of glamour so dependent on it?
'O': Saying that is like saying "in order to stay alive, we have to be evil"... It's definitely our protection and our strength at the same time. We have to be 'evil' to our enemies to feel safe, the 'glamour' element has to be present to piss'em off, since we're so fuckin' pretty!!!
DT: Speaking of evil, what's the deal with Christina Aguilera wearing your shirt in her video? Did this really happen or is it just a rumour?
'O': Last September, Peter from Retail Slut in Hollywood sold one of our glittered tee-shirts to that whore for her upcoming video. She bought our shirt for real. So far I don't know if she'll have enough balls to wear it or not... Time will tell...
