Lydia Lunch has always been able to push the boundaries of punk. A no wave musician, a spoken word performer, a poet, a writer, a self-empowerment speaker, she is by far one of the most influential punk women. Starting out in Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, her career is beyond prolific. Now, she is touring with Retrovirus, capturing her career in music since 1977. Luckily, she’s playing Mayday in Cincinnati on Wednesday, June 25th.
Ms. Lunch was kind enough to answer some questions I sent her on fashion, women in rock and her career.
IK: Your dark look is extremely iconic and sexy, what in fashion inspired you?
LL: More than fashion…movies… Anna Magnani, Elizabeth Taylor…women who were dark, hard, sexy & were not afraid to flaunt their power.
IK: What brought you and Exene Cervenka together to write Adulterer’s Anonymous?
LL: I suggested we lock ourselves away in my apartment in Highland Park (LA)..and work on tag team poetry. A spin off on the William Burroughs/ Gysion cut up technique….but instead of cutting words together…we would tag team on the writing…passing note books back & forth. Years later we did a spoken word tag team tour… both on stage at the same time riffing off each other. Rude Hieroglyphics was the name of the CD.
IK: Who is your favorite woman in rock?
Carla Bozulich, Donita Sparks, Exene, Admiral Grey of Cellular Chaos…to name a few. I love any woman that rocks.
IK: As a self-empowerment speaker and an all around inspiring woman, what words of advice can you give to female musicians?
LL: Make music because you will go insane if you don’t. But become an architect. One of my favorite quotes… Architecture is music frozen in space.
IK: What was the best show you ever saw at CBGB’s?
LL: The Dead Boys in their prime. Or a double bill of Mars & Suicide.
IK: Do you prefer performing or writing?
LL: Performing is where the magic happens.
Don’t miss the chance to see Lydia Lunch live at Mayday this Wednesday. Show starts at 10pm and tickets are $10.