Babes in Boyland

OA: Yes, cuz a lot has happened in Olympia for a long time, and the most known and international is probably Ladyfest that has spread all over the place.
SC: Yes, and you have Homo a Go-Go too. And I think its just when more things happen more people show up. At least that’s why I moved there (says Sarah) because of the reputation it already had. Me too(says Cindy)! For being really queer with lots of music and art. I was in like heaven when I went there (Cindy says), I was always the token, the gay person. I didn’t even know about queer culture before I went there. Which was before I moved there, cuz I was on tour with my old band "Rainbow Sugar". And I guess I went there about four times, and every time something totally amazing happened. One year it was Ladyfest, another was Mayday - which was really huge, has not been bigger ever since, and it was in the middle of the city and cops had to direct people to drive other ways and park other places, and I though: Wow – doesn’t people get beaten up (by the cops) for doing this?? Things are changing! I couldn’t believe it was happening. It was composting and recycling everywhere. Yes I haven’t seen composting anywhere until I got to Olympia! And I thought it was so cool. Yes, Olympia is a cool town.

OA: But why doesn’t it spread from the rural area like Olympia to bigger cities like Seattle?
SC: I don’t know, really. I think it spreads a little bit, but Olympia has its own vibe. Portland is way much more like Olympia. I think its also that the cost of living like in Seattle is so expensive compared to Olympia. Everybody is trying to make money there, cus they have to cus they have to live. And in Olympia its a bit more chilled..you can pay your rent and if you don’t have any more money its so many free things to do. Seattle you have to tell you’re a writer or something to try to get in to a show, or sneak in...but in Olympia you can tell that you really don’t have any money and they’ll most probably let you in...

OA: So I’ts more like a Portland-feeling, then?
SC: Yeah, definitely. Cus Portland is cheap to live too. And Portland has a more bike riding scene too. Its a lot of ware houses starting up, its cheaper to live. Its work 'round cafes, its got a cool punk rock scene to it.

OA: So you can move to Oslo and we can go to Portland...
SC: Yes, we can do an exchange!

music break: Scream Clubs new favourite band. They found out about them on their last tour - and fell in love with them - from Bordeaux, Maison Close (which is a brothel) "There's Something In Your Mouth" -

OA: So did you see this band in Bordeaux?
SC: Yes, we first met the girl, Nancy (its three guys and a girl in this band) at a festival we attended, The Friendship Alliance. It was so crazy to see all these Olympia bands in France at the same time! So many bands being at tour and to be able to make this festival happen. Its cool! We live in a great little city! Well, we met Maison Close actually at a gig we did together last year when they had their record release. And they’re so good! And the voice of this guy is so striking to me. He’s like 19 and in three other bands, and he’s like a nineteen years old Robert Smith or something. He doesn’t look like Robert Smith but his voice is kinda like that. We fell in love - and they actually thanked us on their album, I couldn’t believe it. We were really honoured.

OA: I wanted to ask you last time you were here, but I forgot, but: Scream Club - "Club" is it because you really was hoping for more help or open for more acts to your performance?
SC: It actually always have been like an evolving door. And we’ve done a lot of shows with Ruby Valentine from Romanteek. Weve had the "Sexy On The Inside" dancers we performed with, and for a while we had the "Stress Free"-dancers we brought with us last time. We played with the Electro Sexual live, Leonard de Leonard, we used to have a DJ for a little while too Cruisemiam Blandal or Blandal Cruisemiam. And also with Katastrophy, we have song together so we performed that. So I guess it won’t be the same people over and over, except for me and Sarah.

OA: And you started the band together?
SC: Yes, definitely. But it will always be a rotating cast...its cool to work with other people, it keeps it fresh.

OA: But do you meet them and then go on tour with them, or do you play with them and then decide to record with them?
SC: That depends...with Katastrophe we had heard his stuff and he had heard ours so we just decided "lets do a track together". So we met at the "Peace Out Festival", in Oakland. And the most revolutionary movement happening in any music movement right now is gay hip hop. It started in Oakland, so for more info check out peaceout.com or peaceoutfestival.com or sugartruckrecordings.com. And PeaceOut is all over the world now, I think its one in the UK. Yeah I think it is just a few weeks. Its so cool, its Hip Hop and its totally not competitive. Its so loving, its like a queer summer camp, really cool.

OA: So is this the spirit that inspired you to start the band?
SC: No, we didn’t know about it until last year, or a year and a half ago. We didn’t even know it was a big enough community to support a queer Hip Hop Festival. That kind of blew our minds right there. And then come there to play with all these artists we never had heard of before. And see that it was actually people doing queer Hip Hop everywhere. And that we were totally not alone. I mean its so many cool queer Hip Hop artists. Youve got Katastrophy, Johnny Dangerous, Deadly, Q-boy, Delerical...so many.