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INTERVIEWS
Girl's
Life Online w/ Aimee Echo
Source:
Girls Life Online
Interviewer: Alicia Clott
By now you've heard their catchy first single "Gorgeous" from their debut album
Shakedown! Aimee Echo, lead singer of theStart, tells us why punk is in, and
pop is out.
What was it like touring with Sugar Ray and Uncle Kracker?
Aimee: It was really fun. All the guys are extremely nice. Sugar Ray are the
most entertaining men I've met in my entire life. We used to open for them in
L.A.
How did you come up with the name, theStart?
We were called Hero for the longest time, but two other bands took it. Our attorney
said, "You're not called Hero anymore. Come up with a new name." Every single
name is taken. For some reason, theStart wasn't taken. We liked the idea of
having "the" attached to it.
How long have you been together?
Three years. "Shakedown!" is our first album. I may not sound very excited right
now because I've only had 1/3 cup of coffee, but I couldn't be more happy. It's
been a long waiting process with label changes and management changes. Everything
changes. We started in September of 1999. We finished the bulk of the album
and switched labels. A year later, we addressed some more songs. I'm very happy.
Where's the coolest place you've toured?
Every little city has a different appeal to it. In El Paso we played on a military
base, and Tucson—near Sierra Vista—was cool. The people were incredible.
Where are you all from?
Scott and I are from LA. Jeff is from Northern California. Jeff's from Baltimore.
We met Jamie from Snot when our bands used to play together. We shared a tour
bus. Our old band played with Jeff's old band.
Have you always been into just punk music?
It was always punk rock. I was into the Gothic dance side of it and the political
side of it as well. I loved The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Fugazi. I was
really into Bad Brains, too. I was always a punk rock girl.
How old are you?
I am 20-something.
Do you ever get compared to Shirley Manson from Garbage?
Ya. Shirley and I both love Siouxsie and the Banshees, and we both love Chrissie
Hynde.
If you could be a famous rock star for a day, who would it be?
As a woman, I'd like to be Madonna 'cause no one cares what she does, and she
has an incredible career. As a musician—the Beatles in '66 when it was really
crazy. Probably John [Lennon], but not later on.
Is it difficult to be a woman in the punk rock scene?
It's hard being a girl in music. I deal with high-power men on a regular basis.
The people on my label are fantastic, but people think since I'm a musician,
I'm not intelligent. And since I'm female, I'm doubly stupid.
What must you have on tour?
Balance bars, because the food is so crappy on tour. It has adequate servings
of vitamins and proteins.
What message do you want people to get from your music?
I would hope they would remember sometimes dancing is more important than most
things. Everyday everybody takes themselves so seriously, they get caught up
in who they are and their life. If they can drop it all, and listen to music
and dance, everything feels a lot better.
What are you doing now?
We may pick up on the Family Values Tour for a while.
How do you differentiate yourself from other bands?
Music is getting homogenized and there are too many carbon copies popping out.
We went out of our way to not sound or feel like anybody else. I think that
it's really important to maintain originality and not to follow.