Fan of the Month: Michelle Brose!
Interview By Kayt
For the record, what
is your name?
Michelle Anne Brose.
Where were you born, and where did you
grow up?
I was born in Staten Island, and have lived here practically my entire
life, except for summers in Japan and living in Manhattan for college.
What were your main interests,
entertainment and otherwise, growing up? Any
obsessions you don't mind people knowing about?
My main interest growing up was getting good grades. (Yes, I know, I was
hopelessly geeky... and still am, and proud of it!) I was one of those
insufferable kids who enjoyed Gilbert and Sullivan more than Michael Jackson, a
fact which did not endear me to my classmates.
Obsessions. Aside from the Elvii, there's good books
(literature, science and sci-fi are my favorite genres), expensive chocolates,
Pepperidge Farm cookies, John Callahan, Berke Breathed, and Bill Watterson
comic strips, and U2. I enjoy dabbling with paint programs. Although I can't
draw to
save my life, I have a halfways decent eye for design, and I can wield a mean
Photoshop filter. I also enjoy learning programming languages and beating
programming problems to death. I like Star Trek and Star Wars, as every true
geek should, but I love Yoda. I'm in love with Yoda. I don't care that
he's
900 years old and green!
And, thanks to Jackdaw's influence, I have recently acquired a taste for going
shopping for Nice Shoes. My taste in footwear, before Jackdaw made me see the
light, tended towards the utilitarian; I wore the same pair of cheap black
flats (with bows! The horror! What was I thinking?) every single day throughout
high school and college, for the simple fact that they went with everything and
I never had to buy another pair. Although my collection is still quite tiny,
and are mostly secondhand or closeouts, I've found it's true what they say;
wearing Nice Shoes does make you feel good about yourself, which in turn
actually attracts members of the opposite sex.
When Death finally succeeds in dragging me offscreen, I want him to whisper
"Nice Shoes."
Oh, can you describe
your favorite shoes for us?
They're black "platform" slip-ons with a
multicolored Oriental dragon embroidered on each one. The effect is pretty
dramatic. The platform isn't one of those outrageous '70s-style deals, just a
really thick
sole. "Just the right weight for ass kicking" as I like to joke. :)
And you mentioned books and
literature…what are some of your favorite books?
That's a tough one. I know I'm going to leave out something important here, and
end up kicking myself later. My favorite books include The Wooden Sea by
Jonathan Carroll, The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, Moving Violations by John
Hockenberry, Mendel's Dwarf by Simon Mawer, (don't laugh) E.T. The Book of the
Green Planet, by William Kotzwinkle, and anything by Jane Austen, Ray Bradbury,
and Kazuo Ishiguro. I'm currently bingeing on all the Lois McMaster Bujold
books I can find; I thoroughly
recommended her Vorkosigan saga.
Do you play any
musical instruments yourself?
No, I was always terrible at music. When I was in fourth grade, they made
us all learn how to play the flute. Or, at least, try to learn how to play the
flute. The only note I managed to learn to read was E. So the rest of the class
would be merrily tootling "When the Saints Go Marching In", only
slightly cacophonous, and there I'd be, either playing only the Es or hitting
all the wrong notes. I don't know which frustrated the music teacher more. When
I was older, though, my mother bought us kids a keyboard, and I did spend many
happy hours picking out the notes to "Ode to Joy". That was the
furthest my musical education ever went. I enjoyed music, I was just never any
good at it. I'll leave it to the professionals.
What accomplishments are you most proud
of at this point in your life?
Well, I don't know if you'd call it an accomplishment, since I was really
just in the right place at the right time, but when I was about six years old I
got to sit on Coretta Scott King's lap at a party (she's the widow of Dr.
Martin Luther King and a civil rights champion in her own right) while she was
being interviewed on TV. That made a big impression on me. Later in life, I was
interviewed on NPR once, for an hour-long show called "Heat". I'm
also proud of getting one of the highest S.A.T. scores in my high school (yes,
that's the geek in me surfacing again) and getting a citywide award for it. But
I think the things I'm most glad of having done have been more personal
accomplishments, like standing up to a
muscle-bound jerk who was threatening my sister. *laugh* I got a reputation for
craziness after that one, but nobody dared bother me. I saved a friend's
marriage once, and twice I've successfully talked friends
out of imminent suicide. My family and friends have always meant more to me
than academic achievements.
What are your favorite movies?
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Fifth Element, The Matrix, Leon (a.k.a.
The Professional), The Fisher King, The Million-Dollar Hotel... and anything
with John Corbett in it.
What music are you into, in addition to
Red Elvises?
I like a little of everything; I have everything except country and rap in
my collection. My favorites are U2, Led Zepplin, Kodo, The Beatles, The Doors,
Simon and Garfunkel, The Clancy Brothers, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Rachmaninov,
The Chieftains, Carlos Gardel, Three Ham on Rye, Verdi, Brian Setzer,
Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Blue Man Group, Santana...
When, where, how, etc. did you first
hear and experience Red Elvises?
Ironically, I learned of the Elvii from my grandfather, a professor (now
emeritus) of history. (He specialized in Russian history, too.) Picture the
Soviet general from SSS who said "I do not like rock and roll",
change
the Russian accent to a mild German one, and you've got my grandfather. He had
passed them by at MusikFest, and when I came to visit a few days later to see a
different band, he started loudly complaining about some band called The Red
Elvises, who were playing Russian music with electric
guitars and getting all the girls to throw their shirts up on stage. I thought,
"Gee, I'd better check this out" and ordered Shake Your Pelvis. I
thought it was pretty good, but it wasn't love at first listen.
About six months later, I was visiting MP3.com for the first time, and decided
to see if there were any bands I knew of on there. I found the RE, downloaded
Red Lips, Red Eyes, Red Stockings, and immediately became obsessed with the
song. And the rest is history...
About how many times have you seen them?
Only five times, a total which pales in comparison to some of the other
frea... I mean, fans. If they would only play nearby more often...
What is it about Red Elvises that draws
you to them, that you like the most?
Besides the kick-ass music, you mean? At first I think it was their
chutzpah. The flashy clothes and shoes, the incredible stage presence, the
traditional Russian music at 100 miles per hour. Now I think it's the way
they treat people. They respect freakish obsession, and have no qualms about
showing their love for their fans. (Sometimes quite literally.)
What's the furthest you've traveled to
see them? And do you have good story around that?
Well, I have a story, but it's not a <i>good</i> one! I was
planning on visiting my uncle and his family this past Christmas, and knowing
I'd never get closer to RE Mecca, I made my family hold off on making travel
arrangements until the Elvii updated their tour dates page. I was in luck; the
Elvii had a Rusty's show within my window of opportunity. So the day after we
arrived in San Jose at about 2 in the morning, off we all drove to Santa
Monica. (This was quite a feat because not only did the airline manage to
completely smash a very important piece of luggage, they had also lost another
bag. Plus my sister had missed her connecting flight the night before, so as
you can imagine our little party was quite
frazzled.) We didn't get to the show until it was nearly over, but at least I
got to hear a new (to me) song, got to meet Kayt, Xtine, and Jeff Falcon, and,
of course, got a fabulous view of the Elvii, particularly Z.
*silly grin* Then on the trip back a couple weeks later, I broke my femur on
the airplane. And had to change planes in that sorry state, since I couldn't
afford to get stuck in a hospital in Chicago and miss my flight back. (I think
next time I'll just miss the flight in favor of getting medical treatment...)
And then I arrived to discover that the airline had trashed my wheelchair.
Excluding the Elvii and playing with my new baby cousins, it was pretty much
the trip from Hell. But I'm feeling MUCH better now. (I'm having a good time,
patching holes in my leg...) I don't think I can ever let Igor sit on my lap
now, though... ow. Sorry Igor.
Any other standout, all time great
memories of shows you've seen so far?
Any show where they make eye contact with me, smile happily, and dance is a all time great show. That means all of them, so far.
What are your
favorite Red Elvises songs?
In no particular order: Stewardess in Red, Red Lips Red Eyes Red Stockings,
Wild Man, Gypsy Heart, Mamasita, Sad Cowboy Song, Rocketman, Pilot John, Girl
from Malibu, Leech, Telephone Call from Istanbul, Susannah, Jerry's Got The
Squeezebox, Closet Disco Dancer, Boogie on the Beach, Please Don't Tell Me
(What I Did Last Night), Scorchi Chornie, I Wanna Rock n' Roll All Night,
Voodoo Doll, Wonderful Night, Beat of a Drum, Colors of Rainbow, Tell Me Who's
Your Daddy, A Kegga Beer and Potato Chips, Groovie, and, of course, my all time
favorite, I Wanna See You Bellydance! Sheer musical
genius, Bellydance.
What would you like to see them do in
the future? Any ideas?
Hehe, hehe...*giggles insanely* This is supposed to be G-rated, right? In
that case, I'll just say I'd like them to do a sequel to Six String Samurai. I
have a whole crazy space opera-type story envisioned in which The Kid---who
grows up to look amazingly like Buddy--finds the genetically engineered clones
of the Red Elvises aboard the still-orbiting remains of space station Mir,
(sadly, Avi has perished in the cryogenic tank...) and must defeat the evil but
beautiful female scientist to claim his destiny as
the new king of Lost Vegas. But since she's just as good with a sword as he is,
instead of defeating her, he gets her to fall in love with him, and together
they rule Lost Vegas and usher in a new era of peace, economic prosperity, and
surf music.
I'd also like to see them cover Back in the U.S.S.R. And I
want another album! And I want them to play more shows in my area, dammit!
Okay, last question. Do you have
anything you'd especially like to say to all the fans?
Um... my credo, "Be excellent to each other."
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