For July we have double the fun, with two Fans of the Month who have shared some exciting
Red Elvises experiences in Florida and even drove to Atlanta, Georgia to see their Favorite
Band (their stories appear in a previous Red Pages issue). Welcome the Osborne sisters,
Amy and Amber! |
Fans of the Month!
|
 |
For the record, what is your name?
Amy: Amy Osborne (the older one)
Amber: Amber Osborne A.K.A. “Ber,“ “Ozzy,“ or “Goober” as Amy calls me.
Amy: Actually, I call her just about anything with "ber" in it, i.e.: Ber-kinstock, cucumber, burly...but goober is the most common.
Where were you born,and where did you grow up?
Amy and Amber: New Port Richey, Florida, for both.
What were your main interests, entertainment and otherwise, growing up? Any obsessions you don’t mind people knowing about?
Amy: While growing up...? Um... As a kid I was a clogger. For those who don't know, it's a type of dance that has nothing to do with wooden clogs or Holland. Then in high school I was one of the art room geeks who was in flag corps and into really heavy music. After that...I was an angry industrial girl in a goth-candy shell with a mega Henry Rollins obsession.
When Amber was really little she loved Neil Diamond and went to his concert when she was two or three. I think that's supercool!
Amber: When I was about five I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, I had every toy and video imaginable. As Amy was saying, my first concert I ever went to was Neil Diamond when I was around two or three. I mainly went to bluegrass festivals with my dad and did a lot of camping when I was younger. Then in my early teen years I started going to hockey games with my sister Amy. Oh God, and I used to be a hardcore N Sync fan… Yes, I was young and very confused.
Tell us about your musical endeavors and any musical instruments you play…
Amy: Don't play any instruments. I remixed a Primus song for a contest once...didn't win. The only other slightly musical thing is that I used to do a kick ass impersonation of Gwen Stefani...but that talent has been lost.
Amber: I have been promoting/helping out bands for the last 4 years (local bands to Pearl Jam). And as musical instruments go I can play a pretty mean Kazoo. I do have a Mountain Dulcimer I played once for a school recital but that was a long time ago and ever since it has been collecting dust under my bed. It is a beautiful instrument but you really can't rock out with it. I know I’ve tried.
What accomplishments are you most proud of at this point in your life?
Amy: Still being alive (trust me...that's an accomplishment), helping to raise Amber to be the rockin' person she is now, and participating in the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk in 2001. I raised over $2200 and walked 50 miles.
Amber: Getting the hell out of high school.
What are your favorite movies?
Amy: In no particular order...what I can think of right now: "Life is Beautiful," "Spinal Tap," "Dr. Strangelove," "A Clockwork Orange," "Fargo," "So I Married an Axe Murderer," "Heathers," "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," "KungPow," "American Movie," "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," "Suicide Kings," "Trainspotting," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "Interview with a Vampire," "Lost Boys," "Sid & Nancy," "Immortal Beloved"....and many many more.
Amber: "The Boondock Saints,""The Pianist," "Labyrinth," "Edward Scissorhands," "Willard," "The Rejected," "The Fifth Element," "Rock and Roll High School."
Amy: Ooh I forgot "Labyrinth."
Do you have any favorite books?
Amy: Any true crime, Harry Potter books, "Dracula" - Bram Stoker, "Get in the Van" - Henry Rollins, "Player Piano" - Kurt Vonnegut, "Smile You're Traveling" - Henry Rollins, "And I Don't Want to Live This Life" - Deborah Spungen, "7 Tattoos: A Memoir in the Flesh" - Peter Trachtenberg, "Sophie's Choice" - William Styron.
Amber: "Siddhartha" - Herman Hesse, "The Holographic Universe" - Michael Talbot, "The Portable Henry Rollins" - Henry Rollins, "Pandora" - Anne Rice and anything by Franz Kafka.
What music are you into, in addition to Red Elvises?
Amy: Tom Jones, Nine Inch Nails, industrial German stuff (Funker Vogt, Rammstein, Beborn Beton, Wumpscut, Wolfsheim), Tori Amos, The Cure, Chris Isaak, Concrete Blonde, Danzig, Peter Gabriel, System of a Down, That One Guy, and most 80's style electro-pop (Erasure, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys...etc...).
Amber: David Bowie, Stray Cats, Harry Dash, Firewater, No Doubt, Danzig, Janes Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots & That One Guy.
When, where, how, etc. did you first hear and experience Red Elvises?
Amy: In 2000 (I think) Amber and I were driving to an Orlando Solar Bears game (hockey) and saw the "Kick Ass Rock ‘n’ Roll from Siberia" bumper sticker on the back of a van (not THE van). When we got home we checked out their website.
Amber: See Amy’s answer…
About how many times have you seen them?
Amy: 4
Amber: 5... Almost 6 but Skipper`s wouldn`t let me in cause I wasn`t 18... I was two months away!!! That was a sad night. I wanted to see the Red Elvises so bad!
What is it about Red Elvises that draws you to them, that you like the most?
Amy: Amber forced me to go to their show at Skipper's in April. We got there late and when I first walked in I was like "what the...??" The music was good but the crowd was mixed and I wasn't used to that. Plus we walked in during "Sex in Paradise" and I was thinking..."My God, they're expecting people to do funny dances along with the songs!!" I must admit that I felt uncomfortable. I had been locked in the goth/industrial/alternative crowd for so long that this was really weird. Amber insisted that the only way to experience an RE show was to get down in the crowd and participate. Once we were down there...the energy, great music (with a comic twist), and FUN overtook me and I've been happily obsessed ever since. For years, the concerts I've gone to either make you want to kill someone else or yourself by the time you leave. And everyone takes themselves so seriously....bands and audiences alike. RE is such a fun departure from all of that. I love it!!
Amber: Amy basically explained it for me in her answer… It is their joyful energy and carefree attitude and Oleg’s shiny red pants. Mainly it’s gotta be the shiny pants…
Amy: And the drum solos.
What’s the furthest you’ve traveled to see them? And do you have a good story around that?
Amy: Atlanta - 1000 miles round trip. The adventure is already chronicled in the show reports. We have a mega-roadtrip planned for October. Road trips are a wonderful chance for two sisters, who are a decade apart, to bond.
Amber: How far have I traveled? So far Georgia has been the furthest at around 1,000 miles… How far would I travel? The moon!
Which show is your favorite out of all the Red Elvises shows you've seen?
Amy: Probably the Skipper's show in April...because it was my first. You always remember the first time. :)
Amber: My first show at Skipper’s in 2003. The first RE experience is always the most memorable.
Amy: Amber stole my answer.
Any other standout, all time great memories of shows you’ve seen so far?
Amy: I think everything was covered in our show reports.
Amber: My favorite memory is all of them… I can't really pick out just a few.
What are your favorite Red Elvises songs?
Amy: "Gypsy Heart," "My Love is Killing Me," "Juliet," "Romantic Junk," "Everybody Disco."
Amber: "Romantic Junk," "Juliet," "200 Flying Girls," "Everybody Disco," "Closet Disco Dancer…" I will always be off beat and point the wrong way! That way my sister can locate me in the crowd!
What would you like to see them do in the future? Any ideas? Anything you’d like to say to the band?
Amy: Anything but porn.
Amber: A national Red Elvises Day. So that everyone in the nation could have the day off to celebrate the national wonder that is the Red Elvises. A worldwide tour with Tom Jones and Andrew W.K would be kick ass too. Also they need to make Red Elvises sharpies to sell at the show. I keep losing my sharpies!
Okay, last question… Do you have anything you’d especially like to say to all the fans?
Amy: Shpadoinkle!
Amber: Always buckle up! This mainly just applies to if you are ever in the situation of following the Red Elvises' van. Some of you know exactly what I am talking about from experience. Sorry this is so long....we can't shut up.
That's okay, it's perfectly understandable, especially when one gets talking about Red Elvises! Thank you both, again, for being Fans of the Month!!