INTERVIEW MONSTRE: THE WRAYLETTES: "All because of the Raelettes"
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| Jeannette Pritchard |
Nous avons été conquis par le premier EP des Wraylettes, une superbe révélation ! Nous avons pressenti que le contact avec elles serait excellent. Les Wraylettes ont largement dépassé nos prévisions. Disponibles et sympathiques, elles ont accepté avec enthousiasme de répondre nos questions en se les répartissant. Un vrai travail de groupe pour notre plus grand plaisir. Un immense merci à elles !
Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and what can you tell us exemples about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you?
SUSAN JANE : I have many and varied influences, from early blues and hillbilly music to soul, garage, country, punk and new wave.
As a drummer, the people I want to sound like are : Earl Palmer, who played with everyone, but most influential work was with Little Richard. (NDR: Pour illustrer les propos de Susan Jane, je vous conseille: Backbeat The World's Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Drummer), Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, who I emulated when learning to play and was so confused when people said 'they couldn't play'! Doug Clifford of Creedence, who is SO underrated because he is not a flashy drummer. He had the best groove, and truly made the band sound like they did. And Phil Rudd of AC/DC, again underrated because what he does is simple and solid and always serves the song. These guys put Rock 'n' Roll first, and themselves second, as any good musician should.
I rip off their beats all the time, and most of the time I am trying to be one or all of them.
I am also strongly influenced by Tina Turner and especially the Ikettes. I consider their representation of female strength, style and musical mastery to be the highest standard to aspire to in Rock 'n' Roll. Their influence can be seen in the combination of glamour, sweat and commitment to the music I put into a live gig when I am trying to 'flip my wig'!
There are so many bands I hate, and I love to hate them, but I can only choose one!
I will choose an artist who was around when I started playing, so could potentially have influenced me, but influenced me to NOT be like them. I LOVE to HATE Morrissey. As a performer, he is highly affected and pretentious, which is the opposite of what I like. I can’t believe that someone involved in the Cramps and New York Dolls fanclubs (two of my favourite bands) clearly knows nothing about Rock 'n' Roll. The music of the Smiths makes me want to gag, and I was almost glad when Morrissey was revealed to be a racist, because it gave me more to hate him for.
Intellectual question: Which 'non-musical artist (filmmaker, writer, painter...) played an important role in the way the band evolved…
YOLANDA : Hard question ! I’d be happy if The Wraylettes captured the Biff-Bang-Wow of Adam West-era Batman, the toughness of Jim Thompson’s fiction, the mystery of Glenn Barr’s paintings and the trashiness of John Waters’ films.
History question: Can you sum up the life of your group?
NIKKI: The Wraylettes is the brainchild of Sammy-Lou Croissant. From the initial goal of honouring the wonderful Link Wray it has become a roaring force of nature with a life of its own. Nothing less than global domination will stem the tide! Brace yourselves!
Champollion question: What is the meaning of the band's name?
SAMMY-LOU : One afternoon, a Ray Charles song came on the radio, and while I was listening to it, I started thinking about how cool his backing singers the Raelettes were. Then suddenly, like a message from the rock’n’roll gods, the thought hit me: someone needs to start an all-girl Link Wray tribute band called The Wraylettes ! Link Wray loved Ray Charles ! He even covered one of his songs, « Mary Ann. » So then I was on a mission to make it happen. All because of the Raelettes.
Buddy question: Who has helped you most in your band's adventure and without whom you wouldn't have had the same evolution?
SAMMY-LOU : So many people have helped us: our fans, venue bookers, other bands, our partners, radio DJs, zines like yours… but the person who’s had the biggest influence on our evolution is Aussie music legend (and fellow Link Wray fanatic) Tex Perkins. After asking us to support his bands The Fat Rubber Band and The Beasts -- both of which were amazing experiences that exposed us to a much bigger audience than usual -- he invited us to support The Cruel Sea on their Honeymoon is Over 30th anniversary tour in 2023. The Cruel Sea are national icons – this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, beyond anything we ever expected to do. We played at huge venues in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, in front of thousands of people who had no idea who we were – plenty of them didn’t know who Link Wray was either – and we discovered that Cruel Sea fans are the best ! They made us feel welcome and seemed to genuinely dig us. Also, at every show, Tex would stand at the side of stage and do the creepy laughing voice in « The Shadow Knows » for us ! The Cruel Sea are mighty musicians, incredible performers – and top guys into the bargain. We’re still buzzing from the experience, 18 months later. Merci, Tex !
NIKKI: In a previous life I played double bass in a jazz band. This meant occasionally having to play at things like weddings. The highlight of this was playing, smiling, and being part of the official wedding photographs for an horrendously drunk bridal party before we found out we were at the wrong wedding... This is why I now love rock and roll.
Question Happy Few: What's the biggest benefit you've derived from your band, and can you tell us about it?
YOLANDA : Getting to play loud, Linktastic rock’n’roll with the other Wraylettes ! Also, if I wasn’t in this band, my partner might not have bought me a very rare 1962 Danelectro Longhorn guitarlin (same model as Link’s) for my birthday this year !
Art question: What book, film, record and current band made you flash?
NIKKI: Hmmm. Band and record are easy, "Wraydioactive!" by The Wraylettes. As for book, "A History of Britain in Ten Enemies" by Terry Deary. (Better than any schoolbook I ever had to read!)
Funny question. What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you?
SUSAN JANE : Gee, I find so many things funny on stage, but probably the time I was playing in a band with my husband, and he had just helped me set up my drums. I walked back on stage in the dark to check my drums, and saw his cute round arse bending over my bass drum. Being an affectionate wife, I grabbed that arse and squeezed...and an unfamiliar face turned to look at me. 'I'm sorry, I thought you were my husband!' He replied 'I'm the sound guy, and YOU are getting good sound tonight!'
Camembert question: What's France to you, apart from the land of wine and cheese? (you're allowed to Google it, the theme is rock and underground culture).
SAMMY-LOU: J'adore la France! For me, France is (in no particular order, and not all rock’n’roll-related, sorry): Alain Delon, classic Citroens (the DS is my dream car), Les Grys-Grys, Les Lullies, yé-yé, Jacques Dutronc, Vernon Subutex, Grey Goose vodka, Guy de Maupassant, Jeanne Moreau in The Bride Wore Black (one of my favourite films), the groovy space-age fashion of Courrèges, the cemeteries of Paris, Inspector Maigret, Toulouse Lautrec … and every single band in this amazing video I stumbled across the other day!
Peter Petraitis
Sponsorship question: Who can you sponsor for Les Monstres Sacrés, and how can you convince us to talk about them?
SAMMY-LOU : There's a band here called The Tommys who I think would be right up Les Monstres Sacrés’ alley. They sound like the swampy three-headed lovechild of Hasil Adkins and the Silver Surfer, with some Gun Club thrown in for good measure. They were in hibernation for decades (they started in the 90s, I think), but they’re back with a vengeance, showing younger bands what real rock’n’roll is! They recently released a killer 7” called "Window Pane"
Patriotic question: Make the list (between 5 & 10) of the top records made par artists of our country.
YOLANDA :
Laisser Tomber Les Filles - France Gall
C'est le Temps de l'amour - Francoise Hardy
Contacte - Brigitte Bardot
Roller Girl - Anna Karina
Tu Veux, Tu Veux Pas - Brigitte Bardot
Mr Mystery - Fabienne del Sol
(Confession: I also play bass in a group called Les Yé-Yé Girls...)
Patriotic question 2 : Make the list (between 5 & 10) of the top records made by artists of your country.
SUSAN JANE :
Riff Raff (AC/DC)
I'm Stranded (The Saints)
She's so Fine (Easybeats)
Girl in a Sweater (Hard Ons)
Honey Hi ( Daddy Cool)
The Loved One (The Loved Ones)
Shout (Johnny O'Keefe)
You Should be Dancin (Bee Gees)
Degenerate Boy (X)
Shanty Tramp (Dirty Lovers)
Merci les Wraylettes !
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