Kitty Questions : STE McCABE

Vibrant pop-punk politics glitter your ears, the candy-pink haze of a flailing Stratocaster catches the corner of your eye. Who could it be? He's the pro-feminist, cat-loving bubblegum-"queer" that you always dreamt existed.

He's STE McCABE!

1. What was the first record you personally bought?
Goodness, it was the debut album by Sinitta! I got it on tape when I was 8 and loved it for many years. I wish I'd have waited a few years to start buying music as answering this question is shameful.

2. Which male musician is the most inspirational to you?
Well despite the fact that Morrissey is slowly turning out to be a total wanker these days (did you hear those comments he made about Chinese people?), more or less everything he did with The Smiths and with his solo material I found to be the most beautiful inspiring pop music ever. Not many lyricists come close to his honesty and humour...and for that I have to continue to give him kudos for his past records. I just think in a personal sense he's let it all go to his head way too much and lots of his fans won't forgive that. Sadly I don't think I'll be supporting his new record.

3. Which female musician is the most inspirational to you?
Kathleen Hannah.  She made feminism something you can dance to, and her passion and rage is so inspiring to me. I have a lot of respect for her and give 10/10 for every single one of her bands and projects.

4. Speaking retrospectively, which film do you think you could soundtrack with your music?
I think 80's film "Who's That Girl" featuring Madonna. Fast paced, ridiculous and trashy. Despite my politics, musically that's a pretty good description of what I do.

5. Show us the most recent photograph of yourself.
This is me, my partner Lukasz and our friend Candy at Edinburgh Slutwalk last week.

6. Can you sum-up your music with a photograph?
Oh yes, this one was the cover of my last EP - sums it up perfectly I think!

7. Imaginary dream dinner party / night out - who would you invite and why?
I'd invite the girls (although I think women would be a more appropriate description now) from Shampoo, David Attenborough because I like his superior animal knowledge, Amanda Palmer because she seems like a laugh and Peter Tatchell to talk queer politics with when I inevitably got drunk (I have a habit of boring people with this last topic after 6 beers). I'm not sure they'd all get on but it'd be better than any Celebrity Big Brother ever was.

8. What is your top song on the theme of FOOD?

"Know Your Chicken" by Cibo Matto ("I know my chicken, you've got to know your chicken")

9. What's the funniest video you can find on Youtube?
This is surely the most ridiculous news story ever, and come to think of it, the news reporter is someone I'd like to add to the list of people I'm taking out on my dream dinner party/night out (see question 7)

10. Which 2 songs would you like played at your funeral?
 Well I've always said "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper is a must-have for any funeral, but I also think something depressing to make people wallow in their misery would be cruel but fun also, so I refer to an old Echobelly track about death called "Worms and Angels" here!

11. Can we have a photo of your record collection?
This is the bulk of my CD collection, although I have some vinyl and more CD's tucked away in another corner of the room.

12. If you were a super-hero, what would you be called, what would you look like and most importantly, what would your super power be?

Oh blimey, what a question! I'd be a great big fat swine called SuperPig, and I'd chase people down the road on my trotters, defecating pig poo at the speed of light at my enemies.

13. Draw me a picture of a cat.
My scanner is broke at the moment, so will this cute picture of our cats, Fox and Kathy, do instead?












14. Which song has the most positive and inspirational lyrics you can think of?
"Riot ladies, queers, let's fight. We won't judge but we might bite. Find a space with us tonight, find a space where we're alike"
(Faux Feminism by Manchester's best ever underground band, Vile Vile Creatures)

ARTIST BIO - Nicholas Ginbey

Known for his playful melodies and insightful lyrics about life and love, Nicholas is a true Austin artist whose proudest moment was performing with Daniel Johnston at the Parish.
Growing up in a home surrounded by art and music, Nicholas has been writing songs for as long as he can remember. As a solo artist and lead singer, Nicholas has written and performed with many of Austin’s finest musicians.
The consistent quality of his work has secured Nicholas’s reputation as one of Austin’s finest writers. His catalog contains over 100 songs that he has written from Americana to punk, each authentic and unique. Nicholas is currently the lead singer of the up-and-coming noise pop band, the Washed Away Stars.

ARTIST BIO - Your Yellow Dress

New project of OC’s The Paper Orchestra founder Alex Poska, Your Yellow Dress’s latest full-length, “Orange County, We’re Nothing At All Like The Shows,” was released May 2009.

Your Yellow Dress is currently embarking on a project to record some sort of release about every county in California similar to Sufjan Steven’s 50 States project. The releases will vary from full length albums to EPs to singles, and as of now there are only 56 counties left to write about.

ARTIST BIO - Schwervon!

Schwervon! is a two piece rock band. Nan Turner (originally from Washington state) and Matt Roth (originally from Kansas) met at the Sidewalk Cafe in downtown Manhattan in the late 90’s. At the time Nan was playing in Post Riot Grrl band Bionic Finger and Matt was performing as Antifolk acoustic troubadour Major Matt Mason USA. After a series of “Jam Dates” at the now defunct Context Studios a handful of lofi rock sketches formed based around such banal topics as arguing couples on the street and food. The music of Schwervon! grew to represent the celebration of imperfect love through jagged rock minimalism. They were DIY long before it was a marketing strategy, mixing and recording the bulk of their music in their apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where they live with their cat Gummo. They call it Olive Juice Music where Matt also produces music for other bands and operates an online indie music distribution center. Both of them continue to play and release music with other solo projects and collaborations: (Pantsuit, Kansas State Flower, Nan Turner, Major Matt Mason USA)

Together, Schwervon! has produced 4 full length albums and 2 seven inch vinyl only singles

ARTIST BIO - Evan Gumz

Amateur musician dabbling with noise rock and electronic music, and generally trying to make a good impression on the internet. Based in Philadelphia.

ARTIST BIO - R. Stevie Moore

Robert Steven Moore (born January 18, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. In addition to having numerous albums released on labels around the world, Moore has self-released over 400 cassette and CD-R albums, as well as dozens of home videos, mostly through the R. Stevie Moore Cassette Club, a home-based label. Moore lives and records in his home/studio in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He is the son of Bob Moore, veteran Nashville A-Team bassist, producer, and orchestra leader, as well as a longtime sideman for Elvis Presley.

In February 2005, newspaper writer Tammy LaGorce described Moore as a “lo-fi legend” in the New York Times.

Moore, born in Nashville, Tennessee, made his commercial recording debut at age seven, singing a duet with Jim Reeves entitled “But You Love Me, Daddy” on the RCA Victor album Songs to warm the heart.

Moore was gifted with intuitive proficiency for guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, and songwriting. In 1966, he began pursuing what would become his lifelong passion, home recording, using a reel-to-reel tape deck set up in his basement. In 1967, he formed his first band, The Marlborough (a rock combo). He also began working for his father as a studio musician, and as an assistant at Mimosa Music, his father’s music publishing company.

After dropping out of Vanderbilt University in 1971 to pursue a career as a professional artist, performer and entertainer Moore issued his home-recorded 1976 debut album Phonography on his uncle Harry “H.P.” Palmer’s HP Music label. The initial run was limited to 100 copies. Trouser Press gave the album rave reviews, calling it “an outrageous collection of musical brain spewage” and “a true slash of genius”. Moore moved from Nashville to New Jersey shortly afterwards, his uncle releasing two further collections, The Stance EP, and Delicate Tension in 1978 (Moore’s home tape releases continuing at the same time).

In 1996, in a gesture far overdue, “Phonography” was listed among “the fifty most significant indie records” in Rolling Stone’s Alt-Rock-A-Rama.

1980 saw an important tape release, Clack!, this time recorded professionally. In 1981, Moore set up the RSM Cassette Club as an outlet for his home-recorded work, making available all tapes recorded by Moore stretching back to 1968, each listed with a ‘listenability quotient’ rating from 1 to 10.

The next LP release was 1984’s What’s The Point?!! and in the same year Paris’ New Rose Records issued a double album compilation, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About R Stevie Moore But Were Afraid To Ask. The label described Moore as “one of the best songwriters of all time”.Everything proved particularly popular in France, with a single “Chantilly Lace” from the album becoming a minor sleeper hit there, and prompting Moore to undertake a promotional visit to the country, where he was welcomed with not insignificant adulation and press-buzz. Further albums followed in the 80s, including Verve, Glad Music (this time recorded in a professional studio), (1952-19??), and Teenage Spectacular (described by Moore then as “the most enjoyable project of my career”.)

During the 1980s Moore appeared sporadically on the Uncle Floyd TV show, a tongue-in-cheek, public-access style clown, puppet and variety show that broadcast out of New Jersey.

Moore was an early on-air personality at WFMU, an independent free-form radio station out of New Jersey.

Around 1988, Moore started working in home video, and he is now active on YouTube and MySpace.

The advent of CD-R as a medium for self-issued music brought Moore and his fans new enthusiasm for his home recording, and in 1999 the cassette club became the “R. Stevie Moore CDR Club” (CDRSMCLUB).

In 2002 Moore recorded an album with Half Japanese frontman Jad Fair, titled FairMoore, described as “a lovely, heartfelt effort that shows both in top form” by Dave Mandl, who stated that it “brings together two fiercely original figures in the American music underground”, the album consisting of Fair reciting his poetry over Moore’s instrumental backing.

Throughout the 2000s Moore, has continued to issue more official CD’s released on various independent labels around the world. He also worked on several mail collaborations with Terry Burrows (aka Yukio Yung), Ariel Pink, Lane Steinberg and others.

Moore contributed a track to the 2007 Worried Noodles compilation on Tomlab, alongside David Byrne, Deerhoof and Liars, compiled by British artist David Shrigley. Shrigley also interviewed Moore for BOMB Magazine magazine that year.

ARTIST BIO - Major Matt Mason

Major Matt Mason USA is the stage name for NYC based songwriter / producer Matt Roth’s solo projects. Inspired by the homemade tapes of Daniel Johnston, MMM’s first recordings appeared in cassette format around 1994. He as since released 5 full length albums (on CD and CDR) and two 7” singles on his own label Olive Juice Music and Teenage Fanclub drummer Francis MacDonald’s Glasgow based label Shoeshine Records. The music is riddled with influences that range from the paired down songwriting of early Bob Dylan to the more noisy elements of The Velvet Underground or Yo La Tengo. Matt is also a member of the bands Schwervon! and Kansas State Flower. The DIY spirit is a big part of MMM’s art and lifestyle as he continues to carve a niche for himself and others in the ever evolving stew of Modern American Folk music.