Tampasm
(courtesy of Eddy Lawrence,Select Magazine,March 1997,and great thanks to my friend Nessa who typed it!)
WHO ARE THEY?
Brighton all-dame teen metal conglomerate comprising
Charlotte
Evangeline Honey(vocals),Ollie Arnold(guitar),Jenny Bishop(bass) and Cat
Black(drums).Formed and named at school and primed to be the noisenik
Spice Girls
"we like what they're doing.We'd like to do what they did to
the metal
scene"says Jenny
"It would've been better if they weren't out of stage school"counters
wee Charlotte
"Actually,only today,we were guessing which Spice we were.The posh one
was none
of us"
SO IT'S GIRL POWER A GO-GO THEN?
No,as it happens.
"we're not gonna go along with the 'girl power' thing
and say,yeah,
were doing it for the girls"scolds Charlotte,with a nasty look in her
eyes"because we're
doing it for our selves.We're a selfish band"
Nor do they have much time for their contemporaries.Cat is scathing on
the
subject:
"Women in rock always have to be crazed harpies,mad women who
are just
completely nutty,or they're sexy and lovely and non-controversial"
"...and who wants to be Alanis Morrisette?We just want
some respect,which isn't a word you use when you're talking about female
bands"finishes Charlotte
Ooh,get back in the knife drawer,Miss Sharp
STILL,THEY MUST BE POPULAR WITH THE OLD SCHOOL CHUMS?
Not especially.
"A lot of this band is revenge on people who wouldn't let
us be
in bands with them when we were at school because we were female,"snarls
Olivia,like
a she-wolf protecting her brood"It's great seeing all the tarts at
school who used to
slag us off,and now they're working in Tammy Girl part-time."
Rumours that school offers the 'best days of your life'as your mum
told you are
greatly exaggerated,it appears.
According to Charlotte,"if youre not
fucked up at school you've got no ambition--and that's what brings
Tampasm together"
OBVIOUSLY VERY ROCK'N'ROLL...
Oh Christ aye.You wouldn't believe some of the tales of hard living
surrounding the band.Mind you,neither would they
"I'm dead,by the
way"says Jen,suspiciously animated"I died of a heroin overdose 2 months
ago"
Olivia:"And we've all had messy abortions with rusty coathangers,but we
won't
talk about that"
WHAT DO THEY REALLY WANT TO DO WHEN THEY GROW UP?
"We're very ambitious"states Jennifer
"We're not afraid of wanting success,that's why we wear dresses instead
of dressing like blokes-because it's gonna get us photos"reveals
Charlotte
"We really do want to dominate the world and there's no joke about
that"laughs a
Fuhrer-istic Jen,eyes blazing like some kind of crack-crazed Eva
Braun.
"Tampasm
for queen!"proclaims an equally megalo Olivia.
"We'll be happy when we've met Skid Row"syas the more realistic
Cat.
SO ARE THEY DOWN WITH THE KIDS THEN?
"We're out to have fun"Charlotte blarneys"Y'know,we're four 18 year old
girls,everyone
else is out getting jobs,going to university,but we're doing THIS"
Jennifer offers an unknockable mission statement:"We just want to have a
laugh and make some FUCKING MONEY!"
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