Interview - Ribbon - Southsea Fest

If I'd done any research before this interview (not that I'm highly unprofessional; there were 150 + artists performing, and I didn't know who I would be interviewing), I'd have known well in advance that Ribbon won a competition to open the whole festival, so I wouldn't have been surprised halfway though when they mentioned it. Well done to them.

Previously published on mINtSOUTH.cm in September 2009
Words - Suzy Sims
Editor - Rob Ball
(c) mINtSOUTH.com

INTERVIEW - RIBBON @ SOUTHSEA FEST 09 - MICHAELA CORINNE AND LUKE ALEXANDER

mINtSOUTH: Tell me a bit about yourselves.
Michaela: “We met towards the end of last year.”
Luke: “I saw her onstage playing a few songs down a local mic night and I just thought ‘She's quite good’. I went up to her at the end and said: ‘Got to do something with you. Got no idea what it is.’”
Michaela: “I was thinking at this point ‘Not really sure what you mean!’ We've both been in bands before doing various things, and just sort of came together and gelled together.”
Luke: “We were coming from the same angle so it didn't take long to get things started. We were just on the same wavelength right from the beginning.”

mINtSOUTH: Can you describe your music?
Michaela: “It's a little bit like this theatre [Kings] - chandelier-y, and mirrory.”
Luke: “Yes, it's exactly like this theatre. I think a lot of our inspiration comes from theatre pieces and I've got a background in doing stage production. It is fairly dramatic, I suppose.”
Michaela: “I'm loving listening to soundtracks at the moment, I've got the Oliver! soundtrack, it's brilliant. But we really like the Dresden Dolls, it's got a similar sort of set up to us.”
Luke: “A big inspiration. Amanda Palmer - she's crazy, we love her.”

mINtSOUTH: Southsea Fest – have you played yet today?
Luke: “Yes we have, at the Wedgewood Rooms. It went pretty well. We had a bit of a different set and were starting off the whole festival, so yeah it was a pretty good feeling really. Just before we came on there was literally no-one in the room at all, and then halfway through the first song suddenly a cluster of people came in and it went well from there.”

Ribbon: “We won the Showcase 09 competition this week at the Wedgewood Rooms [the prize package included a slot at Southsea Fest] which was quite nice.”
Michaela: “I didn't think we were going to win the final but quite pleased that we did. There were the Watermelons in the final as well, I really liked them.”
Luke: “We were a bit annoyed that we missed The Downing Street Years. I'm a big fan so it's a shame that we didn't actually get to meet them in the competition.”
Michaela: “There's a band called Puresist as well, they were brilliant. They were clearly just enjoying what they're doing.”

mINtSOUTH: Any bands you’re looking forward to seeing at Southsea Fest?
Luke: “It’s going to be good, especially at the Wedge. That's probably where we'll be hanging out.”

mINtSOUTH: Which band member would you eat first on a desert island?
Luke: “I would eat Michaela first on a desert island. I haven't really got much choice, and I don't really like hot, cold or pain, so I wouldn't eat myself.”
mINtSOUTH: A lot of people go for the drummer.
Michaela: “I'd go for the drummer as well actually.”
Luke: “That's a bad idea, because I'm the drummer!”
Michaela: “The options are kind of limited.”

mINtSOUTH: Gorilla versus bear – who would win in a fight?
Michaela: “I reckon gorilla.”
Luke: “I don't know, a bear's just made to rip things apart. It's a really difficult one. I've had shark discussions, crocodiles, but gorilla vs bear - I mean, that's gonna take some thought.”
Michaela: “I'm pretty sure we'll be discussing this this evening.”
Luke: “We'll answer in song form at some point.”

Shoutbox -
Ribbon: “We've got a few gigs coming up. Other than that, we're just focused on recording at the moment, we're going to hopefully go in and do a nice single recording so it's all ready for radio play. That's our immediate plan really, just sorting things out and getting it all up what we want to do. Showcase 09 has given us a lot of confidence, and we want to be bigger and bolder.”

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