Zimbio Interview: Q&A With Del Marquis
LONDON- FEBRUARY 18:Del Marquis of the Scissor Sisters performs in concert at KOKO on February 18, 2007 in London. (Getty Images)more pics »Del Marquis has cut loose from the Scissor Sisters (for the time being) and is producing music on a solo basis. We caught up with the man behind the big guitar to find out what makes him pick.
When do you find you do your best work? That is, what time of day?
Witching hours are usually the best... 1 am to 4 am. But sometimes , getting up early and treating it like a job, meaning starting at 9 am can be productive in different ways.
Do you have a ritual you do to get in the right frame of mind to make music? Or do songs just pop into your head randomly and you pound out the song?No ritual, the best is to just chip away. I have hooks or ideas that i think may be good, but unless I take the time to work them out, they usually just end up in the bin. The only time songs pop into my head, is in my dreams... I never remember them well enough to commit them to recordings though.
What country has the craziest fans?
By crazy I mean, 'stalker crazy'... It would be Japan. Youth culture in Japan loves all things Western: rock and roll, pulp, ceremony, costume. Chances are, if you have a decent song, dress well and look marginally attractive, you too can have your own obsessive Japanese following.
Have you ever been banned from a place (bar, venue, state, country)?
It's unconfirmed whether I'm banned, but i did kick my foot through the wall of a hotel in Sydney. The Intercontinental? I forget. My foot went into the wall, it was cheap construction... I tried to hide it with a piece of furniture, but a couple days later my tour manager got a photo and a nasty letter from the hotel management. Sorry!
What's the worst job you ever had before you were famous?
Bike messenger, which i thought would be the greatest, because I love biking. But it turned something I love into a hellish experience. I started in the heat of summer, dripping sweat, sunburnt and constantly at odds with vehicles and pedestrians. That was actually the last job i had before starting with the Sisters. What an improvement!
What do you collect?
I collect shells from beaches of all the countries we visit, and pine cones, found objects... they are a better source of connecting me to my travels than photographs, or clothing I might have bought. That really is weepy and cheesy, but true.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I wanted to be a rock star. Talk about a word that has lost its meaning lately.
What are the key components of a proper back stage party?
You should be able to tell one story from that after party for years to come, and either laugh or be horrified.
Such as?
Someone more famous than the band, doing something extremely innapropriate. Or someone throwing an enormous cake out of the dressing room window. Or someone throwing up on sliding glass doors, and then seeing that dried vomit the next morning, sliding back and forth. I'm not naming names.
What is mankind's greatest invention?
Can cooking be an invention ? I love food.
Who is your hero?
I don't have one.
Do you have any regrets?
I did have a friend, who is no longer alive, that I could have tried harder to save... but that's such a downer! Sorry. His memory is inspiring to me, and for that, I don't have any more regret.
I remember having a rough time on the last tour, due to extenuating circumstances. And I took it out on my ex-guitar tech at the time, onstage and without control. That was not right. I regret being that kind of person.
Do you have any recurring dreams?No, they are all different, and never textbook. No naked in classroom, teeth falling out dreams. My last dream I was in a singing trio of 50's doo-wop girls, it was me, Judee Sill and Grace Jones... we all had greasy perms and frightening makeup. Can anyone tell me what that means?
Paging Dr. Freud! What's one thing you will never do?
Make false promises in a relationship. Outside of a relationship, no problem.
What's one thing you can't do without?
My best friend, David.
What has been your most frivolous purchase ever?
I'm sure there are tons, but can I please be an asshole and tell you about Ms. Matronic's? It's a Harmonium, a very obscure instrument, that is handmade by one company in the entire United States. Totally expensive, and she talked about it forever. It has ended up as the studio coffee table (in its flight case). We eat our lunches off of it. Totally frivolous! She'll hate me for this.
When did you know that you were special?
By special, do you mean 'the love that dare not speak its name,' Just kidding. We are all special, and I mean that it the most secular way. It's how you go about finding your talents, developing your skills. Everyone has talent, but not everyone taps into it.
How do you answer the question: "So, what do you do?"
It's a very New York question, people sizing you up. I usually lie at first and say I am furniture designer (which I once was). Why do I do that? I don't know.
If you were interviewing you, what would you ask you?
What are you going to do after music and touring?
What are some of your pet peeves?
Bad deserts, homophobia, people not cleaning up after their dogs, crying babies.
How do you know when you've gone too far?
When I have an awful feeling in my gut and I want to disappear. Usually then.
Top photo: Getty
Inset photos: Juanita More
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