Jake Shears: Exclusive Interview
Two years after their spectacular rise to fame, Scissor Sisters are about to reenter planet pop's atmosphere with a bang.
We sat down with the group's front man Jake Shears to talk about how he comes up with crazy lyrics, dealing with fame, and his obsession with James Bond.
Most bands play in small venues for years before they become famous. Scissor Sisters formed in 2001 and became famous so quickly. Were you ready for that?
When you experience something like we've experienced--the constant performing--your body gets used to pumping huge amounts of adrenalin. I was still getting huge adrenalin rushes back at home, when I shouldn't have been getting them. You're trying to relax and suddenly you feel like you want to rip your skin off and fly away. There's a lot of anxiety and self-censorship that happens when you're dealing with this kind of pressure. But we realized that we're special after all, and we've got something amazing going on. It's extremely liberating.
How has success changed you?
I can go out and buy whatever DVD I want, or a bunch of CDs, or videogames.
You recorded your first album in Babydaddy's house. Why did you decide to go into the studio for this album?
It was time to give myself a break and walk to work every day.
Your lyrics are pretty abstract. How do you come up with them?
It's funny, when I write a song, I have to have some visuals in my
head. I also have to have a story. If the narrative or visuals aren't
in my head, I can't write it. Sometimes, the stories emerge from the
weirdest places. I have really vivid dreams. I had one about Paul
McCartney. We were in a room by ourselves, having a conversation about
songwriting. He told me some amazing things. Then, right before I woke
up, he said--and it sounds a little cheesy if you just say it out of
context--'It's the music that connects me to you.' I felt like I'd
had a visitation or something.
Tell me about "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'".
By singing about
not feeling like dancing, it was the only way to write a dance song
that was fun, but still came from an honest place.
I love the song "She's My Man."
It's based on a woman
called Annie Christmas, who was a New Orlean's folk legend. She was a
huge lady, a riverboat pirate, a thief and a killer who passed herself
off as a man. This song is from the point of view of someone who is in
love with her. I'm completely fascinated by New Orleans. It's a city
built by whores and thieves--I'm very inspired by the music that's
come out of the city. I think you can hear that on the record.
My other favorite is "Kiss You Off."
"Kiss You Off" is a falling-out-of-love song. It's about knowing
you're better than how you're being treated in a relationship, and
getting the fuck out. And then telling him to kiss your ass! I think
it'll be a good break-up song for a lot of people.
Looking at your song list, I see you have a little obsession with James Bond theme songs?
I'm
not even a fan of the movies--they bore me to tears! But, oh my God,
the songs, the visuals, the openings...those classic songs sung by a
woman that are always just out of reach. It's that longing, you know,
you're here with me now but I know you're going to have to roll out of
bed and go kill some people.
How did you come up with the album's name "Ta-dah"?
It came to me in the middle of recording, and it wouldn't leave. It was
just there. I kept coming back to it. I think it's got a lot of
different meanings and layers. If you just look at the word 'Ta-dah'
with no exclamation mark, no full-stop, it's very abstract. There's
magic behind that word, illusion behind that word--you think of
performance, showmanship. But 'Tah-dah' is also about expectations.
Because this is a second album, there's an aspect of presentation.
'Tah-dah.' This is what we've done. This is what it is.
- Visit Scissor Sisters' official Web site at ScissorSisters.com
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