Pop! Comes out the Random Mystery Box

a random Music Box

(Random title WOOT!) Hope everyone had some awesome holidays. Today, as a holiday gift I decided to post an interview with someone very special. I wrote a post about her a month ago with a link of one of her many songs called "Casimira."...so with an awkward drum roll here is the interview: (*drum rolls while the box is being opened slowly*)

1. If you could make a music box what would it consist of?

What a fun thought! Hmm..I would like my music box to be an intricate and elegant wooden contraption, with telescoping sections and cut-outs that would slowly spin and make various designs as music [is being] played.

It would also gently levitate somehow, maybe with some sort of candle-powered lantern apparatus attached to the top- or have that be one setting/option, and a slow-fading, color-changing LED display be another.

There's so much music I adore that it would have to play a different song each time I wound it up, preferably songs by my friends and tour-mates ("Seething Sun" by Bekah Kelso, "Got To Fly" by Marian Call, "This Cocoon" by Ginger Doss, "Amazon Warrior Princess" by Big Bad Gina, "Must Be the Moon" by Amy Steinberg, "Thirteen" by Vixy & Tony, "Medusa" by Heather Dale, "Secret Portal" by Scott Huckabay, "Kudzu" by Trillian Green, "The Mushroom Song" by Tricky Pixie)...and occasionally something random, like the "Ghostbusters" song by Ray Parker, Jr. It would be impossible to break, and it would have a lifetime warranty.  :)

2. Do you have any tattoos and if so what do they mean to you?

I currently have one tattoo, with lots of plans for more in the future. My tattoo is a small, tribal Grim Reaper, done in black ink who sits between my shoulder blades on my back.I got the tattoo when I had just turned eighteen. Later that year at my college, a Slavic classmate of mine asked me about it. When I told him the tattoo's story, he told me that in the folklore and fairy tales he was raised on, the personification of Death was always female. I liked his story so much that I then decided that the Death pictured in my tattoo was female as well.When people ask me about it, I tell them that she is watching my back for me.




3. You have done a handful of concerts. What is one memorable moment of them?

((laugh!!)) Lots of interesting things have happened at my various concerts over the years as a result of so many people falling in love with the song "Alligator in the House", written by my cellist Betsy Tinney and embellished by me.

The first time that song [was performed it] caused something interesting at LunaCon 2005 in NY/NJ. A fan of mine who happens to be a historical social dance teacher, performed a tango with her dance partner, across the back of the stage, both of them wearing bright green tango dresses and mirror-covered plush Alligator hats!

They hadn't warned me before the show that they were going to do this. [Nevertheless], I thought it was great! This type of fan participation has continued with "Alligator in the House" and has expanded to include my pirate songs (The Wendy Trilogy), "The Truth About Ninjas" (look it up on YouTube; it's worth it), and "Salad of Doom", which Betsy also helped to write.

4. A few of Rockinglicious' readers personally commented that they liked "Casimira", what was the inspiration or story behind it?



the book behind "Casimira"

Wow, thank you! The song "Casimira" was inspired by the character of the same name in Catherynne M. Valente's novel, Palimpsest. The Casimira of the book, like the Casimira of the song, is someone not to be taken lightly. She is effectively the queen of a land of dreams, and she can be rough when she doesn't get her way.
The song was directly inspired by a conversation that Casimira has with another character in the shadows of a very strange opera house, about how so many people try to get to the land of Palimpsest and so many fail, the same way every time, leading to despair and even suicide.

Casimira has seen this happen so many times that it bores her- she even admits to laughing at it. She has a sort of predatory affection for this other character, a young woman from California named November, and I hoped to evoke that in the song. "Casimira" is definitely my Nine Inch Nails moment, and I am very happy with it.


5. Describe a day in the life of S. J. Tucker.
Usually it goes something like this:  

wake up between 8-10am, put on comfortable clothing, do Qi Gong/Pilates/yoga or play outside if possible (usually with my hula hoop) for a few minutes, breakfast, shower, deal with a few tasks online that keep the business end of my music-business going: (booking shows, contacting friends and fans, answering interview questions, boosting the signal about upcoming concerts on Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

take a walk or practice hoop, staff, or poi if time and if weather permits; eat lunch, and then ideally get ready to drive to my next concert or rehearsal.

By nightfall, I'm putting on my show clothes and makeup, tuning my guitar, checking all of my cables, and starting sound check. I'm visiting with fans and concert-goers, and I'm giving the best show that I can give.
My head [then] usually hits the pillow between Midnight and 2am, depending on whether I have a concert the next day or lots of traveling to do--getting enough sleep is a must for any performer. At the moment, this routine is mostly relaxed, since I'm off the road right now visiting family and gathering strength for my February-November 2012 tours. I'm getting a lot of recording done and getting a lot of rest.


6. Werewolf or vampire?
I see your land-dwellers and raise you this:  Selkie or Mermaid?


7. Your website lists "mythpunk" as one of the genres for your music. What is mythpunk?
Mythpunk is a genre that started with speculative fiction and fairytales that get radically retold by modern authors- like my friend, the aforementioned Catherynne M. Valente, who coined the term. I extend Mythpunk to music with story-songs (what folk music is sometimes known for); for example, my trinity of tunes about Peter Pan's Wendy staying behind in Neverland to become a very successful pirate captain.


taken from the mythpunk link

Mythpunk to me is about gorgeous word-craft and not being afraid, as a writer or composer, to take a story that's been around forever, and breathe new life into it, however weird your methods may be.  Read more about Mythpunk here:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Mythpunk



8. There are a few videos of you doing spoken word. Can you give Rockinglicious a piece?

I'd love to!  Here's a link to my favorite new spoken word piece:
http://tinyurl.com/cun4ph9. 


9. And last but not least, what is your New Years resolution?
In 2012, I will remember to take time off when I need it, to do what makes me happy whenever possible. I will act in the name of love, good music, and creativity, and I will make other people happy without wearing myself too thin. I will release a new album, if not two, and I will figure out a good balance between time on the road,time to record, and time to rest.


(*closes box slowly*) Hope you all digged the dandy mystery gift (not so mystery now) because for Rockinglicious' New Year's Resolutions for 2012, random mystery interviews are on the list. Another note, if you guys are interested in getting more information on tour dates and other awesome stuff on S.J. Tucker, you can check her out at her facebook, her blog, or even better check out her download page at this website: http://music.sjtucker.com/.

taken from Contemporary Art Blog by Micci Cohan

P.S. If you like this awesome random picture of an array of mixed tapes, you should definitely check out the rest of the blog from where it came from: http://www.miccicohan.net/blog/



thanks for reading everyone,
Miss Bobo