Play in popout

Who: Dragonette
What: artists interview and event
Where: The Casbah - 306 King St. West, Hamilton
When: Monday, October 5th...Doors at 8pm
Written by: Samantha Payne

myspace.com/dragonette

With a name like Dragonette you would think to be gearing up to hear a rock band full of tough chicks. Well, the only tough girl in this band is Martina Sorbara and I had a chance to chat with lead singer and the only female in the band about her solo career before Dragonette, life on the road with the men including her husband and their upcoming show at the Casbah.

You started off your career as a solo artist.  Do you miss those days?
Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes I want to write a really sappy slow love song. Not that Dragonette doesn't have a place for that but it is just harder to perform them. It's harder to get dancing kids to slow down during an emotional song.

Why did you feel it was the right time to end your solo career and come back as the front women of Dragonette?
I was not excited about writing by myself because I had been doing it for so long. I felt like every time I was trying to write a song I was not exciting myself.  Then when you team up with someone the places you go are so much more broad.  It just came down to that I am excited about this and I was not excited about the old stuff anymore.

What is it like to be in a band with your husband? At any point, have you ever found it difficult?
All the time! There are a number of different things that you run up against. Some days when something is upsetting you, you go to work and have a shitty work-day, most people come home to their husband and they make you feel better. But if you guys are in the exact same place, experiencing the exact same bad day, then your husband is in the same bad mood as you are.  It's hard to pull each other up.  Also, when you are not working with family, it is easier to have a mutual respect for each other. But when you are family, nothing is holding you back from saying "You fucking suck."  You just have to have a balance between turning on for business and then being able to turn off when you're at home together in bed.

What is easy about being married and being in a band together?
If we were not in the same band, we would be spending all this time apart. And it is nice when you are on tour and to have your husband there. It is one of the luckiest things. It is nice not sleeping in a hotel room all by yourself.  The pros weigh out the cons.

When you guys were recording your first full-length album, you re-located to London. Why?
We got a record deal there. It did not mean we had to go there but it was sort of an adventure. When we got there, every billboard, instead of advertising products, they advertised bands. The city revolves around that. So we were just really excited to be there. We spend a lot of time there.

Where did you record your new album, Fixin to Thrill?
We recorded it mostly at our home in London and then we recorded all the things we couldn't record at home, like the drums, in Toronto.

Some bands have a change of sound from album to album, were you worried that some of your fans wouldn't like the "New" Dragonette?
You always want your fans to like your music. So there is always the aspect of "Oh I hope people like it". I think there might be some people who will not like some of the new sound. They will think it is not pop enough. But you win over other people.

A lot of your last album has very electro-pop type music, will we still see some of that on the new album?
Of course. I think it is a quite coherent follow-up. Going into this album, I knew I wanted to go further with blending sounds and real instruments at the same time.

Who does the majority of the song writing?
It is mostly Dan and I. We'll write the song and then when we are completely comfortable with it, the rest of the guys will add their stuff.

In 2008, you were nominated for a Juno for Best New Group. How did it feel to be recognized by your home country?
It was exciting. It feels special in a way but I did not really feel like we belonged there in a way.  It is good that it seems to be branching out with the music that gets nominated. It feels good but we just wondered how it happened.

Let's talk about the tour. Where else are you going?
We are going all across the country but I do not think we are going out east this time. We are going down to a few places down in the States. Then after that, we are headed over to Europe and Australia. Then we will come back here. 

When I saw you last, you were playing in Hamilton at the Casbah. Do you like intimate shows like that?
We like intimate shows.  Not to say we do not like playing stadium shows. We love the Casbah. It is easy to get the energy going in the room. It is nice to keep it kind of tight and be able to see everyone, it is more important to us.

At the end of the day, what do you want your fans to know about you and Dragonette?
I want people to know that we are creative people fucking around. We are just trying to put together this creative creation and we just want people to like what we do.  People think when you are part of this pop genre, you are just a product of the label.  But we are people fucking around and loving music.

Monday, October 5th
The Casbah
306 King St. West
Hamilton
myspace.com/dragonette

• live from koi - march 12th
  Music & Radio
• Rockin for Willi Benefit Concert
  Interviews & Articles
• VIDEO: We Love Saturdays
  Videos
• One of Canadas most popular female djs, Sydney Blu.
  Interviews & Articles
• Girl Power All the Way
  Interviews & Articles