In the lead up to the release of their second EP later this year I had a chat with Mario Spate, lead vocals for Adelaide’s The Killgirls, to ask all the standard questions. I even managed to get in a few questions for new synths/keys player Hamish Cox. Somehow I am left feeling like they gave me anything but the standard answers.

How would you define The Killgirls’ style of music-

Live Electro / Dance. It’s dark, a little bit dangerous and a little bit fun. Like hanging out with a clown. Except not gross.

Where do you draw influences from-

Everywhere! From listening to new music I like, if I see a film I love, a good conversation, long drives. I know some people lock themselves away or stop listening to music when they write but that doesn’t really work for me. Music is a reflection of life, culture, fashion and the people around us. There’s a great quote by Nam June Taik which of course now I can’t remember, it goes something like this - there is no difference between ritual, high art, low art. Whatever I like, I take…
 
Tell us about your most memorable show-

That would be the Fringe Opening this year. By the time we walked on stage there were 40,000 people in the crowd. It was magic, one of those shows where everything just worked. For one night we got to pretend to be AC/DC.
 
You are working on an EP, but is an album on the cards-

Not at all, when the album fairy says it’s time we are here to meet her needs. For now we are aiming for another EP. We have been working hard on distilling the sound and our identity, hopefully the EP reflects that. It does so far.
 
What other plans are there for the band over the next year-

Touring with the new EP. Our drummer bought a van. He’ll be pissed if we don’t. 
 
The Killgirls have recently had a line up change, how has that affected the band-

It was actually really positive. Sometimes these things can get kind of ugly, but it was totally amicable in this case. We are still really good friends with Adam (former keys man) and our newbie Hamish just seemed to fit right in. Amazing really.

Let's see whether he really does fit in - Hamish, which do you prefer: 

Coke or Pepsi-
Coke unless it's the drink. Then still probably coke.

Hungry Jacks or Maccas-
Maccas. You have to respect a corporation that has a character called The Hamburglar that endorses stealing the very product it's trying to sell.

Eveready or Duracell-
Duracell because in my mind there’s nothing more powerful then a pink bunny dancing around with a drum.

PC or Mac-
Mac. Encarta helped me cut and paste my way through preschool. Also Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego rocked! Macs are also apparently good for music and film production...but mainly the Carmen Sandiego thing.

DC or Marvel-
DC has a pissed off guy dressed as a Bat...there is no competition!

What role have others, such as your manager or a mentor, played in your success-
 
A freaking massive one. Our manager Daisy comes from a theatre background, we are her first band and so her attitude to music is pretty open which makes her really easy to talk to. A handy skill. She’s great at what she does. In short, without her we’d be screwed. She was also selected to take part in The Seed conference this year in Sydney.
 
Design and imagery is a big part of the feel of band, how do you feel they interact with and define your music-

I think music and fashion are totally related, 50% what you hear and 50% what you see. Not to say we are sailing the flag ship on that front, I don’t even think we are on the life raft. It’s just something we are aware of and think about.
 
Using the web as a medium is a critical part of music today, is it important to you as a band and how do you use it to your advantage-
 
It absolutely is. It’s great to have access to all these free mediums (facebook, bandcamp, soundcloud etc) that allow you to connect and share with a large amount of people with just a few clicks, the trick is to not over saturate them. It can be a total turn off. I’m sure everyone has had it done to them and I definitely know I’ve done it to people. Then there’s that whole ‘music becomes disposable’ issue…

No matter how great or terrible you think this free music / download culture is, it’s happening. I still think if you make something great people will lock into it. If anyone knows the secret to the second part call me.

You sell some cool merchandise - even a pair of The Killgirls short shorts. Has a female fan ever worn a pair to a show-

I have no idea! We have yet to make underwear checks compulsory at our gigs. But you know… who doesn’t like short shorts-  
 
If you could hang with anyone in the world for one night who would it be-

Batman. I don’t care what people say. I know he’s real.
 
The new single “i love you” off the upcoming EP will be available for free download from The Killgirls’ website (www.thekilligirls.com) on 27 August 2010.

[Header photo: www.myspace.com/thekillgirls]