by Victor MejiaIt has been a while since I have had an opportunity to interview
a band so early into the process. Ophelia Rising is an all-woman rock
project based out of Los Angeles headed by the honest and eloquent Lexa Vonn.
I interrupted Lexa one night while she was watching the Divas Live
on VH-1 and this is the conversation we had regarding Ophelia Rising's already
turbulent existence and the future rise of Lexa & mates.
How old were you when the whole White Zombie anti-censorship case and what did you pick up from the experience?
I was 17. I was in and out of the court system for almost a year because
it went past my graduation. It was really interesting, because when
I originally held the protest and refused to leave school, I was just trying
to stand up for myself, I had no idea it would blow into a media circus.
When the ACLU picked up the case, all these people in California found out
about it through David Geffen. He made the decision to release it to
800 news satellites. That was my introduction to music & politics
and how if you make yourself heard you can make a difference. There
is a system and if you learn to use it, it can be for your benefit; it doesn't
have to be your downfall. I was getting completely screwed over in
this small town and I was a kid and thinking there was nothing I could do
about it; I decided to do something about it and it paid off in a big way.
Were you doing music at that time?
I have been doing music since I was 8 years old. I was trained in opera.
I was jamming around with kids, but it was a small town, I wasn't in a working
band.
When was your first band?
This was pretty much my first organized band. It was a different incarnation.
It started on the East coast. The other founding member, a guy named
Paul Thompson, we moved out here. We were living together doing the
band. We were in a relationship at the time and we ended up splitting
up. After we split up I got full control of all the songs and all the
business of the band and I took it where I wanted to go which was being all
female. That was probably a year and a half ago.
Are any of the original songs on the EP?
Yeah, "Novocain." I think that was the first song Paul & I ever wrote together.
What is Paul up to now?
When he left Ophelia Rising he joined a band The Abominable Ed and got kicked
out of that band and they are just about to sign a big record deal.
It's funny because he was in Ophelia and kinda screwed me over and I ended
up putting out an EP and doing okay for myself and then he kind of fucked
over the next band and got kicked out of there and they are taking off too.
Besides the line-up changes, has the music evolved since the early days?
Yeah, for sure. We have two guitar players now; we have rhythm &
a lead. I think we are constantly evolving and I feel we are about
to take another big jump. The EP was pretty much our first recording
effort and our first time in the studio, besides one track I did for a Marilyn
Manson tribute album. Step One was our first time in the studio playing
together and the band is really young and some had never been in bands before,
so I feel the next recording we do is going to be completely evolved.
How is Tania (guitarist) doing?
Tania is still in jail. It is the most bizarre case; we have no idea
why it is taking so long. She has been in there for 4 months now and that
is not even her sentence; she has just been in holding.
Did anything ever happen to her dad?
The charges were against her, he was never arrested. She would have
to get out of jail and press charges against him and I don't think she would
even want to do that. He is like 73 years old and I think she just
doesn't see what the point would be at this junction.
Have you found a new guitarist in the meantime?
We've been jamming with people. We haven't really found anyone we like,
but we are certainly open. Like I said, we are in a transitional period
right now where we are looking to re-build the band. Echo & I are
really excited about the future and we are really open to experimenting with
new sounds and going into all kinds of directions.
Is the line-up still the same group of people that finished the final recording session for the EP?
Our original drummer completely flaked on us. There has been a lot
of drama with the band. Literally, our original drummer did not show
up and everything was already paid for. I had to pull a drummer out
my ass last minute to make things happen. I grabbed this chick Tina
from New York and she was real good; she learned it in two days. Kat
was kind of a fill-in. Our original drummer, Melissa Beltran, the one
that recorded the album, so when she disappeared we had a few fill in.
We don't even have a drummer right now.
How did you get the different odd jobs (personal assistant for KRS-One & Go-Go Dancing for the Mentors)?
Each one came from a different situation. The dancing for the Mentors,
when I came out here, after the White Zombie thing, I was still very young,
I was 18, I kind of wanted to run away from the public eye and find myself.
I was doing a lot of traveling: living in abandoned buildings, hitchhiking,
living on the streets pretty much with the punk rockers. I met El Duce from
the Mentors in an alley. Over a 40, we decided I should dance naked
on stage and split blood on people and that would be really cool and he would
give me a little cut of what they made that night. He was actually
very cool and respectful to me contrary to what people would say. They
do a pretty wild show and I totally respect him. He was always very cool
with me.
Is that when you wrote your book?
Yeah, I wrote the book when I got off the streets. I was traveling
America on and off for two years, I went on tour with a couple of bands entouraging,
hitchhiked back and forth from Massachusetts to California. I kind
of found myself in a really dark & bad situation where I was doing a
lot of drugs. My life came to a block where I wasn't really doing anything
productive. I kind of had a spiritual epiphany and decided to return
to rock-n-roll, so I got off the streets and went home for a little while
and rehabbed myself. I went cold turkey off everything and went to
school for a little while. Pretty much cleaned myself up; I got myself
re-centered and came back to Hollywood.
So you pretty much epitomize the name of the band then?
Yeah. That is what it is about. Instead of letting the world
and life experiences destroy you to rise above it. It's also about
the reincarnation of things in nature. As one thing dies something
else is re-born. I had to let the punk rocker in me day, because I
was basically living in a life that was really death. I had to put
that to rest to be re-born to what I am now.
Do you still sell the book?
The book is available online at opheliarising.net
with the rest of our merchandise,
so if anyone wants to get it, they can get it there.
How did you hook up with the different producers on the CD?
It kind of went in a little trail, I was working at XXX records and one of
the artists on there was Inger Lorre. She was living on the street
next to me so I would drive her to work and she recommended me to Geza X
who has done all the punk bands (Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Germs), so I
hooked up with him. Johnny heard our tracks at Geza's studio and Johnny
called us and asked us him if he could produce a song for us. I went
to the Johnny Indovina mansion in Malibu and he has a studio in his house.
What made you decide on doing the Leslie Gore song?
Pretty much the lyrics. I thought for the time that it was written,
and she was young at the time too, for a female to be saying those things
and making those declarations was kind of a controversial thing for a time
and it was one of the earlier songs of declaration of feminine independence.
And being able to have a strong interior underneath a very feminine exterior.
Because she was very fru-fru and very blonde bubble flip. The epitome
of blonde femininity, but that song along with a lot of her other songs were
"fuck the husband & kids, I want to do my own thing."
Have you been doing a lot of live shows to promote the CD?
It has been hung up right now. We did a couple of shows. It's
a shame, because there are a lot of great bands out here who have requested
shows with us and we owe a couple of clubs shows out here that we had to
cancel. Mainly because of Tania getting arrested it's been fucked up.
You were talking about experimenting with new sounds. Have you thought about incorporating more instruments into the band?
I would love to put keyboards in. I would love to have a keyboard player.
Do you maintain the website?
No. We have a webmaster. It was actually a fan that approached
us wanting to do it, and we said, "yeah, go for it...whatever."
Did Capitol Records pick up the CD?
No, it was mastered at Capitol. That is an actual misconception that
a lot of people have because they don't read the fine-print. It actually
comes out in reviews that we are signed to Capitol. Some people have
called asking if we were signed to Capitol & I'm sure Capitol has received
a few calls of people trying to get the CD. It's available locally
in L.A. and through our website and we are seeking national distribution.
I just started researching that so we'll see what happens.
Are all your lyrics from personal experience?
Yeah, they are all auto-biographical based on personal stories. I like
to take a personal story and say it in a metaphorical way so it leaves some
interpretation open to the listener. We've been dogged a little in press
already for some of our lyrical content which was not really expected.
I didn't expect to be controversial so early. I think some people can't
handle strong subject matter coming from young girls. I don't know
why that is. I've read some reviews that call our lyrics depressing.
It's not like we are drugs addicts...and we sing about schizophrenic drug
addicts.
That song "Lori" actually got to me. I had an ex named Lorrie.
I did too. Probably the same person (laughs). It must be the
name. I think a lot of people have had experiences like that either
with themselves or with a lover or friend. Part of the point about
that song is, well it is about a disturbed girl who is in a dark period of
her life, but there is also a part of Lori in all of us. It's just
that part of us that surrenders to the dark side. The whole idea behind
Ophelia Rising is to try and conquer the darkside which is why we put "You
Don't Own Me" at the end of the CD. And it's also the last song on
our set when we play live.
So do you have an endless supply of lyrics to work from with everything you've
had happen in your life? Have you started working on new material as
well or is that on hold?
Yes and I'm always writing new stuff too. I always have my guitar and
my notebook with me at all times. Me and Echo have been writing.
We haven't laid anything down in the studio and we probably won't for a while.
We are really concentrating on rebuilding the band. Taking Ophelia
to the next level.
Is the new material you've been working the same thematically?
We are definitely a concept band and I intend on putting out five albums.
Each one of them is a step. It is all about my own personal experience
of how I went to from the darkness into the light. How I found my way
through the hellish place that earth can be sometimes and how you can get
to the perspective that you can change things. There are clues in each
of our songs. There are these little tests or rituals you need to go
through before you understand what your purpose is and how the world works.
Each album is going to get more detailed into the same theme. This
is a very introductory level of Ophelia Rising and what we are capable of.
We are all really young. When we went into the studio it was our first
time. Our music is going to get more intricate as we grow.
How would you sum up Ophelia Rising for those who have not experienced them yet?
Each song, the mood behind them are intentionally that way. Each song
tells the story of something, a life experience that can potentially destroy
you, but finding a light at the end of the tunnel. In my interpretation
the character wins at the end of each song wins because she leaves the situation.
That is what it's about, realizing what is bad for you and what is spiritually
destroying you and moving through the levels until you find enlightenment
and getting out. I believe everything in life is a circle and before
you can get to heaven you have to walk through hell.
Hell indeed. I do recommend you check Ophelia Rising out. For
now the best resource for further information regarding the band is the website:
http://www.opheliarising.net
and order the CD...it's Step One in a walk through
hell and to the light at the end of the tunnel. |
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