With our interview series »10 Questions With…,« we would like to introduce you to a number of bands and artists from this year’s Pop-Kultur programme who definitely deserve a place in your playlists and hearts. After SADO OPERA, MADANII & LLUCID and Mueran Humanos, Eat Lipstick sat down with us.
- Eat Lipstick was founded by Anita Drink and The Shredder, who had both moved to Berlin in the early noughties. What drew the two of you to this city?
Love and dance music! The arts and the feeling of romance in the air… or was it the drugs?
- Whatever it may have been, the band originally came together as a DJ duo. What kind of music were you playing and how did it evolve from there?
Well, the band didn’t initially come together as a DJ duo. We came together while Anita Drink was DJing one night when Clea Cutthroat and Anita bumped into The Shredder. Clea Cutthroat was a founding member and the three of us worked on a concept together. Anita was already DJing at a lot of parties playing electronic music, disco, rock, punk, metal and trash when we formed Eat Lipstick. We further developed our band sound after playing it live at parties and events together. The trio developed from an electronic dance perspective as The Shredder mixed electronic beats and played guitar live with two hot vocalists. After that, we decided to form a live band with bass and drums. We even had Kevin Mooney of Adam and the Ants playing bass for us for a hot minute. It was during this phase that Tom Petersen joined on drums formally and then Citizen Pain skated right into our hearts and took over bass and vocal duties. We’ve also had a grand list of legends sing on stage with us during these formative years, I might add. A bit later we started to work as a DJ team mixing techno, rock, punk and disco plus original dance trax into one helluva glamorous party mix!
- The original punk movement wasn’t very keen on disco music, yet you refer to your own style as »disco punk.« What are the key elements of the Eat Lipstick sound?
The original punk movement embraced a lot of styles, including disco, darling! And reggae, krautrock, etc. We take elements of your soul, plus disco and glam, serve it up with a punk hot sauce made in Berlin! All aboard a pirate ship headed your way!
- Your latest album »New Wig! No Rules!« was produced by none other than Peaches. What’s your relationship with her and how did your working process look like?
She is family, an experienced musician that is always ready to explore with us and knows how to get the best out of us. Adding her own process and touches along the way, each day began around midday and we worked straight through until we all got that »High Heaux! Lipstick Glow!« We would trek over to Tempelhof airport, there in one of the old terminal offices is an amazing studio we worked in. Our fearless sound engineer Marco »Jegi« Jeger, who also worked on our first album with us and Peaches, would work out plans for each song as we went along. It was also exciting because we created or finalised new songs in the process with her and that was very special. She had some great ideas about writing lyrics from a genderfree/non-binary perspective and the importance of those values, as that has also been part of our process and history.
- The song »Mann oder Frau« was inspired by Lemmy Kilmister. What exactly happened and what are the lyrics about?
The song is also about a real-life situation that happened while Anita was DJing one night and then later it was written into a script that she had been involved with. Lemmy and Anita first met during the filming and live performances of »Fast Fiction,« a live dinner theatre play that took place at the legendary White Trash Fast Food circa 2009. During one of the live shows, the director and producers thought it would be funny to surprise Anita on set with none other than Lemmy himself, who entered the scene saying »Mann oder Frau?« when first casting eyes on Mizz Drink. The crowd roared with laughter. It was a historic White Trash Berlin moment.
- Most of your lyrics are autobiographical to a certain extent, however they also pick up on social topics. Do Eat Lipstick have a political agenda and if so, how would you sum it up?
»EAT LIPSTICK!« says it all, dontcha think?
- You have released »New Wig! No Rules!« independently. Are you in favour of a D.I.Y. approach?
We have always had a D.I.Y. approach, as it is an integral part of Berlin and in general a punk ethos that fits nicely into our bag of tricks. Independent women, independent means! Our music should reach as many people as possible and that means we work hard to bring you our best. Every stage, every time! Find our album online or order it directly from www.eatlipstick.com.
- Fashion seems to be quite important in the Eat Lipstick cosmos and Anita Drink even has her own store in Berlin, EXIT on Wiener Straße. What’s your philosophy regarding that – do you have a fixed concept of how the band should look like?
Fashion is part of our expression on and off the stage. There is no fixed concept other than looking glamorous, dahhhlink! Each one of us brings their own expression but we all »wear the same lipstick,« so to speak. At EXIT, we design and print our merchandise and we love how much our fans collect and adore our fashion! Come have a look at our boutique or find us online, take your pick! In regard to our fashion concept, expect the unexpected, darling!
- You will perform with a slightly different lineup at Pop-Kultur. How come – and what can we expect from your performance?
You can expect us to play our best for our sister, Citizen Pain, who at the moment cannot be with us on bass and vocals due to unexpected chaos. We wish her all the best! We love her and look forward to bringing her back on stage with us! For this »limited edition« performance however we will have a special guest. We are happy to have Mr Sinister Kris on stage with us for the Pop-Kultur festival on bass, and Betty Dynamite helping out on backing vocals.
- What do you wish for the future of this world?
For it to continue so that we can continue to rock! We wish for love and lipstick and everyone gets a copy of our latest album! New Wig! No Rules!