A Conversation with Guinevere – HuffPost 1.23.12

Mike Ragogna: Guinevere, you’re a native of Toronto, right?

Guinevere: That’s right.

MR: But you’ve recently branched out and started releasing your music here in the US.

G: Yes, that’s true, and in Djibouti. The horn of Africa is pretty big on pop music. I’m kind of a big deal over there. (laughs) No, but for real, I’ve released a single called “Crazy Crazy” in Canada and the US, and I’m opening for Nick Carter and doing some headlining shows starting at the end of this month. All the dates are up on my website:http://www.thisisguinevere.com/

MR: So, I hear you’re kind of a gamer, ain’t ya.

G: Well, I guess you could classify me as a tomboy. I love video games, specifically Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Any game involving guns and zombies, it’s a sure way to my heart. Boys, you should be writing this down.

MR: Is it true that you go online anonymously and play with other people?

G: Oh yeah, all the time. I have a little headset so that I can talk smack to people while I kill them off. Sometimes, I’ll stay silent until the end of the game after I’ve buried everyone, and I tell them that I’m a girl. (laughs)

MR: Nice. (laughs) Nuketown Records is the name of your record label, right?

G: That’s right. The name comes from a map on the game Call Of Duty, so gamers will get the inside joke.

MR: You’re also pretty big into sci-fi. I heard you met a certain Captain Jean-Luc Picard or something like that?

G: Yes, ever since I was a little kid, I watched Star Trek – specifically, Star Trek: The Next Generation. And, no, I didn’t actually get to meet him, my manager and his family did. He even took a photo with him and his son, and sent it to me. I almost cried because I was with my manager in LA at the time and only missed Patrick Stewart by a few minutes. I also love Star Wars. I’m a huge fan of those movies.

MR: Okay, let’s talk about your new song “Crazy, Crazy,” which was produced by Cirkut, who is super hot right now, working with Ke$ha, Britney, Rihanna, Flo Rida, and Taio Cruz. How did you get hooked up with him?

G: He was in Toronto when we met – this was seconds before he really blew up as a producer. We went to his really small studio downtown and he played these crazy massive beats and we knew he was incredibly talented. “Crazy Crazy” was one of the first songs we wrote and we worked on that and it all clicked so well in the studio that we ended up doing a bunch more. By the time we finished all of the songs for the record, Cirkut had been discovered by Dr. Luke and now he’s working side by side with him creating these massive records for the biggest superstars. I’m grateful we found him first.

MR: Can you tell us a little bit about where the song “Crazy Crazy” came from?

G: The song came to me in the form of seven separate fortune cookies at a Chinese restaurant late one night. Nah, I’m kidding. We wrote a song about having fun with the person you’re in a relationship with. It’s kind of highlighting the “lady in the street, but a freak in the bed” mentality. (laughs) Being able to just have fun and being a total slut with your boyfriend or husband and freely expressing yourself, getting uncensored and crazy with the one you love.

MR: Your other single, “I Don’t Believe In Love,” is another collaboration with Ari Levine from The Smeezingtons who is nominated for the second year in a row for a Producer of The Year Grammy. Plus he produces and co-writes Bruno Mars songs.

G: Yeah, I am so fortunate to be able to work with him. He’s so down to earth and cool. After the session, he took me to LA Gun Club and he taught me how to shoot a shotgun. I accidentally shot him in the liver. He’s fine now. That was cool.
MR: (laughs) Wow. Can you ever go back to playing video games once you’ve had a real gun in your hands?

G: There are no zombies wandering the earth yet, so I guess the video games will have to suffice. (laughs) But the next time I’m in LA, I’m definitely going to The Gun Club to fire off a couple rounds.

MR: As I understand it, you started performing at a very young age. Is that right?

G: I think I was in grade one when I performed a Beach Boys song called, “Surfer Girl.” That was kind of when I knew that this was something that I wanted to do.

MR: And legend has it some of your musical inspiration comes from your parent’s classic rock tastes.

G: Yeah, actually. When I was about 13, I was listening to The Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears when my dad put on “Stairway To Heaven,” and by the end of the song, I was blown away. I was like, “What is this? This is amazing!” From then on, I started exploring music from ’60 to ’79. I sat there and listened to a million different records and fell in love with the music of that era.

MR: Who were some of your influences?

G: Well, I’m a big Black Sabbath fan. I love Fleetwood Mac, The Doors and Stevie Nicks. I love her vocals, her presence. She’s incredible.

MR: Can you tell us a little bit about where your stage name “Guinevere” came from?

G: My real name is Gwen, but I decided to go with Guinevere because I am into Arthurian legend, and in the King Arthur stories, she’s so badass. She’s strong, she followed her heart. She was the rock star of the castle. I like what the name represents.

MR: Nice. Has it ever been determined whether or not those stories have any basis in truth?

G: I would like to think that there’s some truth to it.

MR: Can you discuss what went into creating your new album?

G: Most of the songs were written by myself and my manager, Amir Epstein. A lot of the work was done in the car. Driving to the studio on the highway, we’d go over the melodies over and over again and write the lyrics while sitting in Toronto traffic.

MR: Your style of music spans pop, dance and rock. So, how would you define it?

G: I like to call it “dark pop.” It has pop sensibility, but the lyrics are very sarcastic and dark. Every single one of my songs conveys a truth – saying things that most people would be afraid to say in most situations. My goal was to send that message out there with aggressive lyrics.

MR: From your new album, let’s talk about the song, “Beautiful.”

G: (laughs) Ya, that’s a good one. It’s kind of payback for misogynists. Guys can be pretty cruel to girls in clubs. I have a lot of guy friends who will hook up with a girl in a club and they’ll dance all night, and at the end of the night, all the lights turn on and they are like, “DAMN, you UGLY.” I decided to write about that same idea, but in reverse. The song is about finding a guy at the bar and as soon as the lights hit his face, you realize that he is fugly!! (laughs) The chorus goes, “Oh my God, just go, now that I can see you, don’t follow me home, really nice to meet you!” It’s fun, silly and sarcastic.

MR: (laughs) It seems to be the same theme for the song “Liar.”

G: Oh, yeah. It kind of pays homage to Alanis Morissette (a fellow Canadian). She’s very aggressive with her lyrics. The song’s attitude is a lot like “You Oughta Know.” It’s actually inspired by a situation one of my friends had with her boyfriend. I watched her go through being cheated on and lied to and how pissed I’d be if I were in her shoes. The lyrics are a raw, honest reaction to finding out you were cheated on.

MR: And there’s your song “Go.”

G: Yeah, a lot of people seem to connect to that song. It’s bittersweet because it’s talking about a better time. It’s saying, “I thought it was love at first, but now that I realize it isn’t, we need to move on, and although we will both hurt, we will both be ok. You need to enjoy your life.” It’s hard breaking up with somebody, especially somebody you love, but sometimes, love isn’t enough. It’s a dark kind of beautiful.

MR: Absolutely. You also bravely covered Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer.”

G: Yes. That was so much fun. The verses and pre-choruses of the song were rewritten to make it my own. What I wanted to do was change the perspective and speak from the girl’s point of view – what it must be like to be with someone who is away from home or on the road following their dream. Still, with the killer chorus, but now it’s from the perspective of Bon Jovi’s wife. It’s her struggle in supporting her man and how strong their relationship must be to get through such a difficult lifestyle. Besides, it’s fun to role-play being Bon Jovi’s hot New Jersey wife in the ’80s. I should have been born earlier!

MR: (laughs) Do you have any advice that you’d like to share with new artists?

G: Learn to knit and how to speak Nadsat. Seriously, I would advise to write from the heart. I know that sounds really cheesy, but that’s how fans connect. If there’s truth behind the songs you record, fans connect to that. Also, it’s very important to surround yourself with people you can trust.

MR: And that is exactly what you’ve done, right? You take a DIY approach to your own promotion, don’t you?

G: Yes, I do. I don’t mind asking my amazing fans to help where they can. For example, I always ask my fans if they like my single, PLEASE request it repeatedly on every pop station in their town or city. How else will those stations know if their listeners like my single? It really means a lot to me.

MR: What do you feel are the best benefits using a DIY approach?

G: Complete creative control, for one. We get to release any single that we want, we get complete control over the videos we shoot, the producers we work with, the photographers we use etc. I think it’s a risky thing to do, but at the same time having the power and freedom to express yourself is the best part of this. I really enjoy that.

MR: How do artists these days fund themselves without a record label?

G: It’s different for everyone and it is tricky getting quality work for little money. But Canada has certain grants that the artists and bands can apply for to help fund a record, touring, websites, publicity etc. That’s a leg up that Canadians have over people from the US. Also, sometimes, you can get people to do good work for less. Don’t be afraid to ask. Try not to screw the starving musicians in your band, but if you can get a deal on unused studio space or a producer to work on spec, do it. A pleading look and a “pretty please?” helps. “Eyelash batting” is good to get musical funding or to simply get someone to buy you a beer. (laughs)

MR: So, how can your fans connect with you? Are you on all of the social networking sites?

G: Yes, for sure. I’m on Twitter and Facebook all the time. (laughs) Whenever someone tweets me, I will most definitely tweet them back. My Twitter account name is @thisisguinevere, and my facebook is http://www.facebook.com/thisisguinevere. I post things on a regular basis and respond to fans all the time. Check out my video on YouTube. Just search “Guinevere crazy crazy.” I enjoy social networking because it’s great to receive immediate feedback from fans.

MR: Do you have any more “singles” coming out soon that we should be looking out for?

G: Yeah. We just finished another song called, “Liberated.” It’s definitely a possible new single. It’s a feel good song and I’m hoping to go nuts with the next video. Maybe more PVC and some light sabers or a gorilla in a gorilla suit. (laughs)

MR: (laughs) If there was one thing you would want from your fans, what would it be?

G: I would ask everyone to PLEASE request my song “Crazy Crazy” on their local radio station. Bombard them with requests. It’s the #1 support a fan can give me.

MR: (laughs) One more question. As a gamer, have you come up with any video game ideas that you think people need to start working on?

G: How about “Maria Sisters”? Two Italian girls that have to search castles for their kidnapped prince. They can look the same, except one sister will be dressed in red, and the other in green. And one will have a fuller mustache. Feels familiar, doesn’t it? How about an interactive reality gun game, where the player can turn on any reality show they hate and kill off any “real” characters they really dislike.

MR: Oh my. (laughs) Guinevere, thanks so much for spending some time with us, and all the best in the future and with your upcoming album.

G: Thanks so much, Mike. It was a lot of fun.

Transcribed by Evan Martin