Barb Wire Dolls 29.10.2013 Interview Isis Queen

Everyone is music – it comes naturally, just allow it to happen. Revolution!

In a small venue in Munich (Glockenbachwerkstatt) I was able to experience Barb Wire Dolls live on stage. After this kick-ass show, Isis Queen was so kind to do an interview with me, while all around the “after concert” action (eating, packing stuff, money exchange…) was going on.

The age of a woman

Never ask a woman how old she is, this only leads to trouble, so trying to find out about Barb Wire Dolls, Isis Queen and Punk Rock, this is a fantastic question to start with!

RTC: How old are you?
ISIS: Wtf? You god damn idiot!
Suddenly there was a smack in my face, she kicked my recorder down, punched me again and while I was lying on the floor she kicked me another five times before she let me lying – crying.
Got you here dear reader, hehehe, didn’t I? Come on, I know you would love to have it like this, but it was a bit different.

ISIS: I will always and forever be almost 18.

Job – band – music

RTC: What is your job in the band?
ISIS: I have no job but I sing in the band. I’m just one out of four people and we all contribute to the power. Barb Wire Dolls been on tour now for three years and we do nothing than focus 100% on Barb Wire Dolls.

Which is really true, although Isis is doing most of the stage action, it is not an one-woman show, but a band pushing the energy towards the people.

RTC: Tell me how you started with music.
ISIS: Everyone is music; it comes naturally – just allow it to happen.

Punk Rock: rebellion, anger and a need to express yourself

RTC: How did you get in touch with Punk Rock?
ISIS: Through the aggression that comes with being a teenager.

Remember, she is almost 18.

RTC: Must every teenager be aggressive or are there some soft teenagers?
ISIS: All teenagers are aggressive and all teenagers are sexual and that is why they get into Punk Rock; if they are lucky enough to find out about Punk Rock because it is such an underground thing which is difficult to find.

Getting back to you dear reader, are you a Punk Rocker? Drop here a comment how you found Punk Rock and let all the seven Rock The Cam readers know about your aggression and your sexuality!

RTC: What is your interpretation of Punk?
ISIS: Rebellion, anger and a need to express yourself.

DIY can make you achieve anything

RTC: What does DIY means for you?
ISIS: Totally doing things yourself – but all times you need someone to come to help you because you can’t do it all by yourself. But DIY is a basic, a root foundation of how you can achieve anything as long as you put your mind to it.

From Greece to LA, where is home?

RTC: Barb Wire Dolls are originally from Greece and you relocated to Los Angeles (USA), why?
ISIS: We got the opportunity because we got played on one of the biggest Rock Radio station in Los Angeles, so that is the biggest opportunity a Greek band can ever get. We took it and went to LA.

RTC: You moved to the States, now you are touring in Europe, does it feel strange somehow, like home?
ISIS: Well I am originally from Greece, so I know Europe very well and the band started off in Greece before we went to US, so home is really where you make it. It is not where you were born, not where you have a house, it is where you feel most comfortable and I feel most comfortable on the road with the band.

Crises in Greece and Europe

RTC: Do you still follow the developments in Greece / Europe; with the crises, with the government?
ISIS: Of course, but I follow it through my relatives and friends, they know exactly what is going on, not the propaganda that goes on in TV.

RTC: What tendencies do scare you for Greece?
ISIS: There really needs to be a big change and this is much needed for people to realize and to remember what the sole purpose of being alive is! It is not to worry about, all the crap that goes on in the world; it is to find the passions that are needed and to find ways to make these passions livable without having the comforts of economy backing them up.

Wake up – beauty of art

RTC: Which opportunities do you see with the crises? Will people wake up – finally stand up?
ISIS: Yeah. Wherever there is a huge downfall in economy and government, there is a huge uprising of arts, so you will see a big change in expression and that is the beauty of art. Anything that brings a low has to generate a high, that’s what I will be expecting from Greece: a big art movement.

RTC: And a hoping as well.
ISIS: I hope for nothing! There is a Greek saying from Nikos Kazantzakis: Δεν ελπίζω τίποτα. Δε φοβούμαι τίποτα. Είμαι λέφτερος which means: “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free“.

How can I get back from the famous Greek philosopher Nikos Kazantzakis to Barb Wire Dolls? Just by putting this parenthesis here.

Record companies

RTC: Let me and my readers know how you pick your labels?
ISIS: Right now we are only working with chosen record companies to release the album with a certain amount of printings. We don’t sign anything; no record company owns the rights to Barb Wire Dolls – but they are allowed to print out a certain amount and to distribute them. If they do a good job, we will distribute more with them.

RTC: How did you find Wolverine records?
ISIS: They found us, they liked us and we gave them the right to distribute 500 LP vinyls and then they came back and wanted to do more with CDs. They are a cool label so we wanted to do something with them.

Unity with upset guys?

RTC: The Punk scene doesn’t want to be sexist. You are a woman. Do you think being a woman in a male dominated scene makes it easier or harder for Barb Wire Dolls?
ISIS: I’m not quite sure because the Punk Rock scene started with equal rights for men and women! Men were just as important as women and vice versa in the scene to create it. It was all about art, it wasn’t about aggression yet in Punk and then slowly aggression came in and pushed the female vibe out of it. That is where you get Hardcore and a lot of other scenes from that are male dominated but there needs to be a change. There needs to be a female aspect in this movement because you can’t have unity when there is a bunch of guys that are angry and upset because their dick isn’t getting sucked, so you know sex and art go hand in hand and if you don’t want to accept that you are in the wrong genre of music.

No more heroes anymore?

RTC: Which artist do you look up to?
ISIS: All artists that say “Fuck you” every once in a while in their careers.

RTC: How is it to be on tour with famous Punk Rockers for example Jello Biafra and other names?
ISIS: Jello is always surprising me, he is actually one of the very few people who put up an amazing Punk Rock show and is not too old to show the young people what Punk Rock is all about. That’s about not giving a fuck and doing it just for yourself and doing it to express an energy that units people. Jello Biafra defiantly does that; it is an honor to play shows of him (them).

RTC: What can you learn from him and the other ones you are playing with?
ISIS: It is all about having fun and

RTC: You don’t look like you need to learn how to have fun!
ISIS: Well, that’s why we tour with such great bands because they are always having fun and that’s the key ingredient: having fun. What I learn as well is that you should not take yourself too serious, because at the end of the day it is all about having fun.

Finally coming to the end

RTC: coming to the end, please imagine you are god and you could choose the five headliners for a festival (even dead people or dissolved bands), let me know who is on the list:
ISIS: Let me think, OK it is:
1 – Sex Pistols
2 – Clash
3 – Germs
4 – Black Flag with Henry Rollins
5 – The Slits

That’s it. Off I went with my interview, the record, the concert pix and the memory of a great Punk Rock night. Let’s see if the beauty of art in Greece will rise, if Barb Wire Dolls will rise and if I will be able to catch them again somewhere around, I would be happy. Thank you Isis Queen for your time and your view of the world. Revolution!