NO ORDINARY Boyskouts!

PHOTOS BY TARAJGRAVES.COM FOR ADVENTURE OUT WOMEN

Beautiful, funky, cool, hip and lovely, the only way to describe this set of Boyskouts.

INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINA, LESLIE AND INGRID

AOW: Where did the name BoySkout come from?

LESLIE: There was a Boy Scout leader who was being persecuted for being gay. It was all over the news. He lost his position as troop leader. Being a girl band and calling ourselves Boyskout was a reaction against that kind-of discrimination.

AOW: Is it true that you were asked to open for the Need and you didn't even have a band yet?

LESLIE: Oh yeah, Boyskout is a band that has always said, “Yes we can!”

AOW: Jeff Salzman who also produced the Killers produced your first album. Was he an influence on your style?

LESLIE: No. We had our own sound worked out but he did record and produce our first record so I'm sure that the actual sound of the first record has a lot of his signature on it.

AOW: “Webster Street, apartment 2A, Sara lives there four blocks from the bay. She and I spent almost everyday together in apartment 2A . I can't get those lyrics out of my head”. Sounds like it is about a love affair in San Francisco , who is this song about?

LESLIE: I wrote it for Hannah, my ex-girlfriend. I made a big mistake and I cheated on her. I lost her because of it. It was one of the worst experiences in my life. The song is about a time in my life that I wish I could go back to and feel it again and share more love. It's about how beautiful and fragile a connection between two people can be.

AOW: Who inspired this song?

LESLIE: It's all about Hannah.

AOW: What is the song “Secrets” all about?

LESLIE: Ha Ha. You really are trying to find out about all of my Secrets. I guess many of my lyrics tell the stories about my personal life. Secrets was about someone that I had a big crush on.

The best line in Secrets is, “What are you doing later on?” It's about getting together for a bit of fun.

AOW: You have such a retro but fresh sound, who do you get compared to the most?

LESLIE: Lots of things. I like when we are compared to Elastica though. Their first record was amazing!

AOW: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?

INGRID: Boyskout is like a hybrid between the Cure & Ladytron, with a dash of pop and a lot of indie rock.  There are some mesmerizing guitar hooks, bass lines, synths, and violins that make the sounds eerie, contemplative, sexy, and extremely thoughtful.

CHRISTINA: I would say the music combines elements of 60s pop, 70's rock and 80's new wave...yet is unique in its use of texture, experimental instrumentation and creative (and often cryptic) lyrics.

AOW: You girls are all easy on the eyes; do you have any strange stalkers/groupies at your shows?

LESLIE: I don't but I bet Christina and Ingrid do!

INGRID: : Ha ha, I can be hard on the eyes too, depending on what I am wearing or what gender I am projecting!  I have been known to dress in "drag" i.e. wear a long wig, dress, and heals and it can be a lot of fun!  Kinda like a secret service assassin without the killing.  We have a lot of fans and people who come up to us saying we inspire them to rock, or that they loved our set.  Interestingly, many boys have come up to us and told us out of all the bands they've seen, they thought we played the hardest and tightest.  I love your question about stalkers...I suppose I get a bunch of myspace "I found you" type stuff in my inbox and there seems to be some girls chasing my tail, but I am not complaining about that!  Sometimes after a show I feel like I am stalking them, ha!

CHRISTINA: That's a funny question. I'm pretty flattered by attention in any form it may take. I have never had any serious stalkers... at least not boyskout fans. I have been lucky enough to make some ardent fans, and I bask in the compliments willingly and without squeamishness.

AOW: What is the thing you enjoy the most about what you do?

LESLIE: Performing live. That is the most fun. I guess I also really like having band practice. It's like getting together with great friends and creating something…

INGRID: I really enjoy pushing the envelope of gender expectations, where women aren't supposed to get dirty, look unfeminine, be loud, be leaders, be smart, and act.  I like showing in who I am and as a musician on stage the options for both women and men to go against the gender norm and be who they feel they are.  I have always been a proponent for androgyny, and I think projecting that in addition to going nuts on stage is a very powerful thing for both women and men to see.  I really like the challenge of learning harder, more complicated guitar parts.  From this tour, I also had to learn bass parts on the fly in addition to learning most of the boyskout songs before tour.  Perhaps this is what I enjoy most: having to on the spot improve, take on challenges, and make it work.  I also enjoy meeting female role-models and mentors on the road.  They help so much!

CHRISTINA: I had this moment on stage in Brooklyn, looking at my bandmates playing their hearts out, when I realized there was nothing I would rather be doing with my life. It's the camaraderie that comes with having to tackle so much adversity and the thrill of knowing we've overcome it for a moment. Its the fact that I am allowed to be creative and contribute a part to a living whole that is ultimately outside myself...and a whole that is so rockin! That makes people forget whatever was bothering them and just feel the music.

AOW: I understand that you are bi-costal, how is that working out for you?

LESLIE: Hopefully Christina is going to move to New York soon! But yeah, it's working. We are planning shows on each coast and some touring.

INGRID: Bi-coastal is working out for me great!  I get to stay in NYC, work on my other bands and projects, and get flown out to San Francisco , one of my favorite cities, to practice and play shows with the rest of the lot.  Leslie now lives in Brooklyn , so I get to see her a lot and soon we will get together to play/write new material.  This will be another interesting collaborative challenge, to communicate musically and as a band across the nation.  There's something romantic about it.

CHRISTINA: I guess we are a bi coastal band... although i recently made the decision to move to Brooklyn as well. I love San Francisco and have been living there for seven years. I grew up in the bay area. I have deep roots there. I am really excited to move to Brooklyn, and everyone tells me its amazing there. I will be moving in the dead of winter, so that may be an issue. good thing i knit about 4 scarves while on tour. One is the size of a blanket.

AOW: Tell me about your concerts in the Midwest.

LESLIE: Well, we played in Chicago without our bass player. The first show was SUPER stress full because we had to learn a lot of new parts in one day…but we somehow pulled it off even got a encore.

INGRID: The Midwest was fun, but next time we need to hit up Madison !  Chicago was great, we met some super nice people out there and the weather was abnormally warm, so I was very happy.  Hitting up the lower mid-west got super cold, but despite that, we got to explore a bit of Iowa City and Kansas City , both of which were very neat.  If you ever go to KC, you have to stop by the Record Bar and tell our friends we said hi!

CHRISTINA: I loved the Midwest because it was all so exotic to me. i was a first timer in that great stretch of country. I walked into a gas station in idaho and i saw the terrorist alert for that day was orange. i think. i loved the truck stops. the best was the worlds largest truck stop that apparently had everything from an adult section to a movie theatre. we weren't there long. in a hurry to get to Iowa city. the shows were fun in the midwest...especially the one in Lawrence Kansas. I liked that place. Iowa City was also a lot of fun, and when we were in Kansas City there was an ice storm, but we were treated like royalty by the folks at the Record Bar...free food and drinks. I think it was a necessity to stave off the bitter cold.

AOW: How was the traveling together?

LESLIE: It didn't work out with our bass player but Christina and I only had one fight and it was in Chicago after we had a really hard day of it. Ingrid is so calm and sweet. Steve, our drummer drove a lot and he actually enjoyed it so that was awesome. I had a good time on the road though being in a van day after day with the same people driving 8 or more hours can be difficult at times.

INGRID: We traveled pretty well together, considering we were in a van most days all day and if we had a hotel we'd be sharing three in a bed, if not, we were on people's floors and couches.  I think we saved a lot of us from insanity were knitting projects, documentaries, films, iPods, and of course, The L word.  There were some damn good times in that van, and of course to balance that out, some hard times.  But I look back on that trip to and fro across the nation fondly.  Hell, we got back in one piece!  

CHRISTINA: The knitting was a really good idea. It was Ingrid's idea actually. The L word was super entertaining as well. I had never watched it before this tour. I still have a DVD in my computer that i haven't finished....sorry Ingrid or Leslie ....I will return it upon arrival. I love all my bandmates and we all know we share the same goal which is to finish the tour alive and well, and above all, to rock.

AOW: What do you have planned for 2007?

LESLIE: Playing shows and writing new songs.

INGRID: :  I think Boyskout plans on writing more songs and touring in Europe .  I personally plan on working with Leslie and Christina. The 303s, Lismore, and possibly The Broken Heart Project. I will be working on ideas for a book, mentoring youth, and a relationship.

CHRISTINA: I plan on playing with Boyskout and writing songs with Ingrid and Leslie. I also plan on finishing my solo album and playing as much music as possible.

AOW: So Leslie plays guitar and does lead vocals, Christina is on the violin and keyboard, and Ingrid plays bass and guitar. Who does the writing?

LESLIE: I've been the main songwriter for the two albums that we have out but Ingrid and Christina and I plan to all write together on the next record! Also, Christina and i wrote Blind Eye and Happy Yet together for "Another Life."

INGRID: From here to there, everyone.

CHRISTINA: On Another Life, Leslie wrote lyrics and most of the song structures. It was total collaboration between Leslie and I on “Happy Yet”and “Blind Eye.” We all write in the band. If someone has an idea, they bring it to the table and everyone else works around it and/or makes suggestions.

AOW: Where do you want to be in five years?

LESLIE: I'd like to be more established in the art world doing the same thing that I am doing now…Working on film and music projects.

INGRID: Changing culture, changing lives, rocking out, making out with a perfect match, and lookin sharp!

CHRISTINA: I want to be playing music successfully and I want to be creatively fulfilled and happy. And I want money.

AOW: How would you describe your journey so far?

LESLIE: I used to be shy. I'm learning to not be. I don't think anyone thinks I am anymore.

INGRID: I like to think that things happen for a reason, and everything in my life and musical career good and bad have always brought me to where I needed to be, a different angle, a different turn, a new perspective. My life is jam packed and the journey keeps me intrigued, curious, and warm.

CHRISTINA: I love life and i have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with an open mind and a supportive family. It has taken me places I guess I always wanted to go, although i wouldn't have believed it or admitted it to myself years ago. my life has really been amazing and i love all the people who have passed thorough it just for doing so.

AOW: I like your videos, who is the creative person behind them?

LESLIE: I made them. I have a little production company. Little meaning it's only me. It is called Sharkboneproductions. I have a web site with Jesse James and also some other bands that I have made videos for.

INGRID: Leslie all the way...

CHRISTINA: That would be the lovely Miss Satterfield (Leslie).

AOW: What does “New found Glory” mean to you?

LESLIE: Nothing Really, what does it mean to you?

INGRID: Ha, you mean besides the band?  Come on, I'm from Jersey !  I am having a hard time separating the two right now...New Found Glory: a new territory new face/person, a new range, a new skill, a new song, a new perspective and maybe the moment when you look back and appreciate everything you can possibly see.

CHRISTINA: It's a band, right?

AOW: Describe the meaning of success.

LESLIE: For me success means having lots of love in your life and being able to have fun and making great art.

INGRID: Success is not giving up but letting go when its time.  I think success is being true to yourself, loving who you are, and touching people.

CHRISTINA: I think success is a state of mind. If I don't feel successful I obviously need to change something about the way Ii live or at least my perspective. For me, a large part of success is nurturing the close ties in my life, and having respect for others. I also like to look at the long term from time to time...but not to the degree where it inhibits my here and now.

AOW: If you could share the stage with anyone or band, who would that be?

LESLIE: I love Chan Marshall. She and her songs are amazing. My first record of hers was “What would the community think?” I played it constantly for a solid month. The lyrics and vocal melodies are amazing.

INGRID: Erase Errata, Le Tigre, or the Organ (if they were still together damn it, and Karen O.

CHRISTINA: That is a really hard one. there are so many great artists and bands that i would love to play with, but id say the rolling stones. I could learn a thing or two from a band that has managed to be successful for fifty years.

AOW : What is your favorite pastime?

LESLIE: Making love and laughing with someone

INGRID: Laughing with the people i have loved and still love.

CHRISTINA: I love water and everything about it. Take me to a lake, a beach or a river and give me a sunny day and some friends and i am happy as a clam. I loved to pretend I was a mermaid when i was little and underwater. I was always afraid other kids saw me flipping my legs like a fin and I would get embarrassed. so i just became a competitive swimmer and got really fast at dolphin kick.

INGRID (L) LESLIE (M) CHRISTINA (R)

AOW: Vanilla or Chocolate?

LESLIE: Both

INGRID: CHOCOLATE!

CHRISTINA: What about strawberry? O.K. Vanilla.

AOW: Sun or Snow?

LESLIE: Sun but I turn red.

INGRID: I like this question. My chinese name means "the sun shining on the morning snow" so I would say I like both.

CHRISTINA: I guess now that I am becoming a New Yorker I can have both.

AOW: What is your New Year's resolution?

LESLIE: Haven't thought of it yet but I guess it is to be healthy and to work hard and have great conversations with friends and to love and learn as much as I can. Oh, and I also want to eat lots of salads and have a good time.

INGRID: To conquer more of the unknown, be real, and be strong.

CHRISTINA: Holy crap! The years almost done? Ill have to get back to you on that.

AOW: Complete the following:

I LOVE:

• LESLIE: My doggie Oliver
• INGRID: Wide spaces, like fields to run in, to gallop in, and to pontificate on the past.
• CHRISTINA: my family and friends, painting, going hog wild, music....

I'LL ALWAYS:

• LESLIE: Look like a little boy
• INGRID: Have compassion
• CHRISTINA: Be around

SOMEWHERE SOMEONE IS:

• LESLIE: Thinking Of Boyskout!
• INGRID: Making a major difference in someone's life
• CHRISTINA: Thinking that they want to see Boyskout

For more information on Boyskout, visit their MySpace.

Interview by: Belinda Ramirez