Beatroute Magazine BC Print Edition - July 2017

QUINTRON AND MISS PUSSYCAT
hitting the road for a summer vacation party
MORE BETTY
GENEVA JACUZZI
a weird and wonderful musical smorgasbord
MUSIC
photo by Gina Canavan
Judging by the announcements, it seems the New
Orleans based husband and wife duo, Quintron and
Miss Pussycat are indeed heading out for a summer
vacation. Not entirely sure about what their
suitcases might be packing as they leave that party
mecca. There is one sure fact, and yes, it is all-true,
once you’ve drank that Louisiana tap water, you just
can’t shake that swamp magic, but you can let it
shake you. Their unique audio-visual extravaganza
just oozes with tainted charm, even after fifteen
plus years. With a well-documented track record
of frenzied dates, proven to rattle the ordinary out
of any average day. Go ahead, blame it on the beat
(see Drum Buddy) or those hypnotizing maracas
(see Miss Pussycat) or something about the Hammond-Leslie
combination (see Quintron’s ride); and
yes, things may never be the same again, even after
just one live show.
Quintron, the audio-centric half, picks up the
phone as he prepares for rehearsals at Spellcaster
Lodge in NOLA. He kindly sets aside a few moments
to talk about their current tour plans with words
like “celebration” and “vacation” popping into the
conversation and explained that the heart of this
tour will revolve around select West Coast, Midwest
and Canadian dates. These are sandwiched
between two special festivals, one in Oakland at
the Burger Boogaloo, and then off to the National
Puppetry Festival in St. Paul Minnesota. As for new
news, Miss Pussycat, the visual half, will showcase
a puppet show that has not been seen on the west
coast. Hints? So sorry, no spoilers, you will just have
wait to see it!
For those who are not familiar with the liberating
nature of these live shows, to say the least it defies
a simple written descriptive. Again, you really have
to be there. The fun does straddle the infectious
dance grooves produced by the glorious noise of
Quintron’s Hammond and custom sound devices,
contrasted by Miss Pussycat’s cozy and artful
puppets. Those creatures have the capacity to manipulate
the audience into hysterical laughter one
moment and reduce them to a hush the next. There
is still another tangible magic at work here, and it’s
the juxtaposition of these two artists and how this
contrast feeds their collective process. “I’m dark and
stormy, she’s bright and sunny,” says Quintron, at
first thought as he begins to analyze the differences.
“I don’t walk through the world with my eyes, [and]
she does so much, exclusively. It’s amazing and frustrating,
because I really walk through the world with
my ears. I didn't really realize we had that match for
years.” Quintron describes how Miss Pussycat is so
visual and she “sees everything,” while he barely
pays attention to even what colour he is wearing.
“It’s beautiful. She has got skills. You can see it in her
puppet shows, in her clothes. She has strong opinions
of every colour you can name,” he adds. As with
her visual nature, he noted it was similar to his focus
for sound based elements. “We don’t argue because
we don’t have the same skill sets,” he explains. The
conclusion? Sounds like the perfect collaboration of
opposites.
If you have caught Quintron and Miss Pussycat’s
show before, consider this your advance notice! If
you are new to the experience, get set to dance like
you never have before and dress appropriate, they
just might be conjuring up your own mini summer
vacation! Remember, this one is an early evening
show so check your ticket times.
Quintron and Miss Pussycat will perform at
Fortune Sound Club Saturday July 8.
Quintron And Miss Pussycat take their unforgettable live show on the road again.
photo by Gary Lavourde
Geneva Jacuzzi embraces the weird from beginning to end while crossing boundaries into new media.
JAMIE GOYMAN
Think giant tentacles reaching out to the darkest
corners of the room while sound waves pulsate
through your eardrums urging you to dance. The
Los Angeles based avant-garde disco inspired
pop artist Geneva Jacuzzi is an amalgamation of
different aspects of the creative art world and
has been pushing the weird that's trapped inside
her creative mind for everyone to explore since
2008. A woman of many talents (lighting, video,
costume, performance, music) Geneva does it all;
that mad dash, sickening rush felt when all eyes
are on you for a good show, she loves and thrives
off of it.
"I have a weird thing about me where I agree to
do certain things without knowing how I'm going
to do them,” she says. “It's that insanity that
happens in the middle of that pressure where I
start to recognize those silly aspects of myself
and expand on them in the most ridiculous ways
I can. I like challenges; I get off on them. I'll say yes
to something that I know is going to destroy me
because I just want to see if I can do it."
Coming off preparation for her massive Warhol
inspired show she just did at The Broad museum,
Geneva talks with such excitement and life
behind her words it's hard not to be captivated
by her work and want to catch the whole package
live. "I build landscapes, an atmosphere or
sometimes I put on a play, there is just always
some sort of object I'm interacting with when it
comes to live shows," she says. "I do something
that is kind of neat that doesn't fit in any one
place, but also fits anywhere. I can play a festival
or a museum or in a gallery; it's a self contained
weird little beast that I create and I can go anywhere.
It incorporates music and visual arts. It's a
big fucking smorgasbord." We love all you can eat
art displays and her latest tour with Nite Jewel
promises to be a good one. Geneva’s last album,
2016's Technophelia (Medical Records LLC), gave
audiences tracks that create movement from
within, tracks like "Technophelia" which sums
up the abstract nature of her work, the danceable
and fun "Cannibal Babies" or "Squid Hunter"
each throw listeners into the world Geneva has
constructed while causing all bodies involved to
move. Intentional or not, your body will shake
with the world she creates. "What ends of happening
is weird shit comes out and nobody can
stop me."
The following months will see Geneva Jacuzzi
yet again push her personal boundaries by not
only making more music as the first plan of attack,
but also pushing into creating art - "residencies
and exhibitions," she tells. "I'm going to move
into different territories and push out."
Colliding worlds with her imaginative and intoxicating
form of expression, Geneva uses her
magic, or "gooey stuff" as she calls it, to reach out,
fills listeners up and sticks when the play button
is hit. "When you have an abstract situation it has
the ability to be interpreted beyond language
and clear definitions. It's a better form of connection
between the person viewing and the person
creating the work," she says. "Songs I pick have a
bit of that goo to them and then I organize them
into a weird journey from beginning to end. I find
the gooey songs - all that sludge found in the Jacuzzi."
Geneva Jacuzzi performs July 11 at the
Fox Cabaret.
July 2017 MUSIC
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