Cyber- Fetish Burlesque | *V*I*R*G*O*
an emily blunt interview
photos: jo lance

A while back I got a sample CD in the mail...it was intriguing and unique so I popped it in the player. Turns out it's VIRGO. VIRGO is this NYC based hot-as-achunk-of- molten-lava performer that bleeds into his music. I was hooked. I contacted him and discovered he was coming out with a new EP, 'MODERATE EXTREMISM,' shortly. We chatted. He's an honest human with an intense talent. I'm not a huge electronica music lover- lets face it - it's Darin and Martin all day over here. But, I found VIRGO's music drew me in. Here's some chit chat 'tween us:

Blunt Aside: He's performing live at the record release party Dec 12. Details on that are at the bottom of the interview-

Emily: Why VIRGO. I assume it's the sign your little your mansteak self was delivered into?

V: Yes. Virgo is my sun sign. It wasn't originally my idea to work under that name; it was suggested by a friend who knows firsthand what a total Virgo I am. My music does reflect this, though, so it made perfect sense to adopt it as my alter-ego. Virgos are known to pay an unusual amount of attention to the minor details in anything we do. For example, I may spend hours tweaking a sample or vocal edit to get it just how I want it. People who listen to the song when it's finished probably won't notice that detail right away, but it's there for them to eventually discover.

Emily: Did you study music?

V: I did. I majored in music and theater at University of Miami. Even before that, my mother and father had taught me quite a lot of music theory and history. They were both musicians as well, so there was always music at home. There really wasn't a specific point where I started studying music - it was more of an evolution over time that's actually still ongoing.

Emily: I figured. Okay, who are your influences? I mean you are so unique yet so completely familiar...

V: I find influences pretty much everywhere, and not always in music. People and situations inspire me a lot, as well as other art forms. Films, photos, paintings, sculptures, almost anything can spark something musical in me. Most often my work starts as a concept and grows organically from there. As far as specifically musical influences, they change constantly, but I'd say the most important at the moment are Bjork (with all her hundreds of collaborators) and Trent Reznor (with all his).

Emily: Is there asignifigance behind the new EP's title?

V: As I was putting this record together, I started playing the songs for people, and their response was always "Wow, it's so extreme!" I was always a little surprised by this, because compared to artists like Nine Inch Nails or Mudvayne or Alec Empire, I think my music seems fairly tame. That's where the title came from - the duality of how I perceive my work, in contrast to how others do.

Emily: The cuts are great. Do you have a fave? And if so why?

V: "Black Leather". I love this song for many reasons, but one of the most important is that it's the only track on the record that I created - beginning to end - totally by myself. On every other song, I had the help of my co-producer, Nik, in putting the arrangements together and getting everything recorded. But I wrote and recorded "Black Leather" all on my own, and for that reason I think it comes closest to the true *V*I*R*G*O* sound. (Whatever that means.)

Emily: I love black leather too...oh, you mean the cut....silly me! You're openly gay. Gotta ask, do you feel this hinders or helps your music?

V: Musically speaking, I would say neither. My sexuality is a part of who I am, so it's a part of anything I do, as is my spirituality or my politics. I don't think any of these things help or hinder my creativity, per se. They're just part of the equation. Though I can't get the single-minded gay media to pay a lick of attention, no matter how hard Shel and I may try. If I wrote tacky house music and wore a wig, they'd be all over me. But try to do something new and unusual, with a bit of actual creativity involved, and it's like I'm invisible. Go figure

Emily: Weird. You'd think they'd adore you for being so different and uncatagorizable - is that a word?- Obviously your music transcends sexual preferences. Are you hoping your music will help anti-gays into electronica to stop beings dicks?

V: I 'd love any chance I could get to stop anti-gays of any kind from being dicks.

Emily: Where are you from and who did you start this crazy journey?

V: I grew up in a small town (well, a series of small towns) in Florida. That environment had everything to do with who I am today. In a lot of ways, Florida is caught up in the past. Like most of the South, it has retained this old-fashioned conservatism that just isn't applicable today. For some reason, instead of evolving to meet the changing times, they glorify and romanticize this obsolete way of life, and I think it hinders our entire society (as evidenced by our last presidential election.) This kind of thinking is very dangerous, because it keeps us from moving forward as a society, which should always be our goal. In any case, I think the desire to move up and out of such a stifling environment is what fueled me to follow the path I have. It's often been said that if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. I refuse to be a part of this particular problem.

Emily: Here's a off-path unfair query. What's your favorite film? Why?

V: The Color Purple. It's a lesson in taking control over your life and rising above circumstances and conditioning to make something better of yourself. This is something my family always taught me, and it's something that every one of us can do, although few of us choose to. No matter what you're up against, there is always a way to break through to the life you want to live.

Emily: Good choice and for nice reasons. I can't answer the question myself...Five years from now- what do you want to be jotting in your journal?

V: Five years from now, I plan to be too busy to keep a journal. Hell, I don't have time to keep one now!

Emily: for those outside NYC, do you have tour plans?

V: I would love to do some touring. Right now, I'm working on a pretty interesting show that I hope to mount for an extended run at a New York venue. If that goes well, I'd love to tour it around a bit. Any promoters out there interested in a cyber-fetish burlesque?

Emily: Who wouldn't be! A sexy erotic danceable combo my lad! Good luck

For those in the NYC area do yourselves a favor and GO to his cd release. It promises to be a shindig of tremendous proportions with special guests, live music and glorious mayhem...you DO NOT want to miss this.

*V*I*R*G*O*
CD RELEASE PARTY

THURSDAY - DECEMBER 12TH - 7PM - 11PM
'MODERATE EXTREMISM'
Join GDG for a fab event:
@ VOID
16 MERCER STREET - SOHO

LIVE Performance by *V*I*R*G*O*
Plus: DJ Michael Elkind
(Wall of Sound/Astral Works)
Knock-you-out Visuals byDIGITALVISION
RSVP HERE