Posted August 26, 200618 yr Scissor Sisters From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Country United States Years active 2001–present Genres Glam Rock, Rock, Pop, Alternative Labels Universal Records/Polydor Scissor Sisters are a glam-rock band with influences drawn from disco, pop and the gay-club scene of New York City, and was named after a lesbian sex position (see tribadism). (The group's initial full name was Dead Lesbian and the Fibrillating Scissor Sisters.) The band was formed in 2001. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a2/ScissorSisters.jpg/200px-ScissorSisters.jpg Members The members of the band include: Lead vocalist Jake Shears (born Jason Sellards); Bassist/keyboardist Babydaddy (born Scott Hoffman); Vocalist/Mistress of Ceremonies Ana Matronic (born Ana Lynch); Guitarist Del Marquis (born Derek Gruen); Drummer Paddy Boom (born Patrick Secore). Live shows and performances have included John "JJ" Garden, son of Graeme Garden of The Goodies, on keyboards/guitar. Early career The nucleus of the band formed in 2001 when Shears and Babydaddy connected via mutual friends, and began to play music together. The duo met Ana Matronic at a cabaret night, and the group soon began playing gigs. After becoming a quintet, the band was signed to independent record label "A Touch of Class", and recorded a single, "Electrobix", which had as its B-side a disco/glam cover of the Pink Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb". Major Label Debut Their cover of the Pink Floyd single "Comfortably Numb" became noticed in the UK when it was picked up by the underground DJs in electroclubs. The c**k in London put on their first British gig. The song later got the attention of British label Polydor, who signed them to a contract. The group's first single, "Laura", had a limited release in 2003 (reaching #54 in the UK singles chart), receiving little attention except from British music paper New Musical Express, and garnering plenty of radio play in Australia. 2003 also saw the inclusion of the atmospheric "It Can't Come Quickly Enough" on the soundtrack of the film Party Monster; the song played over its ending credits. Their first hit was in 2004 when "Comfortably Numb" (reaching #10 in the UK), featuring Paul Leschen on piano and keyboards. This success was followed by fan favourite "Take Your Mama" (#17 in the UK), a re-release of "Laura" (#12 in the UK), the ballad "Mary" (#14 in the UK), and the gay anthem "Filthy/Gorgeous" (#5 in the UK). All the singles came from the self-titled debut album Scissor Sisters, which reached #1 on the UK albums chart and became the best selling album of 2004, beating their closest rival Keane by just 582 copies. Despite substantial chart success in the UK, they have had only a moderate impact on the public consciousness in their home country. "Take Your Mama" received popular radio airplay on US pop stations. "Fithy/Gorgeous" enjoyed a following in stateside gay clubs. Content of Music The lyrics of their songs, largely written by Shears and Babydaddy, are known for their mixture of wit and tragedy. The songs on the debut album dealt with a number of subjects and issues in a variety of styles, from crystal meth abuse in "Return to Oz", to Jake Shears' deep platonic love for his best friend in real life, Mary ("Mary"). The same name was also used for the song. Mary died of a brain aneurysm in April, 2006, news which devastated members of the band. Their music can be generally described as a mixture of glam rock, disco, and alternative music. They appear to have been heavily influenced by Elton John (Shears' singing, particularly, sometimes sounds uncannily like John). However, Shears has gone on record as not having been very familiar with John's work prior to the release of their record, although he's stated he's since become a big fan. The band echoes not only Elton John, but also the Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band, Duran Duran ("the reason we got into music", as Ana says), Supertramp, Queen, Chic and various other dance/disco, rock, and funk acts, and they admit that their music is hard to categorize. They prefer not to be specifically labeled as a "gay band". In an interview featured on the We Are Scissor Sisters... And So Are You DVD, the band states, "The fact that some of us are gay affects our music the same amount as it does that some of the members of Blondie are straight". The band counts David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Roger Daltrey of the Who, U2, Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Elton John among its fans. They were the opening act for Duran Duran's 2004 reunion tour and opened for U2 on some of their UK dates for the Vertigo Tour. Awards and Press At the 2005 Brit Awards, the group won all the awards they were nominated for: International Group, International Breakthrough, and International Album. It was the first time in the Awards history that an act won all three International categories. They also opened the show with "Take Your Mama", on a set made by The Jim Henson Company. The band won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Artist on March 28, 2005. On July 2, 2005, the group performed at Live 8. Their set included the previously unheard song "Everybody Wants the Same Thing". They have received a lot of attention in the United States by VH1 and magazines such as Out and Entertainment Weekly. So far in the U.S., two videos have received play: the "Take Your Mama" clip and the second "Laura" clip. They have also been interviewed on VH1's website and Del Marquis had been interviewed by the music section of IGN.com. As their early successes have been almost exclusively in Europe, they are often mistaken in the U.S. for an import band despite their New York roots. It is a little known fact that there are several tracks recorded by the band before their eponymous debut which were never released; these tracks have entered the fan community and, although sometimes difficult to find, can be obtained freely. These songs include "Someone to Touch", "Bicycling with the Devil", "Electrobix" and "Monkey Baby" as well as demo versions of "Laura", and "Filthy/Gorgeous". Scissor Sisters' CDs, records, and DVDs feature artwork by an English illustrator named Spookytim, who has a studio in Brighton called Studiospooky. The artwork is created by a wide variety of techniques and mixes traditional paper-based processes with digital and photographic elements in order to reflect the multi-referential nature of the band's music. Several fan societies have sprung up in the official forums. These include the "Jake Groupies", "Ana Matronic Appreciation Society", and the "Scissor Sisters Party Bus", the latter two having spilled over to their own sites. The band have a healthy relationship with the fan community, even holding a small private gig for select forum members on August 14th 2005, at which a number of new tracks were previewed, and fans had the opportunity to meet the band and give birthday cards and presents to Ana Matronic. In the fan community, those fans who hold a special affinity for Ana are known as "nuns". In late 2004, Shears and Babydaddy co-wrote and produced the hit "I Believe in You" for Kylie Minogue. The group were one of the headlining acts at the British V Festival in 2005, where they collaborated on stage with Scottish rock group Franz Ferdinand to perform a cover version of David Bowie's "Suffragette City". Also in 2005, "Filthy/Gorgeous" was licensed by Activision and appears in Neversoft's Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. The Second Album Recording of the second Scissor Sisters album, Ta Dah, commenced in mid-May 2005; sneak previews of new songs were played at live shows, including "Everybody Wants the Same Thing", performed at the Live 8 concert, "Paul McCartney", "I Can't Decide", "Hybrid Man", "Forever Right Now" and "Hairbaby" (possibly the only song inspired by the phenomenon of tumours containing partially formed foetuses). Recordings took place at Discoball, the band's studio. The band fulfilled one of its dreams: Elton John has collaborated with them on the song "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" (co-writing it with Jake Shears and Babydaddy, as well as playing piano), in which Babydaddy plays a banjo. This song is scheduled to be the first single from the album, released on September 4th. Elton John also contributed to the "Intermission" of Ta-Dah, which was confirmed by Del Marquis in an interview. The album has been completed and is slated for release on September 18, 2006 in the UK, and September 26, 2006 in the USA. According to Jake Shears, this album will be a combination of sixties-era psychedelia and glam rock. The band will play several gigs in the USA, continental Europe and Japan to promote the new CD. They are currently an opening act for Depeche Mode's 2006 Tour. Their first gig in the UK for promotion of the second album is scheduled for September. 2006 performances at the Bowery Ballroom and Siren Music Festival in New York, and the Coachella Festival have allowed for the band to showcase an array of songs taken from the new album. The band has appeared in several print interviews in the press in June 2006, discussing the title and content of the new album.
