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News and InterviewsYou are in: Manchester > Entertainment > Music > News and Interviews > Dragging out the Dance  Sadie Hawkins Dance's Crystal Grenade Dragging out the DanceYou could be forgiven for thinking that Manchester music is all about blokes and guitars, but scratch the surface and you’ll find a mass of exciting original bands, not least of which is Sadie Hawkins Dance, who have been called as glittersex rock! It’s a description that’s not disputed by their lead singer, Crystal Grenade, though she says it needs a little refinement.  Sadie Hawkins Dance (pic: Allan Wilson) "I think they coined that term because I like to festoon stages with glitter and writhe around on sticky floors. I find it really difficult to accurately describe what we sound like, but it's fun to try. I once got described as ‘Gwen Stefani on a bad acid trip’, which I quite like. "I'd say we're ‘heavy and toxic as lead soup with a mangled, nihilistic aftertaste.’ We're certainly like nothing else I've ever seen or heard before." Whatever they are, it’s certainly intoxicating. Their new EP, Drag, boasts three fine slices of punked-up rock that should send anyone a little crazy. Indeed, explains Crystal, lead track Anywhere Anytime Anything is about just that.  Crystal Grenade "It's about that button inside you, the one that opens up your Freudian hellbox, the one we all do our utmost to deny the existence of. When triggered, it unleashes an explosion of twisted, degraded sexual energy. "It's the primal drive dwelling inside each of us that hates to love and loves to hate. Pain being intermingled with pleasure. Saying no but meaning yes." Everything’s ** political!Not all their songs are quite so explicit. There’s a thoughtful intelligence that runs through their music, so much so that the EP’s second track is called Guatanamo. So does such a title show a political leaning? Crystal says it depends on how you define political. "Everything's ** political. I wouldn't say we had a particular agenda that could slot into the current political spectrum, but we are all quite unusual people who take issue with a lot of the things considered 'normal' by mainstream society.
"Guantanamo was written after I went to hear Moazzam Begg (Guantanamo Bay prisoner) speak about his experience. It just struck me as absolutely insane that someone could be ripped out of their bed in the middle of the night, tortured and imprisoned in appalling conditions for two years, without a shred of evidence. I guess that's democracy for you." Fitting inSuch fire is bound to get them noticed and they’ve already shared the stage with several fiery artists including The Noisettes, UK Subs, No Comply and Kate Rusby. Hang on… Kate Rusby? Crystal, through laughter, explains how they came to play alongside the folk songstress. "I love the image of us opening for her at some kind of sweaty subterranean goth club, but I have to admit, we were a few slots before her on the main stage at a festival.  Sadie Hawkins Dance "She's a very lovely lady but I hardly think we're compatible, I just find it amusing that we played at the same event, hence it being included in our biography." As for fitting in Manchester though, that might not seem so simple, but Crystal is sure there’s a place for them in the city’s musical scenery. "It’s somewhere along the faultlines between Jillys and the Retro Bar, three storeys down, through the factory, an hour's wade through thigh-high human waste, projectile screamed through broken windows, left a bit and you'll find us." You can’t ask for better directions than that and given the power in the Drag EP, you’d be daft not to follow them. The Drag EP is out on Monday 10 September. Sadie Hawkins Dance play the Ritz on Thursday 20 September.last updated: 24/08/07 SEE ALSOYou are in: Manchester > Entertainment > Music > News and Interviews > Dragging out the Dance [an error occurred while processing this directive] all the music on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ |
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