Everett True vs The Ethical Debating Society

So, anyway. The other day I discovered this ace new Riot Grrrl band, randomly (the best way).

Well. It's been a while since I interviewed anyone (not since Speech Debelle, in fact) - and I've never interviewed anyone using instant text messaging via Facebook - so I asked Sarah from The Ethical Debating Society if she'd be kind enough to spare me a few minutes of her time.

P.S. The Ethical Debating Society describe their own music as "Sonic Youth covering Spiceworld on a found cassette" - which is way off, of course. But as (surely) one of the very few music critics to have interviewed Sonic Youth and The Spice Girls (original line-up, with Ginger in the band) face-to-face, I thought it was worth a brief mention.

OK. Interview follows:

10:12pmEverett
hey, are you there?
10:13pmSarah
hello! I am.
How are you, Mr True?
How are you, Mr True?
10:14pmEverett
good. listening to ace all-female Melbourne band, Beaches.
wanna do this interview now?
10:14pmSarah
yeah!
That sounds excellent!
10:14pmEverett
ok. let me see if I can find yr myspace page again.
10:14pmSarah
okay.
www.myspace.com/ethicaldebating
that should point you in the right direction
10:15pmEverett
got it! man, you should check out Beaches! They rock
FUCK! Your page is LOUD!
10:15pmSarah
um, yeah, it is, sorry. :$
That first track was live...complete with fuck ups.
I think that was at the Windmill in Brixton
10:15pmEverett
's good. got me headphones on.
i liked that description of your live show at Kimya Dawson in that comment on my blog - sounded like you were having a party, and someone wanted in desperately
d'ya reckon my comparison points were fair, in my blog post?
10:18pmSarah
oh, absolutely. Very, very flattering. It's so wonderful that you "get" it.
10:19pmEverett
so, what made you want to get up on stage and shout?
i mean, sing...
10:19pmSarah
Well. Firstly, that I have been listening to bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, etc, since I was very young. 13 or so.
10:20pmEverett
... what attracted you to them...?
10:20pmSarah
I like that they broke down barriers between what can and can't be done.
As a 13 year old who is "uncool", certain things seem impossible, for others, you know?
Boys, fashion, going out...
I'd resigned myself to that being for other people. Instead, I had music.
and the more I listened, the more I realised I didn't want all the supposedly cool stuff anyway.
10:21pmEverett
did those bands being...y'know.. FEMALE help?
10:21pmSarah
Without a doubt, that surely goes without saying...!
10:22pmEverett
ever hear Skinned Teen? An early Riot Grrrl band that often is overlooked
10:22pmSarah
I loooooooooove skinned teen so much
Actually, we're recording a single with Ant Chapman, who did the album
he also did lots for Bis, who I also love.
10:23pmEverett
so why did Ethical Debating Society, you know, congregate, what d;ya have in common?
10:23pmSarah
I've known both Lauren and Chris for a long while.
Chris is my best friend Zoe's boyfriend...we'd talked about playing together, never got round to it...
Lauren has been a very, very good friend for a long while.
She nagged me, we managed to get together, and haven't looked back
10:25pmEverett
good not to look back
10:25pmSarah
absolutely.
We were offered our first gig within a week or so of forming, so we HAD to be on the ball
10:26pmEverett
that's the best way to form!
who was that first gig with?
10:27pmSarah
It was at the Good Ship in Kilburn...
a truly progressive little venue in the sense that they actually PAY bands.
10:27pmEverett
sweet!
ok. 5 lyrical concerns.
be broad
or specific.
or lie
10:28pmSarah
Right. The concept of "cool", or "scene", or whatever...
That's pretty much covered in 'Extreme Vintage'.
How people can get it so wrong.
there's some stuff about sexuality in there ,too...
10:29pmEverett
confused?
10:29pmSarah
discovering, or TRYING to discover what's right and wrong.
I'd say not so much confused, as more exploring.
(I'm thinking about what each song is about here..)
10:30pmEverett
how many you got?
10:30pmSarah
about 5, haha.
10:30pmEverett
awesome! pure Skinned Teen!
5 bands you currently like (um, sticking with 5 as some sort of random signifier)
10:31pmSarah
right. Hm. Currently, I'm loving Applicants for their insane but truly amazing live shows and quirky popness...
Lauren is absolutely into Health at the moment, and they too are very good...
I saw Male Bonding the other night, they were great...
and will never tire of Sleater-Kinney, Helen Love, The Frumpies.
oh, Scout [Niblett], too!~
(oh, Lauren adds Marnie Stern!)
10:34pmEverett
um. do you dress up when you go on stage
10:35pmSarah
Well, not dress UP exactly, not in fancy dress or anything...
but I think that Lauren and I always look rather super.
She's such a style icon.
10:35pmEverett
how so?
10:35pmSarah
She knows what looks amazing on her, and she always, always dresses beautifully.
In case you'd um, not noticed, both Lauren and I are kinda fat.
Not big boned, curvy, any of that...we're fat. and that's OKAY.
10:36pmEverett
that's cool
reclaim reclaim!
10:36pmSarah
yes, exactly
it's the same as someone being tall, short, bald, thin...it's just a word.
If me and L can get onstage, look great, and have fun, I hope that other people can feel THEY can do it
10:37pmEverett
do you get extreme reactions from yr audiences?
10:37pmSarah
We get very extreme reactions.
Some people are quite simply horrified.
10:37pmEverett
!!
10:37pmSarah
Most are, in fact.
10:38pmEverett
!!!!
10:38pmSarah
We had one rather well known person, who shall remain nameless, who was making vomiting gestures as we were playing (it was Fruitbat from Carter USM)
Other people love us, and seem to truly enjoy what we do
10:39pmEverett
ok. i think i might call a halt here
how long you been playing live? ...
10:39pmSarah
Since March.
Bis still make my heart leap. Oh, Bis, how I love you. ♥.