INTERVIEWS: CRAZYGIRL

The Mookychicks were lucky enough to run into the super-lovely and feisty Crazygirl doing a live set in Cargo, Shoreditch, London, UK, The World. We now have the chance to pass on to you her thoughts on making music, style, drugs, bikes, iTunes playlists, changing the world and ever so much more!

Do you write the lyrics as well as all the musical arrangements for your tunes?

Yes, I do both... usually I write a simple arrangement with the vocals first and then call my guitarist who comes round and helps me fatten it up... then later add drums or other instruments...

Writing music: Easier done depressed or not depressed?

Definitely done depressed... It's funny, I have told myself if I ever become really successful, I will have to pay someone to come round and hurt my feelings so that I can always get to that place... Creativity is such a cathartic process... When you're down, writing a song can help you get through and bring you out of it and at the end that song is forever.

What sort of things inspire you?

All kinds of things - conversations overheard on the bus... colloquialisms... old doo wop and blues records... problems with people... you name it...

We heard you started getting into music as a little girl...

My dad was a hi-fi dealer in the 1970s. We had a 'music room' in our house which my mom sponge-painted in day-glo colours. It had crazy stereos with blinking speaker cabinets and mushroom fun-fur seats... Every night my father made me sing Bo Diddley songs and do Cha-Cha lessons. I hated it at the time, but after school I would go in there on my own and record myself on 8 track free styling... I still have the tapes and they sound really psychotic!

Miss, miss I like your bike. Is your bike really bitchin'? If you could ride it anywhere where would you ride it? And do you ride it every day or have you got a car? And what's this all about a newer, even more bitchingest bike?

I got the bike in New York about 8 years ago... I was never into bikes, but this one day it was really hot and I said to myself 'I wish I had a bike'. I turned around and there it was, for sale at this puerto rican tire shop... They wanted $75, but I talked them down to $50. It's an old vintage customised Schwinn Stingray from the 70's. It used to say 'lion of judah' on the side of it, but it's beat up and worn out now... It's really fun to ride and every time I ride it people always say something...

It's a cruiser though, it doesn't go fast - so if I could ride it anywhere, it would be on a beach path, somewhere flat, sunny and warm.... I do ride it pretty much everyday... I don't drive, I'm blind in one eye and have had several car accidents, so I figure it's best not to have a car, plus I can't deal with the responsibility.

A bike company from Manchester ( www.ridelow.co.uk ) sent me my latest bike... they saw my site and liked my music and just emailed me and said 'We'd like to send you a bike'... I couldn't say no to that! It's beautiful! It looks like something off of 'Pimp My Ride'... It has exhaust pipes off the back and fenders... It's too bling to ride every day though, it's more of a show bike.

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