I remember moments of my life through songs," declares Cinzia Moniaci of The Perfect Nines.
The singer and founder of high-end Italian designer handbag line,
Moni Moni,
pens music that you'll be able to attach to moments of your life as
well. The Perfect Nines nod to the fuzzed-out psychedelia of early
Jane's Addiction with a feminine energy a la
Garbage. That combination makes for music that's as intoxicating as it is irresistible. These Los Angeles indie stalwarts are as
perfect as they come…
In this exclusive interview with ARTISTdirect.com editor in chief Rick
Florino, The Perfect Nines singer Cinzia Moniaci talks the group's debut
album and so much more.
Did you have one vision or vibe in mind for The Perfect Nines album?
I'd moved to New York for my business, and I set up an office there.
When I moved back to Los Angeles, it was a time of soul searching. The
business was growing, but there was a piece of me missing—the creativity
in music. Now, I'm a businesswoman, a mother, and an artist. Music was
brought back into my life around that time. I met with a friend of mine
in Manhattan Beach where I moved. When we met, I realized he had a
full-on studio. I live in a gated community with a giant park and woods I
can walk through and think. That was really my only time to do that.
I'd put down ideas as I was walking with my dog in the woods. Then, I'd
go record it right away at my friend's place. I started involving the
other members of the band. The album's flow comes from that same period
of me reconciling with music again. The very first song I wrote for the
record is "Life Goes On". That tells it all. When you think it's all
done and you can't deal with a certain thing, life keeps going on. You
learn, get better, and it's a rite of passage. That song took its own
life, and then the whole record did. It all came out of me at that
point.
Did the other musicians gravitate towards that?
Yogi Lonich [
Chris Cornell]
loved the record! He's a very accomplished guitar player with a lot of
soul. He's interested in producing the next album. He's joined us on
stage too.
Stephen Perkins [Jane's
Addiction] loved it as well, and he wants to be a part of the next one.
He even laid down some tracks. We keep getting surrounded by these
amazing people who want to be a part of the project. My exposure in the
fashion industry furthers the music as well.
What were some of the themes you wanted to tackle lyrically? What's the story behind "Carry On"?
"Carry On" is about the journey that took me here to the United States.
I came from Italy 16 years ago. It's rare in this day and age for
someone in Italy to move here. When I made the move, it was about
learning a new culture from scratch. I'd left my boyfriend at the time
too. I was ready for a new chapter. In the song, I talk about the pain I
left and the emptiness in that void. The need to follow my destiny was
unstoppable.
What artists shaped you?
You were right on with the analogies of
PJ Harvey and Garbage. I very much come from the indie rock 'n' roll of London. When I was a kid, I was listening to
The Charlatans and
The Stone Roses. I also loved The
Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction. Those musicians very much inspired what we do, but I wanted to bring femininity to it.
The Pretenders are
always who I've been associated with vocally. It's a mix of that
vulnerability in the vocals, which is really me. My personality is very
strong on one end yet feminine on the other. I'm the businesswoman and
the mother. I'm the girl and the rocker. I'm the fashionista and the
aggressive rock 'n' roll girl. The yin-and-yang make the music
interesting.
Is it important for you to paint visual pictures with the songs?
Absolutely! I'm glad you brought that up. As a little girl, my goal was
to be a writer. My very first jobs were in journalism. I'd interview
celebrities and rock 'n' roll people in Italy. When I moved here, I was a
correspondent and I interviewed
Beck and
Gwen Stefani.
I was raised to tell stories. I've always been the life of the party.
In a song, you have to tell a story in just a few phrases. I learned to
write within those parameters with bridges to take things a little
further where I'd have more space to be free.
If you were to compare your record to a movie or a combination of movies, what would you compare it to?
There are a couple of movies I'm fond of which have the same effect on me that the album does. One of them is
Zabriskie Point by
Michelangelo Antonioni.
He's an Italian director, but it was shot in the United States.
Antonioni paints a picture when he creates an idea. He doesn't
necessarily tell you the whole story though. He lets you imagine it in
your own way. I also love
Blowup from the '60s. The fashion at
the time and the enfant terrible spirit of the film impacted me. The
character is in search of a calling of eternal beauty and perfection,
but he never finds it. It blows up in him and the people around him.
That's in there as well as that youth, rebellion, and free spirit. The
characters are impossibly beautiful but completely damned because
they're in search of a perfection inside that doesn't really exist.
—Rick Florino
Read more at http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/interview-the-perfect-nines/10254657#scIjkhmqwxj8gGbp.99
