Vera Mesmer, Interview

Vera Mesmer- written by Heidi

NF: If you had to describe your band, how would you do this?

Vera: We're a rock band. It's really simple. I'm not really into the
genres, you know? Like everybody has a genre, for their band. I t
hink .. sometimes it's like a cover-up for uh insecurities of their
music. If you write good songs, you don't even need to have some
sort of genre or description. You just kinda play what you do. I
think a lot of people hide behind their false genres.

Have you seen online, you go on to like MySpace or something and
they'll have 18 million different kinds of metal that you can choose
from and I just totally ... To me there's rock bands, there's pop
bands, and that's kind of interchangeable. It's like punk - I listen to
punk. Punk's different. Alternative is the things that kind of could be
rock or kind of could be whatever. Then there's rap and country and
basically nothing else to me. Like, everybody falls into those
categories. So we're a rock band, you know? We do what we want
and I write whatever I want at the moment. I write a soft song, I
write a heavy song, I write a weird song with a tempo that you can't
play drums to.. you know, the whole nine yards.

NF: So describe your band mates

Vera: My band mates? Um, my bass player is very quiet. He keeps
to himself. He's kind of the mysterious weirdo of the band. My
drummer is a very strong-willed, social person and it's very good
because.. good dynamic within the band because I am a singer t
hrough and through. I act like one. I don't carry a thing ever.

I don't do anything for myself, really. I have a hard time living and they take care of me *laughs* So those are my band mates qualities.

NF: What's a favorite song you've written and why?

Vera: Of my own?

NF: Yeah, that you've written.

Vera: Umm, actually a song we're going to be playing tonight. It's called "My Brother and the Pixie. It's the last song we're playing.

I think I don't have a favorite aside from that. That'll be my favorite and then the rest of them are all at an equal play. It's just a song
about my family. I don't really like personal songs. I'm much more of an observer. I'm a people watcher and I write songs about other
people's lives more than I write about my own, but I think that's the sole song about my own life and it makes me sad. You know .. it's
weird because I usually think I'm much more stronger than that and I end up getting a little choked up sometimes when I'm playing it.

NF: Aww!

Vera: I know! We've been playing it for over a year now..

NF: Hey, there's a reason why Brian Molko hasn't played 'My Sweet Prince' in years.

Vera: Awww... Yeah sometimes when you write a song like that you don't want it to be so personal and then all of a sudden it is.

NF: Yeah.. What's your favorite venue to play?

Vera: Anywhere?

NF: Yeah, anywhere.

Vera: Um, I played at Red Rocks.

NF: Really?

Vera: Yeah.. that was my favorite place I've ever played.

NF: I've been there like once... What's that like?

Vera: Umm, magical? To say the least… I remember first arriving and I thought it was neat how all the roads were kind of lined with
these little adobe huts and everything… and then you end up getting to the area and... the backstage is all caverns underneath the stage.
So like, if you walked out of your dressing rooms? …you could look right up on to the stage 'cuz there's a grill..

So.. I mean, I remember I spent half the night just looking up through the grill waiting for whoever's playing to like, come out and
stomp on the grill and then leave and then I could hear the stars, hear the audience and everything.. It was a very, very magical
moment..

NF: Wow, that's amazing!

Vera: The only thing I didn't like about it was the stage is all cement and I think I wiped out that night. I think I picked up a bottle of
water and fell! (laughs)

NF: Oh no!

Vera: Quite embarrassing! (laughs)

NF: Well, hey, I've done worse (laughs)

Vera: But it was like.. the very slick cement too!

NF: Right so, it’s the stuff that’s like, lacquered ...except for it's not.

Vera: Yeah! (laughs) So.. yeah.. Red Rocks. Easily Red Rocks. ...and then any festival. I just like festivals.

NF: That's good! Cuz.. festivals.. from like the Techie side.. we're all "I hate you" (laughs)

Vera: Heh.. I'm sure we'll be playing a lot of festivals too.

NF: Yeah... Well, festivals, I mean they're great cuz you got like.. the whole range of bands..

Vera: Right, right.. For any band that's like, the best tool.. to play festivals. It's like the best of both worlds

NF: Yeah, it really is.. but like I said, all the people who tech for festivals, hate them so..

Vera: I'm sure! Cuz everything's so pressurized

NF: Yep! ..so what's your favorite song to perform?

Vera: Favorite song to perform... umm .. let's see..

NF: Any song. It doesn't necessarily have to be one that you wrote.

Vera: I like playing a song called "Through the Keyhole" that we have. It's um, it's kind of my stab at people that think that musicians
have such a glam life... It's just a slap in the face you know, "Don't be so naive".

Vera: Uh, do I have to pee?

NF: (laughs)

Vera: (laughs) Do I have to use the restroom cuz uhh I better decide that now than later... No, but... I think that might honestly be it.

NF: (laughs) Hey, no, I understand.. So what is one of your all time favorite bands?

Vera: All time... The Doors. There is a no-brainer. That is my all time favorite band. The Doors. I love everything that they represent
and I love the Gypsy thing.. cuz you know, as a kid, I just loved that mysteriousness about them. I was afraid of them!

NF: Of The Doors or the Gypsies?

Vera: Both! Both.. yeah.. The Doors were scary to me and I loved them for that. It took me years and years and years to get used to
them. To warm up to the idea that I was in love with this band even though I was terrified of them. And bands like Pink Floyd, too,
where they just were so scary to children. I mean, like, when they were around I'm sure that kids were like, in to them, you know?.
But like, when I was 5 years old, I was terrified of them! And my parents didn't really listen to them. My parents listened to like, Bruce
Springsteen and that sort of like, poppy, Top 40 stuff so whenever The Doors did come up I was terrified.. and there was nothing
more attractive to me than being terrified (laughs)

NF: (laughs) Wow! I hope that really picked it up, because ..that's really.. that's probably one of the coolest responses I even get on
that.. Umm, when was it that you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Vera: I started playing guitar when I was 13 or 14 and.. a couple years later I had a.. uh.. my vocabulary just crapped out on me.

NF: That's okay! A couple years later you had a.... an epiphany?

Vera: Development! That's the word I was searching for. It's a really tough one. I had a development here with a local studio,
Longview Farms? They're out in Western Mass.. The Rolling Stones actually built the studio. They picked me up and they were going
to help shop me to all the labels and everything.. and around that time is when I got picked up by my other band. So before I was in
high school I had been signed and started doing the touring thing..

NF: Wow!

Vera: So I've been in this my whole life and this is just the beginning of my newest one. (laughs)

NF: Oh wow! See I didn't know that… Cuz this is a smaller venue so I actually modified the questions so they weren't too tour
heavy…

Vera: Ohh yeah yeah..

NF: That's what I get for doing my research!

Vera: (laughs) Nooo, that's fine, that's fine.. It's not something I really put out there. I'm not really hiding it, but I kind of just casually
mention it in the biography and all that. Yeah, I'm kind of.. trying to start over with this band.

NF: Well, what was your first band? ..or did you not want to..

Vera: No, let's not talk about it. It'll come out one day, but not today. (laughs)

NF: Okay, that's fine. What was the first song you learned to play.. when you were 13, 14 and picked up a guitar..?

Vera: Oh.. um, there were two songs. One I actually did kind of well. It was Everclear's 'Santa Monica'. Two chords. Perfect for
someone just picking up a guitar. And the other one was 'People are Strange' by The Doors. That didn't go so well. That did not go so
well. It took me a couple months to get that one, but if it weren't for that song, I wouldn't have actually buckled down. I get a little
OCD, personally, so I went "Ah I can't play it! That's not fair! I have to play it, I have to learn how to play it well" So.. that's what I
did. I played guitar for like, three months straight like, ten hours a day, whenever I wasn't doing school and all that. I played guitar.

NF: (laughs) That's the way to do it!

Vera: Yeah...

NF: So, name one band you would like to tour with.

Vera: Keeping marketing in mind and all that jazz... I think one of the bands that we'd be best-suited to play with is Placebo. Hence
being at the show [[how NF met them]], we were just kind of there because we have common friends and all that.

NF: So outside of marketing who would you..?

Vera: Um, let's see... who do I like that's out right now? (laughs) Uhh.. Tori Amos. She's probably next on my list for favorite artists.
I'd like to do, like, a solo thing with her because I saw her play solo with Rufus Wainwright down in Hartford or something..

NF: Yeah! How was that?

Vera: It was interesting! It was real .. taking me back a little bit because when she strips her songs down you kind of can't recognize
them. So she'll be playing a song and it'll take me like 20 or 30 seconds before I realize what she's doing. But.. that's kind of neat in a
way.. it's like being stripped.

NF: Yeah, and that’s way different from Placebo, because even if it’s just Brian and a guitar… you can still tell which song it is.

Vera: Yeah, absolutely, yeah yeah...

NF: Even when you strip theirs down, it still.. you know..

Vera: Tori just mangles her songs. She, like, punishes them, or something.. (laughs) Which is kind of cool! She's got this weird
relationship with them, but... She would definitely be somebody I would like to tour with personally, I mean... it would pretty much
have to be stripped down.. I don't think the musics would combine well. I don't think we'd make it through without them screaming--
the fans would be like "You're too loud! Shut up and go home! Wherever you're from..." (laughs)

NF: What should fans expect from you in the future?

Vera: Well, they should expect me to.... I don't know! Be not very available? *laughs* ...and I say that in the kindest way possible but
I'm NOT very social.. I guess they should expect me to be as pretentious as I possibly can be.. in a good way. In a good way… I hope
they enjoy it.

NF: So on a musical front, what are you working on?

Vera: Oh, you mean in a... What?

NF: So like, on a next EP or something like that...

Vera: What we're doing right now is we're putting together our industry demo so that we can shop it. We'll have a label within the
next couple months. We picked up management in New York. So that's all going smooth sailing. We're going to be selling the EP to
kind of placate everybody.. because it has been some time since we posted everything on MySpace and, you know, done all the
promotions.

NF: Yeah, and we already know the words because we listened to the four on MySpace..

Vera: (laughs) ...and then we're going to start selling a six-song EP and I don't know how long that'll last. It's going to be self-put out,
just do it online, into the music stores and all that.. and then we'll find a record label home, put our album.. just see if it all happens
before Christmas.

NF: Okay. Do you have a name for it yet or is that something that you’ll wait to release?

Vera: You mean for the record?

NF: For the EP...

Vera: I think we'll just leave it untitled.. it'll be really stripped down. Just to get you something... Although we're going all out for the
art work! We made sure of that.

NF: Dude, that's the way to go because the visual stuff is...

Vera: I love visuals..

NF: ..most Americans are at least 60% visual so..

Vera: I've already started planning the next press photo
pictures. We're not even done with the recording (laughs)

NF: So how do you want to be remembered?

Vera: Uhh... (laughs) Well, um, I have this thing that I like
to instill in people that I um, onstage sometimes I tell
people that I'm going to die young and famous. I think

that's how I want to be remembered... young and famous... I don't necessarily want to die it's just maybe I should bow out when I'm
at the peak of my career (laughs) That's how... I want to be remembered as prolific and efficient.

NF: Prolific and what?

Vera: Efficient. I don't wanna have fifteen years between records.

NF: Yeah.. well... Chuck Klosterman wrote "Killing Yourself to Live" and it's an entire thing about saying how the best career move a
musician could make would be to die.

Vera: It's true..

NF: It is true.

Vera: My band would hate it because I'd talk about it sometimes. They're like "Is he kidding? Is he gonna ruin my chance of having a
long career?" (laughs)

NF: (laughs) So tell me a tour story...

Vera: Okay, I've got a good one.. This is kind of typical male debauchery, I suppose... we were in Minnesota and we had nothing to
do that day, there was nothing lined up.. and it was raining.. and there were plenty of drugs and alcohol.. being young and having
nothing to do is always the way to go on tour. So, my drummer at the time, who is now one of my best friends still and my roommate,
he decided it would be a good idea to remove all the fire alarms from the hotel. So very very methodically, he goes around with a
power drill... I don't know how he ended up going about doing this unseen.. goes about with a power drill and removes all of the fire
alarms... and the door handles, in the hallways.. nobody catches him doing this.. and about 45 minutes later there's somebody going
around from room to room asking the bands.. because all the bands are in this hotel because there's a radio festival.. and to no avail, I
mean like nobody was admitting to doing this .. you know and they kind of started picking up that nobody WAS going to admit to
doing this because there was a whole lot of trouble you can get in to if you get caught! So, they had the entire place on lockdown and,
needless to say none of the bands got a soundcheck at the festival because the entire hotel was on lockdown because it was a federal
offense. So, there were bands like Incubus was there.. and I remember um Deadsy.. I don't know if they're still playing but, it was
um.. the singer.. I forget his name. He had some silly name.. he was livid. He was in the pool area and he was not happy. I think he
just wanted to leave because they told him he couldn't.. he was one of those children. Because his mother's Cher.. or something.. so
he's a total Hollywood kid. But, Justin freaking out.. not wanting to be arrested and high.. decided he wanted to hide the fire alarms in a
duffel bag in a stairwell. So we did just that; went down to the basement of the hotel and put the duffel bag in a stairwell. We ...
anyway, eventually they just gave up and let the bands go .. we had the festival still and, I think it was a fly date home. We flew home
before we realized that the luggage that he hid everything in had his name tag on it...

NF: Oh my God...

Vera: We never got a phone call.

NF: Really?

Vera: Never got a phone call.. But.. he definitely came yea close.. to ruining the entire tour. We would've been minus one drummer. It
was scary.. like they really scared me. Like none of the other guys in the band knew. It was just me and Justin. So... that was
frightening.

NF: Wow..

Vera: I think that's the closest I've ever been to going to jail. I didn't even do anything! I was just a witness. (laughs) I've been a pretty
good boy.

NF: The things you do when you're bored!

Vera: Yeah, totally! Absolutely..

NF: ..and not entirely in your head..

Vera: It's like.. the more uncomfortable you can make other people, the more fun it seems at the moment. (laughs)

NF: Yeah! (laughs) ...so, have you ever had a... Red says a "Spinal Tap" moment, but basically a Murphy's Law moment? Where
everything goes wrong?

Vera: Oh this has happened already. This band has had severe problems because it's such a big production and this is the very
beginning for us. You know, like, small venues and like, lack of help and understanding.. it's just a recipe for disaster. We play to a
click track live so that everything.. so we can have drum machines and everything playing along with us. We'd have moments where
the click track doesn't want to work.. just decides it doesn't want to that night .. it's a total disaster. Honestly, nothing could really
happen at this point now that would freak me out any more than the night that the click track stopped working.

NF: Just.. stopped working?

Vera: Just stopped! I didn't hear it.. all of a sudden I started hearing the drum machine playing and I had no idea. We did a good job
covering up. We were Pro's. I didn't bitch, whine, or throw a tantrum.. even though I wanted to. But that was the end. Yeah. I literally
would've been more comfortable if I'd been completely naked on stage. That would've been more comfortable than .. been there
without the click track.

NF: Wow.. entirely switching tracks here... What's your favorite book and what would you say to get someone to read it?

Vera: I like two sorts of books: I like historical books and I like A.M. Holmes. A.M. Holmes is one of my favorite authors. She's so
funny and sarcastic and sadistic and just.. I can't.. I think that whenever I run in to people who say they don't like to read, or at least
people who are mildly dark.. because I don't think happy people want to read these books.. either they read 'The End of Alice', which I
thought was an unbelievably brave book, or 'Music for Torching' because they're these books set in these really ordinary situations, but
she has a way of wording things that I just admire.. Like, I think that's it's actually influenced my lyric writing now.. but she's
amazing. She teaches at one of my friend's schools in New York. So I've been bugging her to, like, sit in on a classroom.. just be like
"Come on, take some writing classes.. I want to meet her!" (laughs)

NF: (laughs) That's amazing..

Vera: Yeah, she's an unbelievable author.. If you haven't picked up anything, pick up "End of Alice". It's a quick read, because it's
addictive and it's about a pedophile.. (laughs)

NF: It's about a pedophile? Oh wow..

Vera: Very, very dark... but very funny! Very .. detailed.. very graphic..

NF: What is one CD you could never make it through the week without?

Vera: Besides 'The Doors: Best Of'? (laughs) Yeah, that's it. I just listen to The Doors all the time. They put me in a good mood, they
kind of mellow me out sometimes, they make me feel all creepy... I just love listening to him sing, I just love hearing the organ.. it
makes me happy. It makes me wish I didn't live in a modern world. I just wanna be a Gypsy, man.. I wanna hop in the back of a
Spanish caravan..

NF: What CD do you feel should NEVER have been made? Like, all the pressings should be burned..

Vera: Oh my God, I feel like that about a LOT of CD's.. You know what's funny is I say this in the most sincere, but kind way .. I
don't really like music I don't think. I think as a musician I don't really like music, I like certain pieces of music, I like certain songs and
obviously there's some bands that take me over by a whole.. but I think, in general, I just.. I'm not a fan of music. It takes a lot to sell
me on a new band. Everything I hear nowadays, it sounds like they weren't trying enough in the right areas. They weren't expressing
themselves through song, they were just playing what they could. I think everybody's a little too self-indulgent so I feel like most
records that have been made in the last five years are total crap. I don't like any of these new bands. Some of them have been nice
guys, but aside from that I can't tell them that I like their new CD.. including my last band too... total crap. (laughs)

NF: So what are your current favorite bands or songs?

Vera: Oh you know what I have been listening to a lot? I've been listening to Tom Waits a lot. That's a current thing, yeah. I go
through different phases where I love him. He's just so creepy and so bright.. I wish he was my friend, but he's maybe a little too old
for me to be his friend, you know? (laughs) But yeah, Tom Waits is great. I kind of aspire to lead a legacy like that, I guess. You
know, like he's.. I'd like to be a little more successful than him (laughs) but he's got this feeling. You see him, you know presence..
very strong presence.. he's got the most unique voice, you know.. he's fearless. I always thought that he was absolutely fearless
because on new variations, he's got these songs like "Chocolate Jesus". He's not afraid of losing his African-American fans, but like,
that's fearless. That's like, respectable, you know? That's commendable. I don't know if I'm quite that fearless yet. I think I'd like to
put out a couple of records before I start going "All right, well, they'll either understand or they weren't really my fans to begin with"
kind of like friends. (laughs)

NF: (laughs) What's the strangest thing you've ever been sent by a fan?

Vera: Whoa. Well.. we got a picture.. with a girl with "Vera Mesmer" written around her nipples. Needless to say this is not something
you can put under the Fan Art section of the site. (laughs) It was flattering, it was fantastic, but that was the strangest thing, recently
I suppose .. I've gotten weirdo t-shirts and stuff that people make.. from my last band.. and, you know, nothing so out of the ordinary,
but the Vera Mesmer nipples were impressive and I wish I could have shared that with the world, but I think maybe MySpace
would've deleted our account (laughs)

NF: Okay.. so.. what'd you actually end up doing with that picture?

Vera: I just saved it.. I'll send it to you if you want! (laughs)

NF: (laughs) You should do! We could be like... THIS is what he was talking about...

Vera: (laughs)

NF: I won't post it on Noizefront though.. that would make me... well as sadistic as I really am! ...I just said that out loud... [[no,
we're not posting it.]]

Vera: (laughs)

NF: What is one thing that you dread about touring?

Vera: Having to eat crap food. I like sleeping on couches, I like hotels.. I like everything about touring it's just that I.. I like to eat
healthy? I don't like eating crap food. I don't even like eating out, so, that is the worst part. I end up having to go to Wal-Mart, the
Super Wal-Mart, to the big produce sections. Spend $50 on produce and that is literally the food for the week. Or I just put something
on the rider like a celery tray. (laughs) Cuz that's all they put.. celery and carrots. It's like, Can I have a veggie tray? Celery and
carrots, that's all you get.

NF: That'd drive me crazy cuz my favorite is like, broccoli?

Vera: Oh sometimes they throw in the broccoli. Sometimes they have the tomato. But generally you can't be that demanding. You
have to just ask for a veggie tray.

NF: So, what's the one thing you dread about performing?

Vera: The click going out.

NF: (laughs)

Vera: I'm pretty confident in every other aspect. I think.. I think even, um.. I mean, we're arrogant so fuck it. (laughs) Even when we
suck I think we're pretty good.. so..

NF: Well, you know. (laughs) I've seen the live video that you have and I'm like, that's impressive when you can.. for like a "new"
band.. You know, I come across a lot of bands that have a fairly good, like, processed sound? But when you see them live there's no
other way around it, whatever it is that they're doing. That's why good live bands always impress me.

Vera: Oh, well I hope you like their show.

NF: I'm sure I will (laughs) I mean, um, and you'll be able to see whether or not I do anyway! What song would you love to cover
with the original band mates, if you could?

Vera: Oh my GOD!

NF: They don't have to be alive or whatever.. anyone.

Vera: Well, I would like to do Alabama Song by The Doors. I would love to cover that and I would like to sing harmony with
Morrison. 'Cuz when I'm in the car listening to it at home, I always make 'em all harmonies. Especially The Doors. I feel a little
sacrilegious for me to try to do a Jim Morrison.. cuz my voice is way too high pitched. I can't do a Jim Morrison well. I'll try one day.
We'll do a Doors song one day. Absolutely, but people may be disappointed.

NF: Tell me a random fact about anything.

Vera: Alright, well I'm not gonna give a random fact about me because that would be selfish... Let's see.. random fact about
anything.. I found out today that the whole idea behind children with all the war toys.. like G.I. Joe's and toy guns, play helmets, tanks
and all that? Was a Japanese thing. With the end of World War I, it was a plot to get kids to be military minded and expect to join the
army. It was a conspiracy! I'm reading this book called the "Rape of Nanking..." it's kind of horrific. But I thought that was interesting
because not that long ago I was talking about how I thought that it was an American thing. I could've swore that it was going to be an
American thing.. that Americans conned their children ..

NF: Yeah..

Vera: Yeah, but it was the Japanese. With the end of World War I, they produced all these military toys and the children all ended up
joining the military for World War II. They had an organized military! You had to wonder WHY.. (laughs)

NF: Yeah! Someone once said to me .. we think about, the American fantasy world is usually post-apocalyptic, right?

Vera: Yeah..

NF: Well, for the Japanese, they already had their apocalypse. Like Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Vera: Yeah..

NF: So they're already living in their post-apocalyptic and it's.. going pretty well! They got bullet trains!

Vera: (laughs) Yeah! Yeah..

NF: So like we think about post-apocalyptic things and we're like "Dune buggies!" and they're like "Oh no, no, no it's all about the
bullet train"

Vera: (laughs) Dune buggies! Domes made out of steel! People wearing ridiculous outfits with earrings that don't match!

NF: And um.. God, what's her name.. I'm trying to remember her name.. I will survive..

Vera: Huh?

NF: I'm thinking of Mad Max.. the villainness from Mad Max who was the black pop star?

Vera: Oh, uh, Diana Ross?

NF: Diana Ross! Yeah, that's totally it. [[Note from the editor: It was actually Tina Turner]] It really is all about the bullet trains.

Vera: (laughs)

NF: So I know you’ve been really busy, but what do you do to relax?

Vera: Oh geez.. well, I live on a beach now so I spend a lot of time there. I read a lot. I don’t really have as much of a social life as I
usually would.. (laughs)

NF: I understand..

Vera: I spend all my time in studios and writing material.. but yeah, I think that’s it. I like laying on the beach and I like reading. God,
I wish had a better answer for that!

NF: I know, man!

Vera: I’m gonna make something up next time. I’m gonna come up with something better.

NF: I like to take the bullet train from Tokyo to Los Angeles… (laughs) thank you, Garbage.

Vera: (laughs)

NF: What’s your favorite movie and movie genre?

Vera: I was actually talking to somebody about this online the other day. This I have an answer for! I like Danny Boyle movies. I
really do. Like all of Danny Boyle’s movies I love, like, Trainspotting and The Beach, and 20 Days Later. Like, he’s such a good
filmmaker and he’s got this strange, strange dynamic in his movies where he tugs at your heart just enough, but he doesn’t make you
depressed at the end of the movie. It’s really weird; he makes you laugh, he makes you feel sad, he makes you feel all these things and
the adrenaline rush.. there’s always an adrenaline rush, you know? And.. I hate, well I don’t hate, but if I’m going to watch a sad
movie I have to be prepared for it. You know, like, I remember when I saw.. Have you ever seen “Life is Beautiful”? A Roberto
Benigni film?

NF: No..

Vera: Unbelievable movie. I literally wept like a child at the end of it and I was not prepared. I was in a bad state for DAYS at the end
of that flick.

NF: (laughs) I’ll bet!

Vera: But yeah, I like Danny Boyle
films. I like visual films, too.. anything
fantastic, anything Kim Bergan..
anything with a little bit of magic.. less
for the film doc quality, more to just
space out and watch something
beautiful.

NF: By the way have you seen 28
Weeks Later?

Vera: No, no, I am looking forward to
seeing it.

NF: It’s still playing at the Somerville
Theatre.

Vera: Really?

NF: Yeah, I loved it! I saw it at the Somerville Theater and the first thing I wanted to do was go back with a bunch of people and have
a rage breakout.

Vera: (laughs) Like show up with somebody who has their make-up done up and scare everyone.. that’d be fun.

NF: Yeah! Actually what I was gonna do is have everybody with bags or bottles of red food coloring and what I was gonna do is go
out and come back, bite someone, and then have a breakout. Which, considering it's Somerville theater, it's probably something I’d get
away with!

Vera: (laughs)

NF: Which of the seven deadly sins, which not everyone knows all of them…

Vera: THIS is going to be a good question…

NF: Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Pride and Envy… are you?

Vera: Hm, one moment… Wait, hold on, what was your question?

NF: Which one of the seven deadly sins do you most represent?

Vera: Most represent?!

NF: Yep and there’s Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Pride and Envy

Vera: I would have to go with Greed and Lust. Yes.

NF: Why?

Vera: Because I think sexuality is so interesting and like I get a little obsessive about it at times. And you know what? Like sometimes
I feel so asexual, but I look at it in almost a literary way? You know, it’s .. it’s an idea, it’s not like a physical, tangible thing going on.
So I get obsessive about sexuality and I guess that would make me kind of lustful. I think with the Greed one is, I’m very selfish. I’m
very self-centered. Although I’m very kind to everyone around me, I do think that occasionally I get full of myself. So I get greedy for
attention, I get greedy for lots of things. I’m both low-maintenance and needy at the same time... That was an excellent question!

NF: So another, which I think is a cool question: Do you believe in ghosts?

Vera: I would really like to. I had moved to New Orleans and I wanted nothing more than to see ghosts constantly. I wanted so badly.
I made friends with people who ran ghost tours so I could take them. That’s so manipulative of me, but they were great friends! They
turned out to be great friends, but the initial fact there was that I wanted to go on a ghost tour for free… (laughs) I really want to. I
guess I naturally don’t believe in them, but I really would like to. I just’ve never had any experience with them so it’s very hard for me
to believe in it when I’ve never…

NF: That’s actually my next question is whether or not you’ve ever had a creepy or supernatural experience

Vera: I’ve really, like, been aware of my surr… well that’s a lie, I’m never aware of my surroundings.

NF: (laughs) That’s probably why you never see them

Vera: Yeah, maybe, right? Maybe that’s it. It’s that simple. I’ve just never had an experience that I would deem worthy of believing in
ghosts, I guess. But I’d really like to. If you know any ghosts tell them to visit me so that I have something else to believe in.

NF: You don’t want me to do that..

Vera: (laughs)

NF: I had a friend that actually was plagued by um… she was basically supposed to be encompassing being actually, like, spirit-ridden
without being spirit-ridden. It was awful. Like, she would wake up in the middle of the night if I wasn’t sleeping next to her, covered
in scratches that… weren’t hers.

Vera: I think, and I firmly believe, that the more uncomfortable a situation is in your life, the more worthwhile it is. So that sounds like
a good thing to me. (laughs) I would love to have that in my arsenal for song-writing material.

NF: Stick around Boston for a little while…

Vera: (laughs)

NF: …or stick around me! (laughs) So what scares you?

Vera: What scares me… Failure. Very simple. Failure scares me… I guess it doesn’t keep me up at night, but it’s a scary thought. I
do everything I can to prevent it… I’m an incredible perfectionist and I’m an over-achiever and all that jazz and I always have been. So
I definitely think my biggest fear is failure. I’m certainly not afraid of death, I’m certainly not afraid of people beating me up and that
sort of paranoia. I’m afraid of failure.

NF: What’s one thing you cannot live without?

Vera: I honestly don’t think I have one of those things. I take a lot of pride…

NF: Not coffee… not…?

Vera: No, I’m pretty sure I could live without anything. I think I take a lot of pride in that, too. I think I’d be alright if I was stranded
somewhere. I may not have the survival skills to live in the woods, but I definitely… I could see myself being stranded somewhere like
Cambodia and not having anything with me. I’d be alright, I really would. I do NOT need anything.

NF: Yeah, you have a bunch… but you don’t really need it…

Vera: Yeah! I mean, like, I like certain things a lot. I appreciate them, but if they were taken away I’d be able to survive.

NF: You’d be angry, maybe…

Vera: Well, it depends on what it is… (laughs) Maybe a little disappointed, but give me a day to get over it…

NF: What’s the last thing you heard or read in the news that really pissed you off?

Vera: That Paris Hilton might not be going to jail? That was a little frustrating. It annoys me that, just like everyone on the planet who
has half a brain, would be annoyed that she gets so much attention, but I just… It was beyond me to believe that she might not be
going to jail. That was just unreal.

NF: I don’t even know what she did…

Vera: She… it was some sort of driving violation. She repeatedly violated it and, yeah, I’m not really up on the whole situation
because I couldn’t care less, but when I saw that she might not be going to jail for this very serious offense I… I just wanted to move
out of the country. I wanted to go to Cambodia and leave my Doors records behind.

NF: (laughs) If a fan were to bring you a care pack, while you were on tour, what, when you opened it up, would really make you
smile to find?

Vera: Cookies and absinthe.

NF: (laughs)

Vera: Cookies and absinthe would be, like, my perfect care package, because I don’t have much of a sweet tooth most of the time,
but, like, for some reason a cookie is an amazing gift. I can’t really tell you why. It has to be freshly baked though. It can’t be like…

NF: Yeah, you bought it…

Vera: Yeah, it’s not working for me… and it has to be an interesting flavor like… mango, chocolate-chip, turkey or I don’t know,
that’d probably be disgusting, but I’d eat it! I’d eat it out of principle. Creativity factor goes a long way with me.

NF: …or like a sugar cookie with Jack Skellington on it…

Vera: Yeah, right! I could deal with that (laughs)

NF: Yeah..

Vera: We're not that cool. It's actually quite dangerous..

NF: What's your favorite city to perform in?

Vera: Um, honestly? I like all the southern cities. Like the southern
second-market cities, with the amphitheaters down there? Those are
the best places. You feel like the audiences are always more excited
to see bands down there. You go to New York and nobody gives a
fuck. No one ever gives a fuck in New York and it's kind of like,
disheartening... They're all like 'Well we’ve heard better', you
know? You could be the best thing that's ever happened to the
world and they'd still be treating you that way. So, secondary
markets appreciate an act a lot more than like, Los Angeles and
New York. Los Angeles is slightly better than New York, but that's
.. not saying much (laughs). I don't even really like Boston.. I'll
never tell them that, but.. (laughs)

NF: (laughs) Yeah, no...

Vera: Well, Boston's like New York's little brother so you got that
attitude.. that .. come on, come on..

NF: And you're still trying to be London too

Vera: Yeah, yeah, somewhere in between the two..

NF: So what's the one thing that goes through your head before you
go on stage?