Music & Me: Alison Mosshart of The Kills

The first record I bought was…

I don’t honestly remember. There was no place to buy records where I was living, so I used to tape songs off the radio and listen to them on my Walkman.

The first gig I went to was…

A band called Dirty Poodle at a skate park in Melbourne, Florida.The singer was a guy called Scott Becky. He used to paint his fingernails blue and play surfy guitar. His lyrics were surreal, about animals and things catching fire.Once he wrote down his address for me so we could write letters. Next to the address he drew a picture of his house, his car, the fence, a rooster on the front lawn. There was so much information.

Myfavourite album is…

Ice Cream For Crowby, Captain Beefheart.

But my parents always liked…

I didn’t know what they liked. They never listened to music, but recently I was home digging through some stuff and I found my dad’s record collection. He had a lot of Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd and stuff like that.

I couldn’t marry someone who liked…

Avril Lavigne.

On stage I like to wear…

Jeans andT-shirts, capes with horses and lightning, Indian ponchos, gold boots… whatever I fancy that night.

I’d love to perform with…

Don Van Vliet [aka Captain Beefheart], him just talking and talking down the microphone the way he does, real slow and cool.

One thing that must change in the music industry is…

The music industry itself. There’s very little soul or art left in it. Real artists are seen as a total risk, because they can’t be moulded. I try to keep out of it, mentally and emotionally, as much as I can.

A great album cover is…

Captain Beefheart, Trout Mask Replica. That’s a real dead fish head on Don’s face. He said it had a really terrible smell.

On my iPod I listen most to…

Again, all the Beefheart records because his voice is so sincere and his lyrics are so bizarre. And I’ve been listening to Moondog’s The Viking Of Sixth Avenue just as much for his lack of lyrics. Also, a lot of Townes Van Zandt.

If I could have written any song it would have been…

“Waiting Around To Die” by Townes Van Zandt or “Do You Like Me?” by Fugazi.

The worst song I’ve heard is…

Anything by Paula Abdul or New Kids OnThe Block. This list could easily be endless.

The Kills’ new single ’Last Day Of Magic’ is out now on Domino. www.the kills.tv/