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| The Exclusive Meg Lee Chin Interview! |
| In just a few short years, Meg Lee Chin has been a whirlwind on the underground music scene. After being welcome with open arms by Martin Atkins into his popular indie music label , Invisible Records, Meg has asserted herself not only on stage, but in the studio as well. Meg is quite the tech wiz in her own personal "Egg studio", but when hitting the stage, whether it is solo, or fronting everybody's favorite unpredictable band, Pigface, people are taking notice. Meg takes her writing very seriously too. Her songs feature a very poetic side, but delivered with the raw aggressiveness that has been described by The Chicago Times as having "enough attitude to make Courtney Love envious." Meg is getting ready to hit the road again this summer, and a new album is due early next year. She took some time to answer some questions here, and her colorful background and hardened street smarts have made this a very enjoyable interview! |
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| Q: Meg, thanks so much for taking time to join Me here on my site! There is one hell of a buzz going around the underground music industry about You right now. I hate to say but I only just became familiar with your music but You have built quite a resume’ it appears! How long have you been writing songs? A: Forever. My first track was recorded with a cardboard shoebox & chopsticks for the drum kit. I recorded a drumtrack on my cassette recorder then snuck into my sister's room to steal her cassette player while she was at work. I then sang into her machine with the "drums" playing from first machine the in the background. My first masterpiece was entitled "Jamie do you like Chris? He likes you." Real literary stuff I was about 10. Q: I liked the story of your first gig in San Fransisco when you screamed the words to Del Shannon’s runaway. Was this a scheduled gig or just something you kinda did on a whim? A: It was actually in Pacific Beach, San Diego. It was a talent contest in a redneck bar. I met a guitar player on the beach that day and we jammed a bit on the song - it was the only one he knew. Then we heard about the contest and went right down to the bar. The song sounded ok when we jammed it, but I didn't account for the nerves. That guitar player didn't want to play with me any more after that! Q: I was intrigued by your background. You come from a military family, your dad being an electronics engineer for the US Air Force, so you moved around a lot as a child. Being a young child in the Taipei slums as you called them, how did You begin to immerse yourself in music? A: I was about 5 when I saw a music box with a ballerina . I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My aunt said I could have it but Mom said it was too expensive a present for a little girl...I snuck into Auntie's room and looked at the mechanism underneath the box. It had gears which made the ballerina spin around. I got obsessed with it and tried to build my own out of... a shoebox with a pencil pushed through some cardboard gears. It worked but wasn't very beautiful. I guess you could say I'm still trying to build that musicbox! The music box is my "Rosebud"(from the movie Citizen Cane) If Mom had let me have the musicbox, I probably would've gone to law school like she wanted me to! Q: Was there any specific event or moment that made you decide that the music industry was weyour calling? I understand you really got involved in a lot of the technical aspects of music and production early on (very wise!). A: Laziness, I got fired as a waitress... Q: You formed an all female band called Crunch in London a short while later. Tell me a bit about that experience. Did you play any instruments as well or were you mainly the vocalist? A: It was a great band to tour with. It's easier to bond if it's all chicks! We started off writing songs together, but eventually we ended up doing my songs cuz they all liked 'em better. The next album will have a CRUNCH song called "Lucy". Q: How did you get acquainted with Martin Atkins? A: Through 2 women called Shannon and Meredith who loved Crunch. They managed Martin in the UK. Q: Martin certainly thought enough of You to have you take part in the ultimate communal band Pigface soon after. What are your thoughts as you look back on Pigface now? A: Pigface is like a big, long adventure holiday. It's like going off to musicians camp where you meet new people and go off on a challenge together. Q: Knowing how volatile the audiences at Pigface concerts can be, have there ever been any scary moments on stage that you can remember as far as the crowd getting out of hand? A: Yes. All the time! Q: Your two solo albums on Invisible Records are amongst some of the best selling records on the label. Any plans for a third album any time soon? A: The third album will be out in January. It will be called "Homonculi" Q: You’re getting ready to hit the road yet again in the States for another tour. With no new album to support, it is one of those great “just for fun tours”! Who is going to be in Your touring band this time around? A: Invisible are re-releasing "Piece and Love". I don't yet know who is going to be in the band. We much make it up as we go along, flying by the seat of our pantaloons! |
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