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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Little Annie
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 9 November 2010
Little Annie, aka Annie Bandez, released her debut single, ‘Barbed Wire Halo’, in 1981 through Crass Records under the name Annie Anxiety. Since then she’s collaborated with numerous artists, including Crass, Marc Almond, Current 93 and more. Earlier this year, she released a new album, a collaboration with pianist Paul Wallfisch called ‘Genderful’, and this week she begins a UK trek as the support act on Marc Almond’s 30th anniversary tour. We caught up with Annie to find out more.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
By default! I had this big deep voice as a kid, I sounded like Bessie Smith, which was not of much use (I was relegated to page turner for the pianist in the fifth grade choir), though it didn’t stop me from singing constantly to everything I heard. I was a precocious high school drop out, my fiancé had passed away, and I was absolutely without any direction and, for want of anything better to do, wandered around looking like somebody who should be doing something!
I met a guy in the subway, Tommy The Junkie, who took me to [New York night club] Max’s Kansas City, and the whole NYC punk, glam, nu wave thing was bursting loose, as was disco. I was hanging out with some other under aged kids who had a band called The Blessed. They asked me to open for them, which I agreed to do, which was insane as I didn’t do anything at the time but scrawl prose. I pulled something together, it was awful, I was sick with stage fright and I was hooked! Looking back, meeting Junkie Tommy on the A train literally saved my life.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
All the stuff I just mentioned, mixed with all the ghosts, those passed on and those still with us who haunt the city. My lifelong love hate relationship with New York, its history, the way it changes every five minutes, and the way the light makes it different colours depending on the neighbourhood. Loss, bliss, God who made it all… I didn’t start out with any concept in mind, it just happened. The city has always been my wounded muse because it’s so in my face.
I live in midtown now, and some of the people I’m singing about have somehow ended up here too. When I walk out the door I see The Essex House hotel, where Donny Hathaway jumped out the window, which sums up everything, all that beauty in so much pain, soaring to his death from one of the most stunning skyscrapers. Now all these people stroll past texting, unaware that their feet are strolling over the spot where God and schizophrenia fought over the voice of an angel. But it could be any city. They run on hope, get knocked around, but ultimately survive…
Sorry for the onslaught of words! Damn, I could’ve got a whole other album out that speech!
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
I’m always scrawling notes, so sometimes I refer back to them; other times I get a bout of automatic writing where the words and vocal lines just write themselves first draft. Then I usually email them on to Paul Wallfisch and he works his unbelievable magic, writes melodies, arrangements and harmonies, then we get together and tweak it. The man is so talented it hurts! Once we’re together on it, things tend to move very quickly.
Ideally we play it live before recording, as living with a song gives you the chance to add layers and detail. Paul is an incredible producer; because he’s also a singer with his band Botanica he understands vocals and is open to my production ideas. It’s freaky how we tend to always end up with the same ideas separately, it’s like twin language!
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Mavis Staples, Judy Garland, The Last Poets, Helen Morgan, Spike Lee, Fanny Brice, Al Jolson, The Stylistics, Marc Almond, Donny Hathaway, Grandmaster Flash, Nina Simone, Jackson Five, Brecht, Suicide, Lenny Bernstein, Miles Davis, too many of the big gospel choirs to mention, Lou Reed, King Pleasure, Chet Baker, Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Marvin Gaye, Dr Alimantado, Bob Fosse, Paul Robeson – I could go on.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Thank you for lending me your ears and hope something touches some part of you.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
For ‘Genderful’, I hope as many people as possible hear this album and see us performing it. Live work is my filling station, it renews the soul. As for the future, I could never have planned any of this so far! I’m always working on something, time off for me is painting. I put in sixteen hour days, hence the future tends to plan me rather then visa versa.
Having said that, I have a ‘Must List’. Must hone my jazz chops, must be in a Spike Lee film, must write second half of autobiography, must sing the national anthem at Yankee stadium for the opening of the World Series (in tune – ha!). Must write and perform a musical which feels like a natural progression and an artform that will die if it doesn’t keep evolving, must play with full symphony, must work with Stevie Wonder, but past that God is a better visionary than I, all I have to do is fill in the details.
MORE>> www.brainwashed.com/annie
