Cherry Pickles

Photo: Jessie Rose

Name, where are you from?
Priscila Bezerra, from the jungles of Brazil, but live in Birmingham, and Mimi, Birmingham.

Describe your style in three words?
P: Prozac Nick Cave.
M: Monochrome fake punk.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
P: I’m a big fan of The Gories, so to watch them live was an amazing experience. I have a short attention span, so it’s quite hard for a band to really catch my interest and make me watch the whole show. To me, a good show needs to be funny, almost like a comedy. I like funny performers, that don’t take themselves seriously and I think this is what engages an audience. A good show doesn’t have to have a certain logic, the beginning, the ending and the music doesn’t necessarily need to be ‘good’ to be good. The thing I hate the most is to watch boring musicians showing off how well they can play a certain instrument. The Gories are raw, funny, catchy, brilliant and sexy. Lol. Yes, that’s it, it’s all about sex.
M: Sex Pistols at the Brixton Academy because all the old punk beer bellies were so cushioning in the crowd.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
P: The Cramps, so that I could steal Lux’s trousers and high heels, and Daniel Johnston.
M: T. Rex to see Marc Bolan live in action and Nirvana for the chaos... bit of a clashing lineup though.

Which Subcultures have influenced you?
P: As I said, I’m from Brazil, a country that had a dictatorship government until 1985. That regime didn’t allow freedom of speech or political opposition and had very nationalist policies, not allowing the influence of other countries. The electric guitar, for instance, was forbidden at that time, because it was considered a very Yankee symbol. Tropicalia was a cultural movement that a big part at the end of this conservative regime and its one of my favourite subcultures. It was started by this great group of musicians: Caetano Veloso, Tom Zé, Gilberto Gil and one of mine and Kurt Cobain’s (lol) favourites, Os Mutantes.
M: I love the whole Vivienne Westwood/Malcolm McLaren punk era. I love the fusion of art, fashion and music all coming together in anarchy.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
P: Would probably have a day drink with Bukowski at some sh*tty bar.
M: Shakespeare; I’m a big Shakespeare nerd and I’d love to see if he was as much of a wild bachelor in London as I imagine.

Of all the venues you’ve been to, which is your favourite?
P: I like small sweaty venues. The lower the ceiling, the sexier it gets. Riche, in Stockholm, is a new favourite. It has a tiny stage, a ceiling that looks like the sky, the most friendly staff that fed us weird but delicious Swedish shots.
M: The old Carling Academy in Birmingham was where I spent a lot of my teenage years, I miss sticking to that floor and the stink of sweat.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
P: Ian Svenonious. He fronted a few of my favourite bands, like The Make-Up, Nation of Ulysses, Chain and The Gang, Escape-ism, Weird War. He’s this legendary figure in D.C’s underground scene and we had the pleasure to open his Escape-ism show last year.