Beach party on planet Weirdsville

>> >> Talking trash with muff diva Satina Saturnina

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Are you ready for "a bizarre trip into a surreal sexualsphere of alternative punk exotica?" Okay, so their bio is a bit over-the-top, but for this Vancouver-based band/stage show, it seems only too appropriate. Satina Saturnina, whose two founding members hail from Wellington, New Zealand, boast a busy live act brimming with props, costumes, masked lurking creatures called the Satina Droids, and the centrepiece, Satina Saturnina herself (aka Victoria Singh), all moving to the beat of a dark, mad, pulsating soundtrack. But don't think it's all doom and gloom; after all, "Satina's" catch-phrase, usually purred into the mic mid-show, is: "I like it... it's nice."

On the eve of their NXNE show in Toronto, where the band hope to be signed (their 1997 debut Clitoris Goddess was a New Zealand indie release), the Mirror spoke to Singh, the creator and ringmaster of this twisted cabaret.

Mirror: Where does "Satina Saturnina" come from?

Victoria Singh: I was in another band where your name had to have some planetary significance, so I made up Satina Saturnina because I liked the alliteration. I wanted it to be a very crass-sounding name that brought to mind a nightclub diva on another planet or something.

M: How did you get into performance art?

VS: I used to paint and make a lot of costumes, I've been in films and alternative bands back in Wellington. The whole project grew from that and turned into the two different schticks: the performance art side as well as the alternative band.

M: Are you a performance artist or a musician first?

VS: They're pretty much inextricably linked. When we perform the rock 'n' roll show, people say, "That's very performance art-oriented," and when we do what we consider to be the performance art show in galleries, people say "that's really 'alternative music.'" So it very much exists in both camps.

M: What can we expect from the live show?

VS: You can expect a stunning performance, something from the beaches of Weirdsville. Our sound is more raunchy and dark now because we have a bass player and drummer, so it's probably a bit more raw than the CD. Most people say that the sound, as far as vocals, is a cocktail of Julie London, Nina Hagen and Lydia Lunch, but I think we do have our own sound, our own approach and feel. (laughs knowingly) That's the classic, precious-artist, clichéd catch-phrase, "We don't sound like anyone else."

M: How about the visual component of the show?

VS: It will be fabulous, we'll have the whole Satina look: everyone will be in Satina costumes, the Satina droids will be in full force, it'll be coming at you complete with the signature Satina kinky props and toys. It's going to be exciting 'cause I never know what I'm going to do, so that's part of the fun for me. I think you guys will love us. :

Satina Saturnina opens for Furnaceface and Punchbuggy at Jailhouse on Monday, June 12, 9pm, $5