Sweetest kittens, sharpest claws

>> Nice and dangerous, that's C.J. Sleez

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Toronto shock-rocker C.J. Sleez is not everything she seems. Her polite phone manner borders on a telemarketer's; bubbly giggles punctuate most sentences while her Lisa-Simpson voice makes it hard to believe the havoc she can wreak on stage. The Mirror caught up with Miss Sleez via phone while she was enjoying a quiet Sunday at home.



Mirror: What can we expect from a C.J. Sleez show?

C.J. Sleez: Wild, unabandoned, crazy rock 'n' roll. I find it fun to see what I can get away with.

M: Have there been any incidents at any of your shows?

CJS: (giggles) There have been all kinds of incidents. I guess the most recent is when we played at Lee's Palace in Toronto with the Forgotten Rebels. I ended up setting my guitarists on fire. Someone brought a container of lighter fluid up to the stage and threw it all over the place and I lit both of my guitar players on fire. The one guitarist got burnt pretty bad and had to go to the hospital.

M: Was he pissed?

CJS: No, he was a real sport about the whole thing. He was fine. (still giggling)

M: Do you find it important to put danger back in rock 'n' roll?

CJS: Definitely, that's what rock 'n' roll is all about. There's too many bands playing it safe.

M: What bands are floating your boat?

CJS: Stooges, New York Dolls, Alice Cooper, MC5, Guns N Roses.

M: Who would your favourite rock star be?

CJS: Probably Axl Rose. I just think he's cool. He was really big when I was getting into music so I guess he was influential.

M: There seems to be a big rock 'n' roll explosion happening in Toronto, coming out of [Toronto rock bar] the Bovine Sex Club.

CJS: Yeah, there's a great rock 'n' roll scene happening here. I really like Robin Black and his Intergalactic Rock Stars, Cheerleader, Plasma Blast. We're all friends.

M: What is the most common complaint about you guys?

CJS: I guess it would be that we show up to places wasted and wreck them.

M: What's your favourite way to get wasted?

CJS: Cuervo Gold, but I will pretty much do anything.

M: Put sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll in order, according to importance.

CJS: First would be rock 'n' roll because it represents total freedom. I think rock 'n' roll is what life is all about. Then sex because it represents love and then drugs, which are about the good times.

M: What is it that made you want to get up on stage?

CJS: I've always wanted to get on stage. I was always in school plays and just loved demanding attention.

M: Do you ever have male musicians coming up to you and putting you down?

CJS: Not really, most people wouldn't have the guts to say something bad to me.

With Superhalo and the Cobras at Jailhouse Rock on Friday, June 29, 9pm, $6