20 Questions: Brix Smith Start
For someone who was raised in a pink mansion in the Hollywood Hills, moving into a flat in Prestwich, Greater Manchester with her new husband Mark E Smith and “about 10 cats” in the 80s might not be the most conventional fairytale narrative. But it was here that Brix Smith Start wrote herself into music history, playing with The Fall from 83-89 and later during a stint in the mid 90s. Following careers in fashion and TV, in recent years Start blew the dust off her guitar to form Brix & The Extridated, who released their debut album Part 2 last year. Please take a bow for a bona fide rock ‘n’ roll legend.
What was your favourite cartoon when you were a kid?
The Flintstones.
What are you currently reading?
Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem.
What’s your best tour survival tip?
Antibacterial hand gel and meditation.
Who’s the best person to follow on Instagram?
For various reasons, including hilarity, depravity and sheer artistic content, it would probably be my friend, the photographer – @scarlettcarlosclarke.
What was the first record you truly fell in love with?
Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars.
What’s your favourite emoji?
Obviously it’s the black heart.
And what’s the worst hotel you’ve ever stayed in?
It would be the hotel connected to Larry’s Hideaway venue in Toronto. When I was in The Fall we played there a number of times. We were always given a room in the hotel as a dressing room/day room. I can only describe this hotel as a shithole and a crack/whorehouse. Once Marcia Schofield and I shared a room where we found an open container of rat poison in the closet, pubic hairs in the bed (not ours) and a bloody glass, used syringe and rubber tubing in the bathroom, left behind by a junkie. Needless to say we did not spend the night there… never. The hotel is legendary for its scuzziness and there is even a Wikipedia page about it. Now the ground on which it stood is an off-leash dog park.
Name an overrated artist…
Coldplay.
Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met?
Princess Diana.
What’s your signature recipe?
My grandmother’s chocolate-chip toll house cookies, minus the nuts.
What music would you play if you were trying to seduce a potential lover?
My own, live unplugged and in their face.
What was the name of the first ever band you were in?
Banda Dratsing.
If you could pick a surrogate grandparent, who would it be?
Louis Armstrong. When I was little, around four-years-old, I actually believed that Louis Armstrong was my grandfather. I felt such a deep connection with him and his music. Every time he was on TV I used to turn to my mother and say “Look There’s grandpa!”
Have you ever been arrested?
Ummm, kind of. I was 17 – underage – in a club in Chicago. The police raided the club, and I was thrown into the back of the ‘“paddy wagon”. Somehow, I don’t know how, I used the gift of my silver tongue and talked my way out. The other kids who were round up got taken to jail and booked.
What was the last movie you watched on a plane?
I can’t remember! Since the creation of Netflix I download whole series, and binge. My last plane binge was Stranger Things 2.
Have you ever taken LSD?
No. Do mushrooms’s count?
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Filing.
If you could give yourself a piece of advice 10 years ago, what would it be?
I am a strong and powerful creator. I am safe and loved.
What would you like written on your tombstone?
“Well Played.”
Brix & The Extridated’s new single Valentino is released 27 April via Blang Records
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