PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Planetmosh got the amazing opportunity to interview the mutli-talented metal goddess that is Lady Starlight, bringing you insights to her passion for progressive rock, how she expresses herself through different artist mediums and how she wants to change the normality of the DJ culture.
Lady Starlight is someone that articulates through her own artistic vibes whether an audience understands the art she creates or not. She embraces her dreams and encourages her fans to do the same.
“It’s all about inspiration, acceptance and freedom.”.
Through this interview you learn just how inspirational and free she truly is.
Lara – Lady Starlight your set includes all hard rock and metal but now you’re looking to
include your passion for progressive rock, what progressive rock are you looking
to include and what makes you passionate about prog rock?
Lady Starlight – What bad DJ’s forget is that Djing is about other people. Whatever style of
music you like to collect, its your job to play the tracks that make drunk people
have a good time. So although I would never play a track that I dont love, what I
DJ is never what I listen to at home. It was Maiden that initially got me into metal
and I see them as a prog band.
Lara- You opened on the Monster Ball tour back in 2011 and since then been touring
with the likes of Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Rival Sons, Black Label Society. Which
has been the most signficant tour and why?
LS- I also DJd with Anthrax and for Iron Maiden at their end of tour party..:)
Without question the Monster Ball was the most significant.
My role model is Neal Kay. (who is basically responsible for metal as we know it.)
He had a hard rock/metal club and toured with bands as a DJ ringmaster. Its such a
great idea and was super successful.
GaGa is an amazing friend and has always believed in what im doing, she gave
me the forum to remind people that DJing metal in the context of a tour works. It
was something people wanted to see and hear. So the success of that tour
allowed me to fulfill my dream of DJing on tour with the likes of the bands above.
Lara – So Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Rival Sons are quite different in the genres of
music they play, how did you change your set for each one to compliment the
music they make?
LS – I actually didnt have to change my set much at all..at the end of the day, metal is
based in classic rock, so playing the likes of Sabbath Purple Zeppelin Heep UFO
Budgie works for all these bands. The most significant changes to my set were
that I unfortunately couldnt play Priest of Thin Lizzy..haha
Lara – Your dream is to express yourself through different artist mediums, as we know
you used to style Lady Gaga. What were your inspirations and what fashion
designers did you look to most and why?
LS – Its been misconstrued somewhere along the line in my story that I styled GaGa.
Ive never said that and its actually not true. It was my attitude and approach to
style that influenced her. Her style is her own, I simply encouraged the idea that if
your look doesnt polarize people, your not doing your job as an artist.
Fashion is bullshit. Style is what its all about. By idolizing designers you are
simply taking someone elses ideas and aesthetic and wearing it like a banner. It
takes all the creativity out of it. Its the way you source things and put them
together that makes your look a statement of your own.
its only costume designers like Ray Brown who I admire. They take an artists
ideas and intentions and create garments that communicate these ideas visually.
Lara – You have also mentioned you want to challenge the normality of DJing by
intergrating those different mediums like theatricality, choreography, fashion
and video. How have you implemented that into your set?
LS – Just doing it. A lot of people wont get it or like it, but how will I know without
risking it?
Lara – In the theatrical world there are so many artistic expressions. Which one are
you looking to practise and include in your overall performance?
LS – Although I hate the term performance art, in the interest of simplicity, thats what
I’ve always done. Theres nothing intentional about the medium of my work. Its
simply an expression of the visions in my head. Which happen to lack in most
qualities of traditional forms of theater. My only intention is to communicate to the
audience that they can do whatever they want artistically especially if it doesnt
really make sense
Lara – Choreography is another area where there are so many different styles,
personally I think the person who is most adaptable to many different genres of
music is Bob Fosse, he was very involved with musical theatre but has been
inspired by so many choreographers today. Who do you look to when inputting
dance to your performances?
LS – I totally agree! Fosse is a major influence. He sees the total picture much like a
photograph which is how I describe what I see. Simplicity is the hardest thing to
achieve. Bells and whistles just decorate boring or unclear ideas. Whatever the
idea is, you should be able to express it very directly and stripped down. If you
cant, u need to work on it more.
Lara – So for your fans that followed you on the Monster Ball tour in 2012, what can
they look forward to seeing in the new ‘Born This Way’ Tour?
LS – Basically my above comments about Fosse. I stripped down my show to include
only the ideas that are important to me. I took the club djing element out. In the
context of a GaGa show, Ive always seen my DJj sets as a history lesson into the
world of rock and metal. Since most of the audience isnt familiar with the genre
anyway, I decided to just play and perform to tracks I think are brilliant and not
the greatest hits. Just going for it and playing Van der Graaf Generator, Be Bop
Deluxe and Crass
Lara – What plans do you have for the future and are you hoping to emulate the same
level of success as Lady Gaga?
LS – I’m super happy with what im doing now. Its truly the dream. Being able to perform
whatever is in my head. My future goal is to simply be doing it with a bigger
budget so I the concepts can be more accurate.
Im under no illusion that I could ever reach the level of GaGas success. The
avenues of distribution for performance art can never compare to pop music.
All I want is to create a big enough audience to be able to do what I want.
Lara – Thank you so much for your time Lady Starlight and all the best.
