FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| MUSIC PRINCESS SUPERSTAR "I felt so miserable in high school," confesses Concetta Kirschner, the firecracker also known as Princess Superstar. "You know? That's like one of my lyrics, where all these people picked on me in high school - what are they doing? Probably nothing, sitting behind the counter where I buy my English muffins." Concetta's experience of going to private school outside of Philadelphia sounds like a scene straight out of Pretty in Pink. She was ostracized for being unique by peers who drove to school in Porsches (thus, self-reflective songs like "The Little Freakazoid That Could"). While being the president of the Latin club didn't help her popularity, Concetta fostered a creative passion for music and theatrics during high school which has come alive in the dynamic music she's doing today. CEO is the second Princess Superstar album which will launch major label negotiations and, she hopes, will set a precedent for younger women. "I want to be inspiring to women," Concetta explains, sipping on the first cup of good coffee she's had since the beginning of the tour. She admits that she isn't a "gung-ho feminist," but is unimpressed by a discrepancy of treatment between the genders. Already painfully aware of feeling like an outsider, she's not about to succumb to any ostracism in the music scene. "I think there's a long way to go before we reach true equality. In my own experience in the music business - it's all guys. A lot of the music today, the women who are making it big are very soft and quiet and I'm very outspoken and tough. I don't know," she laughs, "maybe I scare some people." Concetta's nylon condom dress or aerobic, taunt-and-flaunt live shows may not be for the weak of heart, but she and the rest of Princess Superstar are bored with the rampant mediocrity in the industry. With Ottawa's DJ Science (Michael Caffrey), Mike Linn (drums), James Kelly (guitar), and Ski Love Ski (bass), Concetta pushed the boundaries until she had impressed herself enough to release the follow up to 1995's Strictly Platinum. CEO, in turn, makes Concetta stick out even more. She has made Daft Punk look primitive, outdone Beck and is light years ahead of Cibo Matto and Buffalo Daughter, while giving the Beastie Boys a run for their money. Full of guts 'n' glory, scalding beat intelligence and brilliantly textured samples, CEO secured the attention of Playboy. Representatives from the magazine were lured to see Concetta's Philadelphia gig and watched her perform "Supersize the Downsize" - a song in which she scandalously mixes Pavement with AC/DC. Her eclectic and complex collage of '80s pop with classic and indie rock appealed to them and she was deemed a woman to watch out for. "Now, I'm very much into being my own individual, not caring what people think and really trying to achieve what I want to achieve. CEO is my baby. I started my own record label (A Big Rich Major Label) and I put this out. To me, it's our best record. To have people say negative things about it or critique it and you're like, 'No, I wasn't trying to do that.' It's so painful when you put something out and then people just talk about it. "Art has the power to affect people, change them, help them and I want to do that, I want to inspire people. A lot of it stems from being in high school or junior high and just feeling very alone and like I was the weirdo or something. I want to help people who feel that way, I want them to be inspired and to follow their dreams and to be happy. "I mean, it's very lofty, but when you're miserable like that, what do you turn to? You turn to music, art, theatre or whatever moves you. That's what provokes me." |