We meet Peaches right after her show, on the shore of the Garonne river that runs through Toulouse. She was playing a free concert in an art festival, set up by the Art School of Toulouse and paid for by the city (yes, some city council still care about art and culture...) The enthusiastic crowd gathered around the small backstage tent to talk to the artist. I thought this would blow my chance of having an interview, but miss Peaches had not forgotten the promise made before the gig. She came out of the tent with a plate featuring lamb chop on rice and told me a 'shall we?' while already walking toward the river. I would not refuse this invitation for a horse, so I followed
BiB/Oa: Where did you get your name from?
Peaches: From a Nina Simone song called "Four Women". And I think she's an amazing figure in music. And in the end of the song she just says "peacheees"(she sings). She's not talking about the fruit though, she's talking about a woman. This woman's parents are slaves, so it's not that I'm related to this woman or anything...It's just the way Nina Simone sings it.
BiB/Oa: So is she one of your major influences?
Peaches: No, I just think she has a huge part in the music world
BiB/Oa: How and went did you start playing music?
Peaches: Twelve years ago(she's now 34 she confesses). I was going to be a theatre director but then I hated acting, and getting uptight about everything. I could just see myself getting a heart attack getting in to the theatre world before I was thirty. I just knew five songs on the guitar, so I started playing in a club with this friend of mine. We played there for a year, and I realized that was what I'd rather do. So it took me a while to find out what was my expression. I needed to express myself artistically, music suited me better
BiB/Oa: What's the big thing that made you change to electronic?
Peaches: Well, all the friends I was playing music with moved away, and I felt I had to keep the attitude of playing and what I like about it, so I started playing on machines
BiB/Oa: Do you live in Canada now?
Peaches: No, I live in Berlin. I got interest from a label, and I thought it would be better to work with them in Berlin where they are than in Canada where nobody takes you seriously unless you're outside of the country. They really eat their own, their young or whatever. It's just a saying in Canada that makes me sick. They are just too critical
BiB/Oa: So you find people more supportive in Germany?
Peaches: Yeah, they make things happen more. Some people liked what I did in Canada too, but somehow they could make it work in Berlin.
BiB/Oa: Did you listen to a lot of electronic music?
Peaches: No, you know what? I grew up listening to Rock'n'Roll. Like the Ramones, Kiss, even Pat Benatar, my main stream lady. Also the Pretenders, The Kinks, The Who....You know; stuff like that. I was a teenager in the eighties you know, but I wasn't into electronic music, I was more into whatever was kind of popular
Oa/BiB: So I guess you found a vivid electronic scene in Berlin?
Peaches: Oh yeah, with the Chicks on Speed and all that. But I think people are going electro crazy all over Europe. I don't know, I've been to Spain and Norway, and the electronic music was very big there. Are you catching the electro wave here to? Why is there so much french shitty house music in France?
Oa/BiB: Oh, the wall paper music. Yeah, some people are really good at it. I guess it sells well in Canada, so why should they change, huh? (Laughs) But anyway you hang out with the Chicks on Speed, right?
Peaches: Yeah.
Oa/BiB: That was a rich answer....
Peaches: Okay, I can tell you that they are my new financial manager, which is a good reason to hang out with them.
Oa/BiB: How do you come up with songs? Messing around with machines or do you conceptualize before?
Peaches: I just do it in my room. I have very simple equipment, it makes things more direct
Oa/BiB: It's the Kathleen Hannah way. Have you met her?
Peaches: Yes, in New York. We were enjoying each others performance very much. And I played with Le Tigre in Berlin. I wanted to play with them, then their manager was worried that they thought I was too vulgar. So they were like: "What are you talking about??" So we had a great time playing together, and I also keep in touch with JD and Joanna who play in the band.They're really great, I love them
Oa/BiB: What are your plans for the future? Any ongoing projects?
Peaches: You know, just the same...Play music and do some videos with friends. If you saw the movies tonight, that were playing behind me, one of the was called cowgirls. It was made by a friend of mine, her name is Sheryl Boyle(spelling unsure....sorry if wrong)she's a visual artist. Yeah, she's a visual artist, not just a girl! We collaborate together when she makes overhead drawings that she projects behind me and we do some interactive audio-visual and cartoon stuff. She also does that on her own with country music. I hope to do more things with her. And also Mignon (same comments on spelling) who's the queen of the electro goth. We do a lot of show
Oa/BiB: How do you feel being on the stage on you own?
Peaches: It's really good. It is petrifying, but also empowering. You know you figure out your way
Oa/BiB: Okay thank you for this nice talk.
Peaches: Yeah, thank you. And thank you France for eventually givving me some shows. Cus I was like "What the fuck is wrong with France" for a while.