Interview with Venus de Mars

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Venus de Mars, a transgender artist from Minnesota, poet, singer, songwriter, painter, and leader of the punk-glam band All the Pretty Horses. Hello Venus!

Venus: Hey Monika ;)

Monika: When did you decide that music will be your profession?

Venus: Ha! OK... well Hmm. I guess it started as a desire way back when I was a kid... you know. The glamour... seeing the portrayals, lifestyles, etc. in media from back then. That kind of attracted me to it all...but I was way too shy to sing... I didn't think I could really, so I just concentrated on playing the guitar. Started on acoustic when I was like 10 years old... and did basic lessons, but I branched out on my own and tried to learn classical, and flamenco... all that stuff, but rock still called to me.

Interview with Mina Caputo

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Mina Caputo, an American singer, the lead singer, and a founding member of the New York heavy metal band Life of Agony. Hello Mina!

Mina: Hi Hun!!! Greetings! Blessings!

Monika: I have just listened to your first solo album as a woman titled “As Much Truth As One Can Bear” (2013) and I like it a lot. I love both lyrics and music. In the first song “Identity” you sing “… I’m sure that I’m not a woman…” It is rather a surprising line from the woman you have always been …

Mina: Well the correct lyrics to one of the verses are: I am not a man/I am not a woman/all I could taste is my burning heart/I’m sure I’m not a man/I’m sure I’m not a woman/all I could wear is a willing smile... It’s true, I identify completely with the feminine, but…

To me, the spirit has no gender. I truly identify with spirit, or consciousness, which is all energies, all knowing, and all not knowing. So to place myself inside of a boxed word(s) or language doesn't really sit well with me.

Interview with Marissa Martinez

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Marissa Martinez, a talented woman and guitarist/vocalist for a California metal band called Cretin. Hello Marissa! 

Marissa: Hi!

Monika: First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your marriage! How did it feel to be the beautiful bride?

Marissa: Thank you! It was really nerve-racking until the ceremony actually started. Typically, I dress really casually, and I don’t have a big interest in clothing and fashion. So, the whole process of dress shopping, shoe shopping, deciding on hair and makeup. I found it all overwhelming. It’s just not my thing. I was really excited to be married to my husband. Just not so much for the wedding itself. Hahaha!

Monika: Any plans for the honeymoon?

Marissa: We just got back from our honeymoon. We went to Yosemite, which is where we got engaged.

Interview with Aderet

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Aderet, an Israeli singer, composer of pop music and dance tracks, the author of 3 albums (two in Hebrew and one in English), and the host of the radio station program (show) called “Jacuzzi”. Shalom Aderet!

Aderet: Shalom Monika and all the readers from the beautiful country Israel.

Monika: How would you define your music?
Aderet: My music develops all the time, but first of all, it's pop or how some DJs hate to say (hahaha) "commercial". At the outset, it's influenced by a variety of styles with an emphasis on ethnic sounds and electro-pop. In the future, it will continue to be pop but maybe will change in a way to jazz, classical music, or even heavy metal, who knows?!
Monika: When did you first start singing?
Aderet: I started singing as a child at family events and in kindergarten. I remember that my first show was in front of strangers when I was 5 years old. My uncle that was a soldier in the IDF took me to his Air Force military base. Few soldiers were cleaning the offices before the weekend, and suddenly I started to sing without preparations and they were throwing some coins at me. It was a wonderful memory. It's important to mention that 3 years later when was 8 years old I wrote and composed songs for the first time.

Interview with Sally Goldner

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Sally Goldner, an Australian drummer, singer, and stand-up comic, Executive Director for TransGender Victoria, treasurer of Bisexual Alliance Victoria, and treasurer of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, listed in The Age Top 100 Creative and Influential People in Melbourne in 2011. Hello Sally!

Sally: Great to be with you.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Sally: I’ve been physically alive since October 1965 but only spiritually alive since April 1995 which was when I finally received accurate information about trans. At that point, all the pieces of my life began to make sense. I realized my need to affirm my female identity permanently about 3 years later and in between those 2 ties, I got to the truth about my sexual orientation, which I now define as bi/pansexual – like most things, it’s an evolution. 

Monika: How did you start your artistic career?

Sally: I started out more with singing and then was invited to the spoken word. Stand-up and character comedy was something I wanted to do deep down and started in 2003, although it’s been on the backburner since about 2008 due to being busy with advocacy and personal reasons.

Interview with Miss saHHara

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Miss saHHara, a British Nigerian model, singer, beauty queen and LGBT activist, known for representing Nigeria in international beauty pageants to draw attention to the plights of LGBTQI+ people in Africa. In 2011, she was the first Nigerian trans woman to participate in the Miss International Queen beauty pageant in Pattaya, Thailand. Hello Miss saHHara!

Miss saHHara: Hi Monika!

Monika: Some critics compare your voice to that of Nina Simone. Do you have any singers that you admire and draw inspirations from?

Miss saHHara: Yes, I have been told I sound like Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Heather Small from M-People. I find it humbling because they are the greats! I am influenced by the looks, glamour and stage presence of Shirley Bassey.

Monika: Could you say a few words about your singing career?

Miss saHHara: I began singing and writing songs at the age of twelve in Nigeria. I found solace in music through the church due to a rather troubled/confused childhood because of the identity I was assigned at birth. So, when I moved to the United Kingdom to live my life openly, I decided to pursue my music career a bit farther.

I have a singing residency in a lovely venue in London for the past 10 years. Music is my life, being creative in writing and producing gives me joy and satisfaction. I have written and produced over fifty songs, I am planning to release an album in the future.