Interview with Ellah A. Thaun

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Ellah A. Thaun, a transgender woman, an artist from France, singer & guitarist, co-founder of the electronic duo Valeskja Valcav and playing solo as a folk songwriter. Hello Ellah!

Ellah: Hi Monika!

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

Ellah: I was 5 or 6, after watching the documentary "Imagine" (about John Lennon) with my mother, I think. I remember being deeply moved without knowing why exactly. I started my first band at 13 after listening to 'Nevermind', like a lot of teenagers born in the eighties and I haven't stopped playing since.

Interview with Paulina Ashley Angel

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Paulina Ashley Angel, a transgender activist from USA, songwriter, musician, singer, producer, and blogger. Hello Paulina!

Paulina: Hola Monika, hella great to meet you!!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Paulina: WOW, where should I start? I’m a 32-year-old Transwoman from the town of Indio, in California. I’m a songwriter/singer, multi-instrumentalist, student leader, LGBTQIA Rights Leader, and a dreamer. I'm the creator of the Facebook page, Trans Role Models, and its sister page, Trans Fund Raising. I have my own music company, P.A. Music, Inc.

Monika: You have written over 200 songs. Where do you get your music inspiration from?

Paulina: I’ve always had a knack for writing lyrics. Some songs are written just by coming up with a song title, or if a lyric pops into my head, and at times from real-life experiences, or dreams of experiences I can have in the future. The first song I wrote, The Rain (which can be heard on my first album), was actually based on a suicide letter I wrote during the summer of 1997, but I'm still alive and decided to make a song out of parts of it.

Interview with Namoli Brennet

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Namoli Brennet, an Iowa-based singer and songwriter, 4-time Outmusic award nominee, recipient of the Tucson Folk Festival Songwriting Award and finalist in the ISC songwriting competition; her 2010 album "Black Crow" was named one of KXCI FM's 50 best albums of the year. Hello Namoli!

Namoli: Hi Monika.

Monika: When did you decide that music would be your way of life?

Namoli: I’m actually one of those people who - I just always knew that I would do something with music - I’m pretty sure I knew I was a musician before I knew I was trans. So I didn’t have to think about it too much, except for what form it would take.

I had always felt like I wanted to write, record and tour but I think in part I was underconfident, and I also hadn’t begun to deal with transitioning yet so I felt kind of stuck. Seeing the show “RENT” when I was 29 was a pivotal moment that made me feel like, “I need to do this - now.” The theme of that show is “No day but today” and it was exactly what I needed to hear at the time.

Interview with Shawna Virago

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Shawna Virago, an American singer/songwriter, writer, and Artistic Director of the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival. She was one of the first American openly transgender women to perform and tour nationally, and performing as an out transwoman from the early 1990’s. Her song “Objectified,” was recognized as one of the nation’s top Transgender Anthems whereas her last full-length album ‘Heaven Sent Delinquent’ was featured in many national publications and year-end best-of lists. Her work appears in Gender Outlaws: Next Generation and in the anthologies Trans/Love: Radical Sex, Love and Relationships Beyond the Gender Binary, Take Me There, and Transnational Queer Underground.Hello Shawna!

Shawna: Hello Monika. Thank’s for interviewin’ me.

Monika: When did you decide that you would like to be an artist?

Shawna: I’ve wanted to be a songwriter and musician for as long as I can remember, since I was very young. Music for me has always been magic and I’ve been drawn to it my entire life.

Monika: Your 2012 debut album “Objectified” was a tribute to the power of women and their fight with the patriarchal system. Are you a feminist?

Shawna: I believe we need to raise our voices for the rights of women, including of course transgender women. The second you transition you are experiencing female socialization and all the discrimination that goes along with it. I used to love reading ‘Transisters: The Journal Transgender Feminism”. I especially looked forward to reading the letters section, which were full of fantastic bickering.

Interview with Adèle Anderson

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Adèle Anderson, an inspirational British songwriter, actress, and member of the acclaimed British cabaret group Fascinating Aïda. She is a patron and humanist celebrant of Humanists UK (formerly known as the British Humanist Association), specializing in non-religious weddings. Hello Adèle!

Adèle: Hello, Monika. What would you like to know?

Monika: Last year Fascinating Aïda could boast the 30th anniversary of its creation. You joined the group, a year later, in 1984. So you have been singing with Dillie Keane for almost 30 years. (Liza Pulman joined the group in 2004.) How have you managed to stay together for so many years?

Adèle: First of all, I hugely admire Dillie and her extraordinary talent. We discovered that we just “clicked” as a writing partnership. She has made me a much better songwriter than I would ever have been on my own.

Secondly, it is extremely satisfying to perform a show that one has written and to enjoy the reactions of the various audiences up and down the country and, sometimes, abroad. Dillie and I have learned to be upfront about any disagreements and not to be offended if one of us doesn’t like a lyric that the other one has written, or thinks it isn’t good enough.