She’s been called a “space
cowgirl,” “as hot as a railroad
track penny” and “unbearably
sexy.” She’s been lauded
as the new Gwen Stafani by Curve
Magazine’s Diane Anderson-Minshall and
compared to David Bowie, Janis
Joplin, Blondie and PJ
Harvey.
Her band, the Atomic Swindlers, has
garnered rave reviews from such luminaries
as Rolling Stone senior critic Barry
Walters and George Smith,
Senior Critic for the Village Voice.
Meet April Laragy, the girl-next-door
turned Atomic Diva, out to thrill your
soul – and break your heart.
You’re strolling through your
favorite nightclub, or better yet luxuriating
on a fabulous cruise, and what do you
see - a lesbian themed video featuring
an über-sexy ray gun totting chanteuse,
her gentle robotic stargirl comrade and
their death ray dealing side kick owl?
No way you say! Well, keep your eyes
open because you’ve just had
your first taste of the Atomic Swindlers.
The band’s music video, "Float
(my electric stargirl)" was recently
added to Promo Only, the nation's
largest subscriber-based music and
music video service. Now, you can
see and hear the Atomic Swindlers,
and their gorgeous lead singer, in
the hottest nightclubs all over North
America, on the best commercial radio
stations, at various cool retail
and hospitality establishments, and
even on major cruise lines.
A dance remix of their song “Diamond
Dreamer”, done by Grammy
nominated DJ/Remixer Julian Marsh, appeared
in Promo Only's ultra-hip
Mainstream Club music compilation
this month. And in May, the Atomic
Swindlers' song, "Float
(my electric stargirl)" will
appear in Promo Only's Alternative
Club music compilation. To top it
off, Promo
Only Canada has also added the
Atomic Swindlers’s music and
video. These are just the latest
conquests in the Swinders quest to
take over the universe with their
unique and delicious sound.
The Atomic Swindlers - who have been
described as a “United Nations
of sexual orientation" - finished
off 2005 and blasted into 2006 on a wave
of good vibes. Barry Walters, a senior
music critic for Rolling Stone Magazine
called their CD, Coming Out Electric, “utterly
sublime” in a recent review in
Out Magazine. George Smith, a senior
music critic at the Village Voice placed
their CD at number 1 on his “10
best CD’s of 2005” list.
Not bad for an unsigned/indie GLBT
friendly band from Rochester, NY.
In addition to being the frontwoman
for the incredibly hot up-and-coming
indie band, Laragy shares song-writing
duties with her bandmates Roy Stein and Gary
Trainer. Her lyrics infuse some
of the band's hottest tracks and she
plays piano, electric keyboards and guitar
as well. Last, but certainly not least,
Laragy is also an accomplished painter
with a growing following. Truly, like lesbian
warrior princess icon Xena, Laragy
is a woman of many talents.
But then, her band is filled to the
brim with talent, producing everything
from gorgeous sci-fi glam rock tracks
such as "Into the Strange" to
beautifully haunting ballads like "Susan
Jolie" that will simply break
your heart - and is one of the most
lovely tracks you're likely to hear
this decade. (Download both of these
previously unreleased tracks here by
clicking on the song names!)
The Atomic Swindlers are fueled by
extraordinarily intelligent, evocative
lyrics, graced with one of the most
expressive and versatile female vocalists
you can imagine and backed with a cadre
of amazingly talented musicians - Roy Stein (drums), Gary
Trainer (bass), Scott Ostrowski (Guitar,
vocals), Chris Yockel (guitar) and Johnny
Cummings (keyboards, vocals). The
Swindlers have all the building blocks
of a superstar band with all the tasty
flavor of cult icons in the making.
(Think Scissor Sisters fronted
by a female Ziggy Stardust era Bowie
- and you're only half way there.)
We cornered Laragy to find out what
she thinks about all the attention
being bestowed on the Swindlers, and
what her hopes are for the band’s
future.
You’ve been compared to some
pretty amazing musicians, such as Bowie,
Blondie and Stefani. How does that
kind of comparison make you feel?
I would have to say being compared
to pretty amazing people makes me
feel pretty amazing!!!! YIKES!!! what
an honor that people think of the band
that way.
There have been several references
in the press to the “lesbian-fronted” Atomic
Swindlers - and the band has acknowled
that the members ‘span the gambit
of sexuality’ - yet, as far as
I know you’ve never publicly stated
your sexual orientation. Do you think
the Swindlers lesbian-themed video has
influenced the media’s perception
of you?
Ahhhhhhhh... the sexual mystery of
it all... I like just where the media
has put us! It feels good and comfy!! I
also would like to think that some day I
could actually be with a girl as hot
as my animated lover in the video!! Kosmic
purrrrrrrrr!!
The GLBT media has given the band
a lot of positive coverage, do you
have any fear of the Swindlers being ‘pigeon-holed’ as
a gay band?
I have no fears... only love and
admiration for anyone who embraces the
Swindlers!! The GLBT media and
community obviously has awesomely grand
taste... yummy!! Now I am
just being silly... We reach out to
whoever listens and enjoys... pigeon-hole
us away... we love em!!
You recently hooked up with former DJ
Julian Marsh to put together some dance
remixes of Swindlers songs. How do you
feel about the resulting tracks?
Julian's tracks are soooooooo different
from the original versions of the songs!!
WOW!!! They are wonderful!! So
is he... he is insanely spectacular!! How
can you not dance to this music??? We
are so lucky to be working with such
talented people...
What’s the hardest thing
about being part of an indie band
without label support?
Hmmmm... let's see... that would have
to be... being part of an indie band
without label support... EVERYTHING!!!!
AHHHH!!!
What’s the coolest thing you’ve
heard said about the band this past
year?
I honestly would have to say when
someone told me that they had my cd in
their player for months because it was
the only thing they were listening to...
holy bajeebers!!! This is definitely
not an ego thing... I just know how I
feel when I hear something I
love and it puts me in an incredible
place... I want to hear it over
and over again... wellllll.... If the
Atomic Swindlers' music had that effect
on anyone... even one person... that
is what does it for me... I don't even
know what to say... it leaves me kid
of speechless!!! If you can believe
that??
How do you feel about the image
of you as this ultra-hot, ass-kicking,
latex-clad, glam goddess? Is that something
you enjoy – and
cultivate?
Oh I just loooove it!!! you
should see when I do my grocery
shopping dressed like that!! I
think sometimes it might frighten small
children... but they're really not
my target audience!!
You have some great guys sharing the
stage with you in the Swindlers, tell
us about your band-mates.
The guys... the guys... me... surrounded
by testosteronia... I can handle
it... what can I say? They are
sexy... talented... beautifully poetic
and... able to move big speakers...
a glam girl has got to love it!!
Besides being a rock goddess, you
also happen to be quite an amazing
painter. Tell us about your art, and
which came first – the music
or the painting?
Well, I am pretty sure I was
equal parts noisy and artistically messy
when I was a child... but, the art
came first... I was obssessed in kindergarten
with drawing animals with knees! My
teacher would say "oh honey dinosaurs
and kittys don't have knees." I
mean what a freak she was... it was so
obvious that I was a nine year old
trapped inside a five year old body...
couldn't she see the genius in me??? Now
i can't get enough of either... it is
just me. It's who I am and
what I do... and I do so
enjoy making people happy with it...
that is why I'll keep doing it until
those kitties and dinosaurs need knee
replacements!!
What would you most like to see happen
with the band this year?
I would love to have all the hard
work that everyone in the band and close
to the band has done to be rewarded somehow. Just
to get to some other level. We
are all so passionate about this...
to have it be successful on any level
is rewarding.
Where do you see the Swindlers in five
years?
Well... There really is no top to
the ladder of success... so I
hope whichever rung we are on finds
us happy, writing and still together...
and alive...
Drinking cool martinis with the mayor
of the stars
It’s been a while since any band
really put genuine theatrics front and
center in their priority list, both in
terms of their music and their performance. I
think that in the pursuit of that perfect
sound, bands sometimes forget that audiences
go to shows because they want to have
a good time. But get ready. One
of the most genuinely unique bands
to hit Rochester in a long time is
bringing the fun to the stage in spades,
with a groove-laden, sexy, rock-n-roll
ride through the cosmos: The
Atomic Swindlers.
A curious and listenable mix of mid-seventies,
early eighties and late nineties influences,
a fully multimedia experience and a
positively rock-and-roll persona are
what make the Atomic Swindlers such
a great band to watch live. Their music betimes
takes on shades of light and dark from
The B-52’s to U2, from Ziggy Stardust-era
Bowie to a distinct Rocky Horror Picture
Show vibe, contributing to what is a
very thematic and stratospheric sound. Meanwhile,
video projectors flood the band and
the curtain behind them with trippy
images, live shots of the band and
even some pictures submitted to their MySpace.com fan
site (including one from yours truly).
What stands out the most about this
band is the sheer mass of sound they
present. Their live performances
really do sound just like their album, Coming
Out Electric
,
which is itself chock-full of sound. The
band’s sound positively fills
the room, rich guitar, keyboards and
effects all immersing every corner
with a wonderfully spacey air.
It’s no accident that this band
sounds so good live: the musicianship
of this group is top-flight. Lead
guitarist Chris Yockel uses some absolutely
amazing effects on his guitar to add
to the cosmic intonation, serving the
kind of guitarist role formerly served
only by Steve Hackett. Rhythm guitarist
Scott Ostrowski, while also singing great
harmonies, lays down an equally solid
groove along with bassist Gary Trainer. Johnny
Cummings is a killer keyboardist, rare
in the Rochester rock scene. Roy
Stein provides drums, electronic percussion
and looping, and presiding over it
all is the space girl herself, April
Laragy.
Stein also contributes about a third
of the songwriting to the band, and
as a drummer, I can say I really admire
this. Especially since he hasn’t
yet pulled a Phil Collins, so far as
I can tell. In total, the songs
are written by Stein, Laragy and Trainer,
all of whom display a great range of
songwriting ability.
The genres of music that the band
plays are as eclectic as you could
imagine while still maintaining a sense
of unique sound. “Progressive” is
another word for it; in fact, that is
exactly what they bill themselves as
in their MySpace.com profile. At
first, listening to the relatively small
sampling of music available there, I
had my doubts as to the accuracy of this
label. However, once I had a
chance to listen to the entire album,
I realized that they are very much
a progressive band in the great tradition
of David Bowie, Genesis, and to a lesser
degree, Marilyn Manson.
Again on this level, the band surprises
and impresses. Too often, the label
of “Progressive Rock” is
reserved for what I regard as entirely
non-progressive, predictable, loud and
overreaching metal music like Dream Theater
and knock-offs thereof. Really,
if every song is twenty minutes long
and never has four consecutive measures
in any one key or time signature, is
that really progressive? The glory
days of progressive rock were filled
to the brim with unique characters that
wrote and performed music which did not
necessarily have anything to do with
rhythmic or tonic acrobatics. Rather,
they used those tools where appropriate
in pursuit of a higher musical and artistic
expression. Yes’s Close to
the Edge, for all it’s complexity,
is primarily written in 3/4 time, as
one example.
The Atomic Swindlers are mature and
talented enough musicians to understand
this, and also that there is such a
thing as a good or a bad song, regardless
of its genre or complexity. Diamond
Dreamer, for example, sounds like Frank
N. Furter and Ziggy Stardust’s love child. At
once heavy-rocking and tuneful, there
is a piano part that exactly mirrors
the rhythm guitar, giving it that Rocky
Horror feel, to which April’s drawling,
theatrical vocals add the Bowie impression. Other
songs on the album just plain rock, like
sex66, or groove in laid-back style like
the aptly-named Float, Jupiter’s
Falling or Stars in My Pocket. Meanwhile,
the great harmonics of this band are
prominently displayed in some of the
best ballads I’ve heard in a
long time, such as Drag, and Underground
Love.
The hardest thing about writing this
review thus far has been getting enough
time in to write it between hours of
listening to the album. In terms
of the flow from one tune to the next,
the album does a good job of sufficiently
placing one tune next to another in a
way that naturally leads you down the
path, or should I say, through the cosmos,
from one planet to the next, lamenting
Jupiter’s fall one minute and dancing
on volcanoes the next. In the end,
the carefree, lazy persuasion of Stars
in My Pocket gives way, like the transition
from In the Rapids into it on Genesis’ Lamb,
to an explosively happy rock-n-roll
ending that caps a great album.
Every once in a while, there comes
along a band in Rochester that positively
defies all precedent in the local music
scene. There’s
plenty of good music to listen to here,
but by and large, it tends to fit comfortably
into one of maybe four or five genres
easily recognized as Rochester standards. In
truth, the same is true for popular
music in general, but on April 8th
of this year, I caught an early show
at Milestones Music Room of a band
that steps outside those normal bounds
and into space: The Atomic Swindlers. I
cannot wait to go see them again, hopefully
before they become big enough that
I can’t
afford the tickets anymore, which may
be very soon, indeed.
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