As part of Scissor Sisters Del Marquis is not the woman, the one with the beard, Jake Shears or the other one. Del Marquis is the well dressed Scissor Sister with brilliant facial hair. He plays the guitar.In the ever-lengthening gap between the second and third Scissor Sisters album, Marquis has busied himself on his own solo material, stepping out from the shadows of one of the world’s biggest bands into the spotlight. His 80s influenced pop music is a world away from his work with the band, but at the same time has all the hallmarks of great pop music that made Scissor Sisters so popular.
With his fourth EP, Runaround, on (virtual) shelves now we spoke to the man with the best sideburns in pop music about tuna, stalking and the lack of gays in pop…
Hi Del. We’ll cut to the chase – we love your facial hair. Could you please give us a short guide to mastering good beards?
If I ruin the symmetry, then I shave it all off and start again. Then I let my full beard grown in and re-carve the Chops. People in my neighbourhood, the men hanging on the street corners usually say 'Whatsup Wolverine!' And with the full beard, the ladies say, 'Ooh, you look just like Robin Thicke! Can you sing?'
And the answer to that is 'Yes' as you are now a solo recoding artist. Has there always been a frontman inside you, waiting to be unleashed?
On a perfect day when stars align, yes! But I'm not always 'on'. I need a buffer, and being the guitar player suits my personality; I can hide, sulk and be a bastard if that is my mood at the time. I'll continue to record my own music, but I wouldn't want fame for that on a world domination scale. With Scissor Sisters I get to explore my ego and prance around onstage in tight trousers, but then retreat to moody isolation – which is just fine thanks.
You’ve recently released your fourth EP. Why could you not just release a couple of singles and an album like everyone else?
I went into the recording process without much experience writing on my own. Lyrics were a first for me, singing was relatively new, I had less control over the direction; this was magical and I couldn't be that naive now if I tried. So long story short I ended up with songs that sounded wildly different, and decided I would group them thematically. I don't question the validity of the LP, but since I was independent of a major, I decide to have fun with the way music was presented.
There are a lot of remixes accompanying the new EP. Have you ever heard a remix and wished you'd thought of their ideas first?
Everyone's got their signature sound. Stuart Price did his 'I'm gonna put the entire mix through this filter' thing, Scissor Sisters and Pet Shop Boys do the 'I'm gonna sing background on all commissioned remixes'. My favourite remix ideas restructure the song and change the chords beneath the song, not only do you get to dance to a song, but it’s like getting a whole new track.
As well as mastering music and facial hair, you've also turned your hand to stalking famous guitarists. Have you ever met one of your previous stalkees at a later date and had to 'act cool' in their presence?
We were rehearsing next door to Echo and the Bunnymen last year, and Will Seargent came out to introduce himself and peeked out behind his hair to say 'oh, you’re the one who stalked us'. It was an innocent jab, but luckily they were nice and I got to listen to their set while I ate Thai food on lunch break; it was much different than waiting out in the cold to get a picture when I was 16.
Care to share any tips on being a good stalker?
Stalking is like anything in life; to be successful you have to NEVER give up. There is a network of fans in Japan who use some kind of network Blotter to let each other know when and where the Stalkee will be at any given time. Now that’s what I call organization.
What is your favourite tinned food?
Italian canned tuna in olive oil. But please, fans, don't bring me canned tuna on tour.
Like a lot of current artists, your music has a distinct 80s sound. Are musicians running out of new sounds to work with?
I've been trying to define what this decade means, in terms of popular culture. It is an age where, exponentially, more people are aware of design, music and fashion. This leads to whiplash references, where all archived sounds and looks are fair game. I'd call it the blender decade. And trust me, the 90's revival has already started if you haven't noticed... I was on eBay the other day trying to bid on a Boy London pullover, listening to PM Dawn and fishing out my 909 sample library.
Do you think admitting to being gay is still a tricky area for popstars and musicians today?
It shouldn't be, and honestly I think Scissor Sisters broke the last vestiges of that taboo. Although you should ask Mika about this, because his sexual ambiguity is like we’re still living in the early 90s. It is important to come out at the beginning without any sense of confusion, Otherwise you end up back-tracking or evading direct questions, like we saw with artists of the 80s and 90s – although we did end up with the Pet Shop Boy’s classic 'Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend' about George Michael. Your straight fans may not give a shit if you have sex with men or woman, but it is very important to young girls and boys that are struggling with their identity to have some artists identify as gay, bisexual or transexual. I hope we've done something along those line, which would make me very proud.
You’ve been working with RobotPigeon favourite Bright Light Bright Light. What can we expect from that collaboration?
Rod (Bright Light Bright Light) got in touch with me through his management company, and was just a really nice person who happened to be an extremely talented songwriter. We haven't gotten anywhere in terms of writing, due to schedules, and truthfully I haven’t broken down the wall to allow myself to write with other people. I'm still protective of my process and think that it will look ass-backwards to the outside observer, but I should probably start getting my hands dirtier with the process and see what happens.
Paris Hilton was recently included in the Oxford Dictionary of quotations saying 'Dress cute wherever you go, life is too short to blend in'. What words of wisdom do you have which could guide everyone through life?
If you can't give good face, give good ass.
It’s one we try to live by. Thank you very much, Del Marquis.
Del Marquis on MySpace.
The EP, Runaround, is on iTunes and everywhere else (does anyone use anywhere else?) RIGHT NOW.
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