Interview with Lipstick Magazine

Lipstick Magazine are a New Jersey based band who have been getting noticed quite a bit lately. I recently had a chance to check in and find out more about them and their upcoming plans. They answered the questions as a group, the band members are Toni - Lead Vocals, Damon - Lead/Rhythm Guitar, David - Keyboards, Nat - Lead / Rhythm Guitar Marc - Bass Guitar, Russ - Drums.

MM-Can you tell us a little about who you are and the history of your band?
LM-The band is a combination of 2 bands. Damon and Dave were in one project Nat and Toni in another. They often played on the same bill. These 4 are the writing core and are all originally from Essex County a town called Belleville home of the Sopranos. Marc and Russ the rhythm section are brand new to the project.

MM-I know that you have played with a number of hard rock and metal bands, but it sounds like you definitely have some other influences as well. So who are your musical influences?
LM-The truth is all the writers have very different influences with one common love of rock and roll we go from classical to metal. I think that’s what keeps the sound fresh deep and unique. Heart / Kiss/ Queensryche / Elton John/ Bon Jovi / Daughtry / Guns and Roses / Pearl Jam / Queen / Hendrix / Stevie Ray

MM-Who came up with the band name and does it mean anything or did you just think that it sounded good?
LM-Name was thought up by a friend. Yes, the name was meant to capture Toni’s style the femininity of the word Lipstick and the machismo of the Magazine of a gun. Like Toni it means a heavy balls out chick that’s not afraid to rock you and get you wet at the same time, in fact that’s her goal.

MM-Who have you opened for? What have been some of your more memorable shows so far?
LM-Winger / DangerDanger/ Doro Pesch/ UFO/ YES / KIX, I would mention two shows, at the Winger show the crowd was unbelievable they really let us know they loved the music. Dexter’s in Riverdale we opened for DangerDanger, great room and the members of DangerDanger were really cool and talented.

MM-The biggest news for you has to be playing one of the side stages at Rocklahoma. What time and day are you playing?
LM-Lipstick is playing Saturday July 12th, the time is not concrete yet but I believe it will be somewhere between 1PM and 6PM.


MM-How did you manage to get a spot playing Rocklahoma? How excited are you about that and what are your expectations about playing this event?
LM-Lipstick Magazine has a staff that networks very well, they are very business oriented, we made contact with the right people running Rocklahoma, they loved the music and we got the spot, Excitement is beyond words. Expectations, getting to play in front of thousands of people and show them that Lipstick Magazine live put out an amazing performance.

MM-Have you ever played a festival before? If not then do you think it will be a challenge to bring your sound to such a large venue?
LM-Yes, Lipstick has played a festival before.

MM-Are you going to be checking out all of the other bands while you are there? Who are you most excited about seeing?
LM-Yes we will see the other bands, we are excited about all of them really, and they are all great musicians.

MM-I know that you have a few other dates lined up over the next few months including a few openings for KIX. Do you have more summer dates in the works?
LM-Yes we plan on touring thru the summer, we will post all of the dates on our website www.lipstickmagazine.net

MM-The hard rock scene in many places seems to be getting increasingly busy and crowded. So what is your band doing that sets you apart from the pack of today’s bands?
LM-SEE US LIVE YOU’LL KNOW

MM-You are currently on the front cover of All Access Magazine and it seems you are getting quite a bit of press in general plus playing Rocklahoma. Is everything going very fast for you right now or is that all part of the plan?
LM-At first it seemed to move quickly but now it can’t go fast enough, we are all very hungry to make music our only thought in a day.

MM-Is your music getting much airplay in any areas or are you generally just promoting through the press and your sites?
LM-We are receiving air play on various FM stations in LA, NY, NJ, AL, OHIO AND VIRGINIA

MM-Obviously you have accomplished quite a bit so far this year, but there is large of the year left. What other goals do you hope to accomplish in 2008?
LM-We are finalizing a distribution deal in the US, Canada and Europe for a summer time release, Lipstick will go back into the studio to redo and add tracks to there album prior to release.

MM-Are any of you currently in any other bands or projects at the moment?
LM-Not at this time, too much going on with Lipstick.

MM-Pick the band from the following pair that you prefer and tell why you picked that band.
Dream Theater or Queensryche
Heart or Warlock
Dokken or Winger
Motley Crue or Van Halen
LM-I would say Motley, been around for 25+ years and still finding ways to recreate themselves

MM-Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music?
LM-Lipstick will continue to work hard and get there music out to as many places as possible in 2008, we would just like to say Thank You to people like yourself, To Lipstick press is one of the all time most important things in the music business, and we all know (or maybe not) that marketing and promotion thru press is key.

http://www.myspace.com/lipstickmagazine

***Thanks to the members of Lipstick Magazine for doing the interview.