Interview – Militia Vox – Tough and beautiful
The impossible has just happened. Someone, in this case Militia Vox, has covered a Polly Harvey song and actually captured the anger, the desperate, the pure violence of the PJ original. Vox has done created an original version of the classic and made it her own. To this reviewer, PJ Harvey is god and to cover her blasphemy, but Vox has done it. And the occupying video demonstrates the extreme emotions of the songs. ”Rid of Me” is a song of obsessive gone to the highest level, and Vox captures all that, disturbingly well. Vox deserves to be heard everywhere, and her version is perfect for all those people who need a new Halloween psychological thrill/chill. On another note, this is one serious musician with a serious agenda. Read her interview below. You’ll fall in love with her, just like I have. FUCKING AMAZING
1. How long have you been playing music? Where are you from originally?
I’ve been playing music since I was 8 years old. My first instrument was piano, I was classically trained and used to compete- and even win! Then I joined school choirs, did plays and musicals, and went to music conservatory for college. There I got in my first band and everything started to make sense. It was a goth/industrial band- Disciples of Astaroth (DOA.)
I’m from Columbia, Maryland, originally… back when it was horse farms and quiet neighborhoods.
2. It takes a lot of balls to cover PJ Harvey. You do a tremendous job. In fact, this is sacrilege, but your version is even better than PJ’s. What other bands have influenced you?
Thank you for that. I love PJ Harvey- she is such a fucking genius. I loved her since the moment I first heard her. I think what I love about her most is that she just lets her sound spill out of her. It’s so raw and in the moment. She’s not editing herself to sound prettier or mincing words. No one writes lyrics the way she does, she’s tremendously underrated as a songwriter. I would put her up there with Joan Baez, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush… If there’s anything to astrology (and I think there is) I think part of the reason I can honestly interpret and re-interpret PJ’s words and music is because we are both Libras- we have a dualistic nature to our energy, fierce yet feminine, emotional yet sturdy, wild yet laser focused.
Other bands/artists that have influenced me (in no particular order): Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Dio, Judas Priest, Tool, Alice in Chains, The Cure, Metallica, Celtic Frost, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, King Crimson, Cream, L7, Babes in Toyland, Hole, Nirvana, Type O Negative, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Deftones, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Queen… the list goes on…
3. Do you like to play live or do you prefer studio work?
It used to be that I loved live performance the best and despised the studio. Reason being that the music never sounded as good recorded as it did in my head. After many ups and downs and a handful of horrendous studio experiences, I finally found the right crew to make my dreams and nightmares come true, in the best possible way. Working with Mike Wolpe (BAIT, producer) has been truly rewarding. He has been instrumental in helping me get my brain on wax. I still love playing live because that’s when the point of it all makes sense. Music is made to be shared, enjoyed and worshipped with others.
4. Do you write music true to you? Where do you get your material?
I’ve always written music that’s true to me. Which is arguably why I haven’t gotten as far as I could have by this point! But I don’t know how else to write other than how it naturally comes out of me. I’ve always made the statements I’ve wanted to make, musical and otherwise. I know I’ve been misunderstood by many and people have often looked at me and scratched their heads. It’s fine. I refuse to dumb myself down or write from a generic POV. I’m the one that’s gotta look myself in the mirror! And I have so many things I need to say before my last breath.
My material often comes out of automatic writing or what I call ‘seance writing.’ I will think of a subject or word that I find intriguing or provocative and just write pages and pages and pages about it continuously without stopping until I’m spent. Then I go back and pick out the most compelling parts. Or sometimes I’ll write the music first and then I’ll go back and think about the scene that the music sets or what the mood feels like and then build the song and story from there. Who knows where it truly comes from. All of my love, hate, anger, sadness, sex and life force simultaneously compounded into pen strokes. It’s an equation that you can’t rightfully explain… but you should all try it sometime.
5. Anything you want to say I didn’t ask. I really can’t wait to see you live. Please play Pittsburgh.
Thank you so much for taking the time to give a fuck and listen to me. I can’t wait to sing “Rid of Me” for you, in person!!
