Samara Golden
Celebration
Issue #26
Katrina Ford — the Baltimore trio’s PJ Harvey-sounding frontwoman — wants you to forget about the traditional band-versus-audience thing
By John Everhart
Published: December 1st, 2005 | 12:00am
From the machine-gun drum roll and carnival-esque keyboards that usher in the jarring opening track “War,” with singer Katrina Ford’s androgynous full-throttle caterwaul introducing itself like a boa constrictor wrapping around your neck, Celebration’s self-titled debut album captivates and challenges.
Despite the dire subject matter that abounds, Ford always sounds like she’s having a blast. Even as she descends into the bleakness of self-destruction (“Diamonds”) and exploitation (“Foxes”), she sublimates the chaos into a catharsis, an aesthetic self-redemption. Flanked by the stunning multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis and the propulsive drumming of David Bergander, Celebration is clearly a band following in the lineage of Ford and Antanaitis’ prior projects, the discordant punk-oriented Jaks and the damaged histrionics of the more theatrical Lovelife. We spoke with Ford in October 2005, as she was traveling through Florida on tour opening for Calla.
I first heard Lovelife playing in a record store and thought you sounded a lot like Polly Jean Harvey.
I got that a lot, and what’s funny is that I had heard her but I wasn’t that familiar or a big fan until more people started telling me that. And now I like her a lot — especially her earlier stuff — but I never like it when someone can use one name to describe you and feel like that’s just perfect. You don’t want to be that easy to be described.
Who are some vocalists you grew up admiring?
Classic blues singers like Bessie Smith and Nina Simone. I’ve always loved Diamanda Galas. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Glen Danzig from the Misfits, [who has] a pseudo-dark romantic kind of voice.
I read somewhere that you consciously tried to sing like a man.
That definitely was the case in Jaks and in Lovelife. I wanted to be more masculine or genderless. It had to do with how women were empowered by being women, and it wasn’t really about being just a musician. I was trying to challenge the idea of gender, in a way. In this band I think I’ve definitely let those concepts go, more singing, less screaming, more feminine sounds. I want to develop as a singer. I really don’t want to just stay the same.
What bands have excited you lately?
I really fucking love the Ariel Pink record. It’s totally atmospheric, not political at all, but I can’t fit it into any category. I just enjoy it. Damien Marley just had a single that’s really kick ass. His record’s going to be the next thing I buy. Ultra political reggae and hip-hop.
Can you talk about your collaborations with TV On The Radio?
I sang on a couple of songs on their first release and they sang on a couple on our record. David Sitek produced and recorded the Lovelife record. He did that before he was in TV on the Radio, before he worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Liars. He’s like our best friend and we work on each other’s projects all the time. I was just up there working on TV on the Radio’s record this summer, which by the way sounds really awesome and is going to blow minds. Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, working with them is amazing. Those guys are just naturally fucking incredible singers. After that, I was just like, “I’m going to get vocal lessons when I get home” (laughs). But yeah, it’s fun working with them. It’s great.
Is writing a political song a challenge for you?
It is, but it was necessary here. You’ve got to kind of charm people into the idea of keeping it in mind all the time. When I was first started out there in the early ’90s, there seemed to be more politics in independent music, and then it changed. And I think now more than ever, we need it back in. We need to talk about this. We have to stay mad. We’re surrounded by people who are likeminded, but what about those kids who buy your records who are living in South Dakota, or Ohio, or Florida? These kids need to hear it.
Can you talk about your live shows?
They’re higher energy — just a little more out of control. We’re still learning how to do our deal, but I feel like we’re a pack of wild animals onstage. It’s kind of half out of control. Our goal is to get people to forget that they’re watching the show, forget that we’re the band and they’re the audience. I just want it to be more like a party, just having everybody be really there. I try to come out into the audience to antagonize people, just to not be so serious.
Where do you want to go from here with Celebration?
I want to get away from the idea of indie rock. Some African rhythms, a little more gypsy-ish. That’s what I’m saying now, but it could change tomorrow (laughs). I just want to have a good time and entertain people and travel and see things and meet people, and it’s working that way, so as long as it stays like that, it’s good.
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