The Piperita Patties!

My latest crush o’ girl is on The Piperita Patties. If you love your music in a kitsch, girl-shaped, day-glo fabulous Italian-o package, then you will most deffo crush on them too.

Forget those pesky Pussycat Dolls - The Piperita Patties are a girl band you can really dig. Their music is bubblecore pop’n’roll with a powerful twist - what could be cooler than that?
Answer? Nothing.

Describe The Piperita Patties in five words…
Louie: poppijamaparty(PPP) - cottoncandy - accessorize - bubbles - fun
Marilu: Twist, shout, dance, shortcake, yè-yè
Valeria: Piperita Patties, in, one, word, funny.

Where did the name come from - I LOVE it!
M: It’s the Italian translation of Peppermint Patty, the (anti)-heroine from the “Peanuts”. You know, Peppermint in Italian is “Piperita” and the name sounded just great. Well, in a way I kind of decided I had to start a girl band just to use that wonderful name…Peppermint Patty is the quintessential brat, and she’s so cute and totally adorable. But, at the same time, she’s clumsy and often misunderstood, but she doesn’t care, she just lives her own way and never thinks about changing an inch of what she is…She’s got attitude and the “normal”, “sensitive” Charlie Brown simply can’t love her, because she’s too free and “out of joint” and she makes her own rules! Even when she tries to be seductive, calling Charlie Brown “Ciccio” (I’m not sure about the original nickname, “Ciccio” is the Italian translation) he’s scared and annoyed, he doesn’t understand her, maybe he thinks she’s weird, but Patty doesn’t suffer that much, it’s just a moment…She’s reactive, she’s got a strong personality and in five seconds she turns from disappointment to planning something fun and crazy with her pal Marcie…She’s great…She’s us.
L: from Snoopy’s friend. Marilu loved the name. When we were playing together in the first group she already had the name in her mind! I think she wanted to play in a girl band to use that name..Here we are!
V: I joined the band after a few months, replacing Louie’s sister Terry who gave up in learning how to play drums.

How did you gorgeous girls get together and make the idea of being a girl group a real reality?
V: I have never had a girl group before, but always played with guys, and I have lots of fun with the P.P., not more nor less than with guys, just different fun
L: I don’t know! It was an amazing wonderful coincidence the day we met!
M: Well, I’m a specialist in 2 things: chasing after my teenage dreams and choosing friends…I just had to put those things together and The Piperita Patties…were ready to rock!

What five tunes would be on a PP soundtrack to life?
L: Ma Che Freddo Fa (Nada Malanima) - Sunday Girl (Blondie) - Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Cindy Lauper) - Give Him a Great Big Kiss (The Shangri-Las) - Dancing With Myself (Billy Idol)
V: Motel room in my bed (X), 52 Girls (B-52’s), Eclisse twist (Mina), Girls just wanna have fun (Cyndi Lauper), Jackson (Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood vers.)
M: Wow! That’s harrrrd! MMMMhhhh…let’s see: a) Cindy Lauper-Girls Just Want To Have Fun; b) Conchita Velasco-La Chica Yè-Yè; c) Mina-Eclisse Twist; d) Josie Cotton-Johnny Are You Queer?; e) The Flirts-Nice Girls Say No
Who are your biggest influences?
M: I’m into ‘80s powerpop and French-italian music from the ‘60s, so, as a songwriter, I can say that my inspirational sources are bands like The Flirts, The Little Girls (USA) and all the British scene of the ‘80s, I mean bands like Flatmates, Confetti, Darling Buds, but also artists from the 60s like Rita Pavone, Brigitte Bardot and the whole “yè-yè” scene.
L: I agree…
V: While playing in the P.P. I think about X, the Ramones, DEVO, Blondie, the Muffs, AND Nuggets comps, the Shangri-Las, the Ronettes, the Ikettes, the Chiffons, the Crystals, the Shirelles….

We love girls with attitude - what’s your secret to being fabulous?
L: I feel I am a teenager!!And I like wearing heels even if I’m not so able to walk then..
M: Being outspoken and staying true to myself! It’s a balm for the skin…and the soul!
V: Wow, thanks, fabulous is a gratifying adjective!
About what we do, well Marilu is very good in keeping the band together and she has always a lot of brilliant ideas, Louie is usually quiet but she knows exactly when it’s time to quip. Lately I’m the master in slopping around…

When did you start singing?
V: I am a self-taught singer, I started in 2002 with my first band, the Waukees (www. thewaukees. com), a Ramones-style band, then my first experience as a solo singer has been about one year ago, being part of a Swedish band called the Levettes (www. levettes. com), covering Sixties girl groups’ songs. It was amusing.
L: I have always wanted to sing in public..you know, I was proving in front of my mirror at home..but the first time I did it was in my previous group with Marilu. I sang “Rebel Rebel” by David Bowie. I had so much fun and I feel better ever since!
M: It’s a recent achievement…3 years ago…I didn’t know I could do that before…Well, let’s say I didn’t know I WANTED to do that before…Last year I also met a wonderful teacher, Monica, who’s helping me to love my voice, which is more important than being a Maria Callas, isn’t it?

What’s your motto for life?
V: A hot tub and a talking cat (not inside the tub, though). All you need is good food and drink.
L: “Goonies Never Say Die”
M: Definitely “IN VOLUPTATE VERITAS” (In pleasure, the truth).

The Pink Ladies LOVE to travel, can you intro us to your city - where should we go, what should we visit, why does it rock?
V: I come from Pisa, but I actually live in Genova, which doesn’t rock at all. I miss Sweden where I lived until a few months ago. Sweden is kinda like living on Mars, for an Italian girl; with all the good and “bad” things. I can’t imagine what would I think if I ever go to Japan… I think it might be the real weirdness there.
L: I live near Florence. It’s a beautiful city, lots of artworks, museums, galleries..the Renaissance’s Crawl. Everyone knows it! There are many fashion shops too but they are quite expensive..I love the historical coffeeshops where artists use to gather in the past. And I like going to theatre sometimes. There are some nice friendly bars to go to, and listen to good music.Yes, it rocks I’d say.There are good groups around, the only problem are parkings-damned parkings! There are no nightbuses to my town so I use the car. But Then I don’t know where to leave it!

What were you like as a teenager?
V: Who knows? I mean it was a long time ago, and I don’t remember it as a particularly amazing period of my life…I feel like I wasn’t like, say my classmates because I didn’t like going to discos or hanging around with them and stuff, but at the same time I hadn’t found my way. I started feeling at ease, in my own dimension after Francesco (my friend since we were three, and Marilu’s boyfriend) in 2001 recorded a punk rock tape compilation for me and asked me to make a band (the Waukees). I felt like I didn’t need to act like a “normal”, square at any cost to fit in, and it felt so good.
M: A dreamer, an untidy lovely mess…Pretty much the same as now
L: I grew up in a small town and I felt it too small for me, unconfortable most of the time. I loved going to rock concerts but it wasn’t easy to find someone to go with because I listened to music my school mates didn’t like..
I was a dreamer, I am a dreamer and I’ll always be that way. Sometimes it’s hard to relate to the “real world” and in my teen years it was even harder! People have always told me to be more rational and I know it’s impossible for me, even though I am a scientist..a peculiar one I would say! I think that what kept me going on were my dreams. They still push me ahead.

If you could speak to your teen self, knowing what you know now, what advice would you give her?
V: Maybe I would say “don’t even try to fit in”. But when I was young I didn’t have enough experience, so talking to myself to escape the lameness would be like cheating.
L: Trust yourself! You can do whatever you like - or at least try it! - if you just wish to. And be nice to people because that makes you feel good.
M: Be yourself, express yourself, be creative, be crazy, be brave, be ahead: it’s what you need to be happy and make people happy!!!

If you could join any other band - which one would it be?
L: Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band
V: “Ray Daytona and the Googoobombos”, a garage and surf band from Tuscany, even though it’s never gonna happen. But it’s like a spell, I keep on saying it endlessly!
M: The Powerpuff Girls…

If you could work with anyone alive or dead who do you think it’d be?
M: Maybe Mozart, to get some tips here and there about writing music, you know…Let’s dream ALOUD, everybody!!
L: Willy Wonka, Indiana Jones, Galileo Galilei, Quentin Tarantino ..and musically, Johnny Cash.
V: I’d rather work with Ray Manzarek, Mark Mothersbaugh, Mick Collins, Jonathan Richman. And Matteo Patrizio Marrone, who plays with me in my other band, Fracula. (www. myspace. com/fracula)

Quick fire, what’s your favourite:
Book:
M: David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
V: “Life short, Rytkönen long” by Arto Paasilinna (Finland)
L: best two : Moby Dick by H.Melville and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger

Album:
M: The Smiths (The Smiths)
V: “Duty now for the future” DEVO, 1979
L: The Wild, The Innocent and The E-Street Shuffle (Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band) and Concierto de Aranjuez (de Joaquin Rodrigo performed by Paco de Lucia)

Item of clothing:
M: Tees
V: jackets
L: hmmm..difficult! Shoes I guess!

Hang out:
M. The cafeteria round the corner
V: La Stanza, near Pisa
L: La Buleria - a flamenco bar

Website:
M. Amazon
V: http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=5236, it’s weather forecast website.
L: http://www.littlestevensundergroundgarage.com and www.wikipedia.org

City:
M: New York
V: Stockholm and Berlin. I wanna travel and see more, though.
L: Granada and Paris

What do you wish you’d known when you were first trying to get into the industry?
L: Oh, we’re not in the industry yet!But I bet we’ll be in it soon!
M: We didn’t get there, yet! The Piperita Patties are permanently on a fresh start! There’s always something new on the way and we just grab it even if we don’t know where it’s goin’ to take us. Enthusiasm is the name of the game! We’re playing quite spontaneously and we’re having lots of fun: we’re starting to style ourselves for the gigs and the videos, we’re starting to create our own gadgets in the light of a pure DIY philosophy and, obviously, we write our own songs. The industry still seems so far…even though I have to admit we’re starting to receive interesting proposals. We’ll be in studio next week, we’ll record a bunch of tracks and then…we’ll see…At the moment we’re discussing about what to put in the pic-nic baskets for the recording sessions…Porchetta seems to be the house fav at the moment

The colour pink. Discuss.
PP: Pink’s the shade of my bikini/frosted coat on pasticcini/Pink’s my birthday cake, you know/Pink’s my colour when I glow/ Pink’s the lipstick on my lips/Pink’s the colour on your cheek/Pink the ribbon, pink the snow/Pink a butterfly I saw/Pink my pillow, pink my bed/Slumber party! Let’s stay awake!/Pink the make-up, pink the pop/Pink is all I am dreamin’ of/Glossy or pale or bright or bland/Pink is oh! my magic wand/Pink the fairy, pink the gown/Give me a kiss when you’re in town/It takes honey, it takes jam/It takes just some pink champagne!

Check out these gorgeous girls in all their fabulousness at: www.myspace.com/thepiperitapatties