CHRISSI POLAND

In an age of mildly talented, flash-in-the-pan pop acts that come and go at lighting speed, it’s a rare thing to find one that sticks. One that crosses continents and teeters between super rockstar status and cult-esque underground alt-pop club status, depending on the country. A band so laced with stylistic versatility that you could call it dance, or funk/rock/glam, retro/new wave, or pop with a splash of honkytonk and be correct on all accounts. A band that cut it’s filthy/gorgeous teeth in the New York City nightlife, building their Scissorhood one devoted fan at a time. From The Cock all the way to London O2, this band’s flava has never gone out of style. This is Scissor Sisters. And this is what it feels like to be along for the ride.

One year ago, B.B. and I had our first gig out of town with Scissor Sisters, headlining Stubb’s Barbeque during SXSW. It was to a crowd of 2,000 or so, and it had been three years since Scissor Sisters had toured, so the fans were salivating. The electricity that pulsed from stage to audience, from instruments to ears was addictive, as Jakes Shears’ signature falsetto vocals sprayed over the crowd and high into the Austin night sky. Ana Matronic fiercely fired up the crowd with her wit and hysterically dry and commanding commentary, always solidifying her role as the ringleader, the soul-stirrer…your Mama Matronic. I knew I was a part of something very special that night, but could not have dreamed the magic that was ahead. This show marked the beginning of the most incredible year of my life.

 Over this past year, B.B. and I have traveled to the U.K. and Europe, Japan, Australia, South America, and across the U.S. and Canada, performing in some of the most incredible venues in the world, backing up Babbydaddy, Del Marquis, Ana Matronic, and Jakes Shears. We stood with them on the main stage at Glastonbury and rocked 80,000 people as the sun set over the English countryside. We rocked the Bataclan in Paris with them, where the temperature was 114 degrees F on stage, so hot that Jake had to strip down to his tiny thong, excepting the fact that his balls were leaking out for every French camera to capture. We took the stage at Fujirocks with them, in the pouring rain, which didn’t stop  the band or the Japanese fans from rocking hard and late into the night. We went from being two girls, strangers to each other and the band, with a dream of touring the world, to newly added backup singers, to being made to feel like one of the Scissor family…we became the Matronicons. And it has been our honor to back this band, see the world, call them our friends, and skin your cat.

 I want to thank all the fans out there who have embraced us Matronicons, who brought us into your world, friended us, tweeted about us, and made us feel right at home on stage with your Sisters. This is a band that will love you for life, through their music, their message, and their insatiable need to get your ass moving on the dance floor. Listen to Ana when she says, “it’s the music that connects us to you”. Scissor Sisters is the truth, and to be a part of something this real, this inventive and magnetic, is why I sing, why I play music, why I’ve been on this lifelong journey in the first place. And many times when I’ve felt a sense of weariness that the road, that a life in rock & roll will inevitably bring, I’ve thought about that line that rings out to me in Nightwork every time I hear it: “And when the whistle blows and your body can’t take it no more/You gotta keep on moving, remember: This is what you asked for!”

 They are Scissor Sisters….and so are you.

 Xo Chrissi

aka C.P.Matronicon 

(Source: chrissipoland)

It’s a gorgeous morning in Osaka, as we begin to roll out of town on the high speed train, bound for Tokyo. Mostly cloudy, with the occasional sunbeam slicing through, and mist hovering over the lush green hills in the distance. The tenement houses near the tracks balance out the natural beauty behind them, the dusty architecture of modernism sits next to structures and temples from ages long ago. There’s balance in all the imbalance, the imperfections. It’s wabi sabi at it’s best, the Japanese philosophy of “perfection in the imperfections in nature and life”.

If you ask a Japanese person to explain wabi sabi to you, more often than not you will be told that it cannot be done. There is no direct translation, no words to simplify or define it. Ultimately, it is something that is felt, understood, and lived. To live life with this philosophy would have to channel an extreme sense of contentment and presence. A lesson we Westerners can learn from this ancient culture.

The first show of the 2011 Scissor Sisters tour was a hard hitting two hours of dance-till-you-can’t-dance-no-more party, with a crowd of ferocious fans bearing gifts and accolades for their beloved band of alt-glam rock stars. Feathered head dresses, neon wigs and sparkled sunglasses, glow sticks and Scissor logo cutouts caught my eye as I panned the crowd throughout the set, these things that are a staple for any show. It was good to see them again, lighting up the sea of bobbing heads and waving hands. I looked beyond the crowd to my friends at the light and soundboard, performing just as hard as we are onstage, the silent members of the band who bring the show to life. I looked up into the rafters at the four local crew manning four spotlights, one for each member of the front line, I watched the faces in the front row light up as their favorite songs were played live right before them, felt their joy of the all-mighty rock and roll moment, when whatever problems or issues they may be facing in their own lives were temporarily quelled by the impossible excitement of music, of a show. The power of these things never fails. Seeing it ignite an audience never fails to lift me up, and I feel a little better when I walk off the stage then when I walked onto it.

We’re getting closer to Tokyo now, rushing through towns and business districts, fields and farms, cotton ball clouds strewn about the sky…a sky that stretches from this Far East landscape all the way to New York, where it is full of moon and stars, where my friends are gathering and playing music . And to Scituate, where my family is settled in for the night, where my sweet nephews are tucked peacefully in their beds, under their stick-on moons and planets, their glowstars and nightlights. And I feel totally connected, even though I sit here on the other side of the world. Far in miles, but not so far in heart.

Three more days in the land of wabi sabi, then back to New York to begin a cross country journey with the Sisters, bringing Scissorland into major arenas and small clubs, and looking for the heart in every city, every venue, every new face we see. Beyond the schedule and itinerary, I have no idea what lies ahead, and have no desire to speculate. I do know that I’d like to continue to try to stay “in” every moment, whether it’s glorious, or an absolute shitshow, for this time is going to go by faster than the landscape flying by us on this train. No way to slow it down, so best to be mindful and notice all that is around. It’s not perfect- it’s something far better than perfect could ever be. It’s wabi sabi.