Interview with Morningwood lead singer Chantal Claret

With the highly anticipated release of their new album on the horizon, I couldn’t resist sending Morningwood an e-mail interview. I got the chance to ask Chantal Claret, with “vocals so hot they call them smokels”, about the remixes of the single “Best Of Me”, the music video for the same song, their use of social networking and more.

After a little more then 3 years, you guys are about to drop the follow-up to your self-titled debut album. With the release of Diamonds & Studs only days way, how stoked are you to get it out there?
Chantal: We are beyond excited. Nervous but mostly excited. It’s been a long time coming and we are so proud of this record.

Do you feel the album is overdue or came at just the right time and why?
Chantal: Definitely overdue, but at the same time everything happens for a reason. If it had happened earlier we wouldn’t be working with such great people and Pedro and I wouldn’t have gotten to the place we are at with one another. So as much as we would have liked it to come out 1, 2 or even 3 years ago we are ready now, and they say that the best things in life are worth waiting for.

Coinciding with the new album, you’ve released a video for your song “Best of Me”. There’s a lot going on in this video, where did the ideas for the contents of the video come from?
Chantal: The first idea I had for the video was getting in a huge fist fight with Pedro and then the whole band Battle Royale style backstage after a show, until everyone was dead. The powers that be suggested that we add a little more in there, I added an orgy and a dance sequence and there you have it!

You also have a couple remixes of “Best Of Me” posted on your MySpace. What’s the reason for doing remixes, and will these be available on Diamonds & Studs?
Chantal: We asked my husband, James Euringer (aka Jimmy Urine) from Mindless Self Indulgence to do one, as he does such great remixes. Being that I had the hookup of being married to him, he obviously agreed. Then our friend Kevin from Fake Shark Real Zombie asked if he could do one, so obviously we agreed. We love remixes of our stuff, it is great to hear what other people do with them. James’ remix is available online but is not on the record itself.

Are you planning any more videos as of yet? If so, when can we look forward to seeing their premiere?
Chantal: We have ideas for every song on the record and in a perfect world we would make videos for every single one of them. One thing at a time though, we just released this one.

I noticed you guys are members of a handful of social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, Say Now!, YouTube, Stickam etc.) How important is connecting with fans via social media to you guys?
Chantal: I have always been a very social person, and especially online. I love connecting with people I have never met. I think band wise it is now expected to be accessible. Some artists choose not to be, but it is totally in my nature already, so it would seem weird to me if I didn’t.

I, along with a few other people I know, are a little confused about your line-up, are there two band members or four? It seems to differ depending on which website you are on. (e.g. MySpace has 4 band member pics, MorningwoodRocks.com only talks about you and Pedro)
Chantal: [laughs] We have been confused for the past few years about whether or not we are a two or four member-band also! When we first started the band a bagillion years ago there were four of us. When we lost the original two members (to drug use and other cliche band stuff), we proceeded to have a rotating cast of people who played with us. Pedro and I have always been the core of the band, we are married to Morningwood. Everyone else we are just seriously dating. So as not to confuse anyone – even ourselves – we try to be a bit more cautious about promoting the other members until they are fully in the band as it takes time for that sort of thing. We are going steady with two awesome guys, Will and Jonathan right now, so hopefully next time around we can promote ourselves as a 4-piece.

Do you feel your band name, and its obvious implications, limits your potential success in any way?
Chantal: Oddly, it has never really been a problem, we have played on kids shows for cartoon network, and corporate shizzy. The only thing they ask is that we don’t curse.

The year is coming to a close and you have 2010 ahead of you. What can we expect to see from Morningwood in the coming year or so?
Chantal: Hopefully touring, touring, touring.

Anything you would like to add?
Chantal: I hope everyone buys our record and enjoys it as much as I do. Oh yeah and add me on twitter @chantalclaret Thanks!!  [ END ]