Sixto, a new band from Chicago with local ties, is trying to make a name for itself. They just released a self-titled album on Milwaukee-based record label star star stereo and are playing at The Globe on Sat., Feb. 17. Singer Chris Fuller talked with us recently about music, the struggles of a new band, why it's fun to dress up in leopard print britches and more. Drummer Chris Manfrin, also a member of Seam, is another Milwaukee expatriate.
OnMilwaukee.com: Where does the band's name come from?
Chris Fuller: The band's name, as one might guess, was taken from Sixto Lezcano of 1970s Brewers fame. We're not one of those sports bands, though. I'd like to quiet all sectors of the intelligentsia in regard to that rumor. Sixto sounds more like the name of an angry robot than a baseball player, which is ultimately why we took it. It has an ancient/gothic gladiator aspect as well. I think there was more than one pope named "Sixtus." Exactly one-half of the band is Catholic. We're all from Milwaukee, originally. That makes it relevant for us too.
OMC: How would you describe your music?
CF: One guitar sounds like a bare cable shook vigorously while the other guitar sounds like buzz-saw recorded to voice mail. The drums sound like a really good drummer playing the drums and the bass is very round and deep like a giant's belch. There have been Joy Division comparisons but a lot of bands get that. Someone once told us that we were one part Psychedelic Furs and one part Aldo Nova. There's definitely an English post-punk vs. 1976 arena rock conflict happening.
OMC: You guys formed in 1997. Is being in a new band hard, in terms of getting gigs and getting the word out?
CF: Yes. It sounds funny but things ain't the way they used to be way back in the early '90s. There are so many bands now. What exacerbates the situation is the relative ease with which people can record and release media. So it's more affordable and much easier than ever to present yourself to the public, but the immeasurable challenge is getting anyone to pay attention. This is a classic dilemma spanning generations but I think that it's much harder now than in 1992. Really, the last thing the world needs is another rock band. No one does this for the greater good.
OMC: Is it difficult getting a sizable audience of fans and music lovers at your Milwaukee shows?
CF: Yes. For one thing, we haven't had an album out until just now. That makes things a little tough. Nobody knows who the hell you are and no one is too likely to pay any attention until you have an album out. I'm talking about writers, promoters and the like. It's kind of like a B.A. You wonder what it's really good for but it does get you through a few doors. Sometimes I think a lot of folks don't quite know what to do with us. We're not emo, we're not too "mathy." A lot of all-ages type crowds seem to gravitate toward that stuff. We're definitely not "post-rock" by any stretch of the imagination. We're pretty damned loud. We're too effete for the garage bunch. I see a lot of chin stroking in the audience when we play.
OMC: What do you think of the local music scene?
CF: As far as Milwaukee goes, I can't say. I've been away for five years and have no idea. On the north side of Chicago there's a hell of a lot of music going on. Everyone, it seems, plays in a band, several bands or is associated with music in some fashion. In social settings, you tend not to bring up the fact that you play because it's almost assumed. Either you play or you do web design. Or you play, do web design or engineer records. Often it's all three. You thought you were some sort of "arteest" in high school and no one understood you. Down here you're generic.
OMC: Who are your favorite bands and/or musicians.
CF: I really like that "Incredible Sound of Drum 'n' Bass" album that Goldie put out last year although it was almost universally panned by the electronic intelligentsia. I like Bjork a lot. I like Glenn Danzig too. Well, some Glenn Danzig. There is a punk band in Chicago called The Paperbacks. The whole band likes Bauhaus, Nick Cave and Godspeedyoublackemporer. I don't know if any of that has anything to do with Sixto though. I think we were quite under the influence of the first Killing Joke album and Colin Newman's "A to Z" when we first got together.
OMC: Do you dream about playing in front of 20,000 screaming people?
CF: 11,000 is about as high as I can go before shame overtakes me.
OMC: What do you want most out of your music career: money, fame, critical acclaim, longevity, girls or none of the above?
CF: These days it seems that young heterosexual men who play in bands would do well to conceal that fact from the fairer sex. It's nearly become a stigma. At least in these short-haired bohemian circles. Now women who play in bands: that's getting sexier by the minute. Honestly, I think the thing that people who play music want the most is for someone to like it. They want someone to enjoy it or feel something from it. If you build a dresser, you want to be able to put your clothes in it. If you make music, it's pretty natural to want people to listen. I think that's probably the main thing.
OMC: What is a live Sixto show like?
CF: It used to be very smoke-filled and shadowy. A few years ago we played on Halloween and made ourselves up like guests on that "Saturday Night Live" Goth talk show. We all work makeup. We had a girl in a tiara parade across the stage with placards displaying the song title. Extra smoke and strobe lights: it was like a circus. People threw lit cigarettes and bottles at me. It was fun. Afterward, we said that we should make it like that somehow every time we play. It seemed like a good idea but we never got it to work the same way again. The tongue in cheek presentation of ourselves that made a funny contrast with our fairly earnest music never felt quite right. I thought it was a nice idea though. Usually you see tongue in cheek theatrics in commerce with tongue in cheek music. Now we just play. You can only enforce so much atmosphere.
OMC: What do you find appealing about wearing leopard print britches and strutting around like a West World gigolo?
CF: They hug the hips.
Sixto plays this Sat., Feb. 17, at The Globe. Visit their website at www.sixtochicago.com. For more on star star stereo, visit their web site at www.starstarstereo.com.
