POWDER’s Live Show Unlike Any Other

By Ken Payne and Kimberly Katz
feedback@buzznews.net

Last summer a friend of mine told me about the band Powder. He had seen them at the 2005 Market Days on Halsted, without knowing who they were, and was, to say the least, blown away beyond belief. “Dude, you’ve got to see this band. I’ve never seen anything like them before,” he told me. He went on to tell me that he’d never seen a band with such energy. They weren’t just a band, he explained, they were a show; a spectacle that included aerial stunts, dancers, hoops, gymnastics, fem-bots and incredible costume changes. My friend continued, “I felt guilty seeing this show for free. I can’t even describe it – you’d have to see them for yourself” He was so convicted in telling me about L.A. based Powder that I checked out their website (www.powdermusic.com) to see what this band was all about. Hmmm, ok, cool-looking band with a hot female singer…so far, so good. I then listened to their track “Adore Me”. Very catchy, I thought – good hooks – fun song. But it wasn’t until I checked out some of their live footage that I realized that I was on to something special. I was hooked – immediately.

One year later I finally got to see Powder live for myself at the 2006 Market Days Festival and…they were even better than I imagined they would be. Lead singer Ninette was full of charisma and led her team of aerialists and dancers into one entertaining routine after another while guitarist Phil X and the band pummeled away with heavy grooves and aggressive moves of their own. There was never a dull moment. In fact, they not only lived up to my friend’s hype, they surpassed it. It was no wonder they received awards for “Best Pop Rock Band” and “Best Live Performance” in Los Angeles during their first year as a band in 2001.

As portrayed in their video “Up Here”, Ninette really does appear to be a superhero on stage. Her stage presence is commanding, but fun and flirty, and her vocals are dreamy but strong (you may have heard Ninette’s voice when she did live tracks in “Josie and the Pussycats”). Wild man Phil X, formerly Tommy Lee’s guitarist in Methods of Mayhem, is also a force to be reckoned with while performing from his piercing solos to his energetic non-stop antics. No question; Powder has ALL the ingredients and more to be considered as the best live act…period. I can only tell you what my friend told me; “You’ve got to see this band for yourself.” And guess what? You can! September 16th at the Guiness Oyster Festival. I’m sure redundancy makes a phrase like “A show you don’t want to miss” a bit diluted, but really…this is a show you don’t want to miss. Powder is not just another concert, they are an experience. For more information on Powder go to www.powdermusic.com.

After their incredible show at Market Days last month, we got the chance to speak with Ninette and Phil X and discovered a little more about the machine that is Powder.


Phil X – God, I busted another guitar tonight!

Buzz – I saw that…Ouch.

Phil X – I just do that. I lose control…(shakes head and laughs)…Ready.

Buzz – Let me start by saying that you guys are absolutely insane. I look at the crowd when you’re on stage and half of them are rocking out and the other half are standing there with dropped jaws…What do you try to convey to the audience?

Ninette – Just fun. You know, a good time, great show. I just want to keep the show moving with lots of energy and I don’t want them to be bored because so many bands, they just play, and for me that’s not what it’s about.

Buzz – There’s a satirical element in your performance.

Ninette – Yes, a lot of making fun of myself.

Buzz – Do you do that on purpose?

Ninette – Yeah, I don’t want to be taken seriously. I want the performance to be taken seriously, but the whole rock n’ roll thing, it’s for fun.

Phil X – Well, I think what really happened was that in the beginning woman would see Ninette come on stage and at first would be intimidated but as soon as she started making fun of herself, doing her whole thing, they just went, “Oh man, she’s like the coolest chick ever!” We just found it really empowering and it makes you feel like you could just do anything. I think that’s very important when you’re in a band and you have something to say. That’s what you have to say right there. We’re just up there having fun and fun is contagious, you know – it’s cool.

Buzz - How did you guys hook up in the first place?

Ninette – We started working together in Canada. We’re from Toronto, Canada originally. So we moved to L.A. nine years ago where we did a lot of studio work until we decided to put something together and then…boom!

Buzz – Is this your first project together?

Ninette – Yes, yes.

Buzz – And this began in 2001?

Ninette – Yes, I think so. I don’t even remember.

Buzz – Powder received awards in L.A. for best new pop/rock band and best live show in 2001. That was pretty quick…

Ninette – Yeah, very quick.

Phil X – I think it was one of those things where we talked to a bunch of bands in L.A. and, there are so many bands in L.A. – millions of bands in L.A. – like 40,000 bands play every month because there are so many venues and it’s that kind of city. Anyway, we were the same band that if we were to play a club and there were 28 people there, the next time there would be 100 people there and the next time there would be 200 people there. Then eventually, not everyone could get in because the line was down the street and we had to move to another club. And, I’ve never seen that happen so fast. Usually, it might be that 28 people show up the first time then 32, then 36…right?

Buzz – Was your show as visual when you first started?

Ninette – It was always very visual, all theatrics such as the aerial, and we used to do the poles, we didn’t use them tonight because we couldn’t get them here, but we do poles. We used to do jump rope and fire and all that but now, because of the fire thing – can’t do that anymore, but it’s all always been an element of the show.

Buzz – How do you rehearse all the stunts and acrobatics?

Ninette – I have a rig – a twenty-foot rig that me and the girls work on.

Buzz – That’s definitely a different kind of band rehearsal.

Ninette – Yeah. Again I don’t think that you could put POWDER in the same league as the other bands in L.A. It’s more of a show band. It’s theatrical rock.

Phil X – I think we changed something in L.A. I mean, people really look up to us and all the bands in L.A. want to open for us or close for us. And, I mean, our show was refreshing for people who go see bands - it was refreshing to them. So they told two friends, and they told two friends…and that’s how it built up. It used to be that when I walked into a club to play I knew everyone in line, but then it was like I didn’t know anyone in the line at all – it was all new people, and that’s how it built and built. It was amazing for us. And it was totally the show because I don’t think that anyone else is doing what we do.

Buzz – Like tonight for example. Here we are at a big outdoor fest in Chicago and, I was watching while you guys were onstage, people passing by would stop in their tracks and were like, “What the?” Or, “Holy shit!” And they just became part of a massively growing crowd.

Phil X – Yeah! And we aim to do that! (Laughs)

Ninette – When you’re up in the air and you’re doing crazy things of course people are going to stop.

Buzz – Your fans in Chicago are eating you up. How is your fan response in L.A.?

Ninette – Our fans are amazing in L.A.

Phil X – We have the best fans in L.A.

Ninette – I’m always changing the show. I think that may be why, too. They always want to see what I’m going to do.

Phil X – Oh yeah, we see it on our website – “What’s Ninette going to wear at the next show?” – “What do you think Ninette’s going to do at the next show?”

Ninette – I never do the same show twice.

Buzz – Is it expensive to put on one of your shows?

Phil X – We’re not gonna lie about that! It’s very expensive.

Ninette – Yeah, that’s why we don’t pay to play. You either pay or you don’t get the Powder. I don’t fuck around. I can’t. I work too hard on the show.

Phil X – We hooked up with a really great promoter in L.A. and he knows the Powder deal. He calls us up and says let’s do a show and he knows what we need in advance, and he knows what we need to balance...And as soon as he says we have a Powder show, every band in L.A. calls and says they want to open up for us. And if the opening spot is filled he’ll tell them, “I’ll tell you right now you don’t want to close for them”. But they’ll say, “No, we’ll close for them.” But as soon as we’re done in any club, the place clears out. And the band playing after us is playing to, like, twelve people – and that’s their girlfriends.

Buzz – Your aerial feats are incredible but they look dangerous. Do you sit around each night and think of ways to try and kill yourself on stage?

Ninette – No, no. I just get bored. So I’m always telling the girls we’ll do this, we’ll do that. Now we’re going to invent this apparatus, now we’re going to do this or try this. I’m always ready to go.

Phil X – Let me just interject. You guys just saw the show and everything that Ninette does, right? In the van ride on the way to the airport tomorrow morning, Ninette’s going to go, “I’m bored with the show. Let’s do something else.”

Buzz – How do you rehearse as a whole? Band and theatrics?

Phil X – We rehearse the band and they [Ninette and performers] rehearse to the CD for a few rehearsals, and right before the show we’ll get together and do it all at once.

Buzz – How often do you rehearse?

Ninette – When we have shows it’s all rehearsal.

Phil X – Yeah, we really buckle down. But they can’t really ever take time off. Even when we don’t have any shows they’re rehearsing about four times a week because they have to keep their stamina and muscle at a top level.

Buzz – How long have the performing girls and guy been with Powder?

Ninette – Buffy, who is my aerial partner, she’s been with me for two years. And Catch, she’s new, she’s from “O” - she’s been a synchronized swimmer in “O”. And Sebastian is an aerialist – he did hoop in “O”. So they’re top-notch people.

Phil X – This is what we did. We knew so many aerialists in L.A. but when we found Sebastian, it was like, “He’s the guy.” And there was one show that he couldn’t do and we got someone else and people were like, “Oh really - hire me, hire me, hire me”, but we have our troop. We’re really excited. It’s like the band. We have people that call us up and say, “Hey, if you ever need a drummer…” or, “Hey, if you ever need a bassist”, but now it’s like, “Hey, if you ever need an aerialist”. But we have it covered. We think that we have the best group that we’ve ever had right now.

Buzz – Have you ever had any mishaps while doing stunts or theatrics?

Ninette – No, you just know what you’re doing.

Buzz – Really? No equipment failure or stuff like that?

Phil X – We have more equipment failure with the band. Like kick drum pedals breaking, amps going down and breaking guitars – stuff like that happens. But when it comes to comes to aerial, we take it super seriously and we don’t fuck around. We’re very, very on the ball at all times.

Buzz – Yeah, because you don’t even have nets or anything beneath you.

Phil X – We have no room for error. We never have a mishap because we’re really super careful. Like I’ll hit a bad chord or a cymbal will fall over, but as far as the aerial goes – nothing wrong has ever happened and never will. We’re overly meticulous when it comes to putting that stuff together.

Buzz – Who came up with the whole superhero theme for the “Up Here” video?

Ninette – That was Stuart Acher, the guy who produced and directed that video. That was his idea.

Buzz – Ah…I was going to ask who the comic book buff in the band was.

Phil X – Well I’m a comic buff but when it came down to the show, we have a song called “Sonic Machine”, and Ninette started becoming a superhero in that song, and it morphed into Ninette being a superhero through the whole set, and Stuart just got it. He saw the band once and said, “Oh my God – I have to shoot a video and it’s about superheroes – and it’s about bad guys, and you guys win.”

Ninette – We met Stuart when we were doing the Playboy channel’s “Night Calls – Rock Party” and he was in the audience and he said, “I’d like to do a music video with you”, and we were like, “Ok, whatever”…and then boom!

Buzz – Have you played outside the U.S.?

Ninette – Yeah, in the U.K.

Buzz – How did you go over?

Ninette – The press hated us but the fans loved us. The fans were awesome, but the press was like, “Who do these guys think they are coming out here from L.A. Wa, wa, wa… ”

Buzz – As far as your plans now, are you guys doing a follow up album?

Ninette – I don’t know we’ll have to see. For me I want to get a home, either in Vegas or somewhere, do a three-month contract, be set up, do two shows a day. That’s what this show’s about. I just want to find a home for a little while because I don’t think we’re about the clubs. It’s about either the festivals, the fans or having our own theatre – our own home where everything is set up.

Buzz – More of a production or theme show?

Ninette – Yeah. Yeah, and all this stuff is without a budget. Can you imagine if mama had a budget? Like, “Hello!?” I’d do some serious, fucking, crazy things.

Buzz (to Ninette) - Do you have a theatre background?

Ninette - Yeah, more fitness and a lot of dance.

Phil X – And I just have a guitar background…(Laughs)

Buzz – You two have such great chemistry onstage and I can’t help but think it carries off the stage as well. Are you buddies or something?

Ninette – We’re married, honey. (Laughs)

Buzz – Oh…I feel stupid – should’ve researched a bit more.

Phil X – You know what? We’ve been keeping it on the down-low for years, but lately it’s just, who cares?

Ninette – We’ve been married for 12 years.

Buzz – Ok, then you have a lot of decision making, band and otherwise. Does it ever wear you guys out like, “I don’t like that” or “I don’t think that’s a good idea”?

Phil X – No, because it all comes down to this…

Buzz – She’s the boss?

Phil X – She wins – every time. (Laughs)

Ninette – Well, I produce the show. I mean, I am directing the show, so…

Buzz – And the songwriting?

Ninette – We do all the songwriting together.

Buzz – How do you do it? You get the band together and start jamming ideas?

Phil X – People always think the guitar player wrote the music and the singer wrote the lyrics, but we write everything together. She’ll come up with a guitar riff; I’ll come up with a lyric, or vice-versa. We work really great together. Ninette might write a song and I’ll come up with a bridge, or vice-versa again. It’s like this great chemistry that we have together. If I bring something in and it’s a little far from the Powder realm, she’ll suck it into the Powder realm. She knows exactly what it takes.

Buzz – You both have incredible voices, too.

Phil X – Whoa! I just do “Black in Black”. It’s a screamer, baby!

Buzz (to Phil X) – Do you ever throw out a dud for a tune and get the thumbs down?

Phil X – I get vetoed a lot. I’m very guitar riff oriented and she might think something I throw her way is dated or something. It happens.

Buzz – Did you guys meet while working together?

Ninette – We were in another band, Phil was playing guitar, I was doing backgrounds and percussion, in Canada. It was during our last west coast tour. So we were on that tour together and we started writing…

Phil X – The amazing thing was that while that band was falling apart, Ninette and I were in the back lounge writing songs. We wrote like twenty songs on that tour.

Buzz – What was the name of that band?

Phil X – I’m not saying. Ok, the band was called Frozen Ghost and we were hired musicians for that band. That’s where we met. And they had this thing where they were getting kicked off their label and their tour wasn’t going very well, and we quit the tour. They were like, “we’re doing an eastern tour of Canada”, and we’re like, “Well, we’re not”. Then we just got musicians together and it took us a really long time. To come to L.A. was the pinnacle of our entire growth because we thought, let’s go to L.A., find some hot musicians…

Ninette - …and we’ll get our asses kicked. We’ll have no money; we’re not legal…(laughs)

Buzz – Not legal?

Ninette – No, not then. Are you kidding?

Phil X – We had really under the table weird jobs.

Ninette – But that’s where everything is. That’s where all the offices for all the labels are, where all the heavies are.

Phil X – I think what really became a strong step in our escalator was…well, when we were trying to please the labels and the industry, that’s when we kept getting shut down. And when we started saying, “Fuck the labels, fuck the industry – it’s all about the fans”, things changed. Because it’s all about the fans. The fans keep coming back. I go out front at a club, at the beginning of a show, and shake everybody’s hand and say, “Hey, what’s happening – it’s all about you”, then people started to come to us, labels approached us, promoters starting coming to us, everybody started coming to us just like that, because we didn’t give a shit about the industry. And I think that was a turning point for us and it opened our eyes. When you’re making music and you love making music, that’s the important thing.

Buzz – The fans recognize that.

Phil X – Exactly. We have a fan that is eighteen years old who lost her arm in a car accident. And another fan, who was her friend, contacted me and told me that this girl who I met at our last show was in a really terrible car accident and lost her arm, “If you could call her, this is her phone number.”

Phil X – So I called her up and I go, “This is Phil X from Powder,” and she said, “No it’s not – this is a terrible joke.” I said, “I swear…this is Phil X from Powder,” and she screamed, “Oh my God!” and started freaking out. I mean, I felt like Shaun Cassidy or something.

~(Laughs all around at the cheesy Cassidy reference)

Phil X – And then she told me, “The Powder CD I bought at the last show helped me get through this whole experience.” That’s what makes you go,” Fuck the industry, it’s all about this!” It’s all about doing it for the fans - keeping an immediate, intimate rapport with these people. It meant a lot to me to hear that and it actually hit me in the head like a brick – my God, we changed this girl’s life. And we kept a rapport. She’d tell me that she’s getting sized for a prosthetic limb and other stuff, and I’d tell her what we’re doing and that we have a show coming up. Then she’d ask if she could be on the guest list and I’m like, “Honey, you’re on the guest list for life.” It’s that kind of thing that keeps going.

Buzz – That’s where you get fulfillment.

Phil X – Fulfillment! That’s it, baby! That’s the word right there.

Buzz – Fans, fulfillment and the intimacy of being on stage…

Ninette – Yeah, for me it’s all about the stage, stage, stage. I’m not a fan of the studio.

Buzz – You are also known for shocking costumes and wild stage wear. How much work do you put into that?

Ninette – I do all the sewing. I fucking hate it. I do all the sewing.

Buzz – Like all the gloves and other surprises stitched onto your costumes…

Ninette – It’s fucking stupid. When I get a budget I’m hiring a seamstress. But I hate it. I do all the girls stuff and everything.

Phil X – She made my pants!

Ninette – Yeah, and you need new ones.

Buzz – And you, Phil, a lot of talk throughout the crowd on your Alley T-shirt.

Phil X – Well let me tell you how that happened. We played this festival two years ago and the next day a friend of ours took us on a city tour and we went into The Alley, and the guy behind the counter goes, “I saw you last night – you kick ass – everybody gets a shirt!” So I had to wear it tonight.

Buzz – How often do you come to Chicago?

Ninette – Well, were coming back for Oyster Fest September 16th and well probably be back next years for Market Days.

Buzz – And if you get the Vegas thing rolling?

Ninette – That would probably be later this year or early next year. It’ll be a short-term thing but if all goes well, we’ll go to a bigger place.

Phil X – I talked to a fan earlier tonight that saw us last night at Hollbrook Fest and he said he heard we were getting a gig in Vegas. I told him it looks like it could happen and he turned to his girl and said, “Honey, looks like we’re going to Vegas!”

Ninette – I think that’s where the show needs to be now. To do the clubs in L.A., it’s fabulous and all, but…

Phil X – Yeah, and it’s hard to take something like we do on the road because promoters don’t want to dish out money for a new band that’s coming to a new town because they’re taking a chance. If they sell 200 tickets because nobody’s ever heard of the band then they lose their shirt.

Ninette – But events like this, like the first year we did this, Market Days, we opened up for Flock of Seagulls, but the next year, Powder, Powder, Powder. And the next year, Powder, Powder, Powder. It just takes one time to go through all these festivals.

Phil X –We could open for a band in every city that we go to, but, mind you, not a lot of bands like to follow us. (Laughs)

Ninette – Yeah, the year before we opened up for Cake and they hated us.

Phil X – They hated us. They were like, “We’ve got to follow that?”

Ninette – Also, we have height requirements. It would have to be theatres or a big club with high ceilings.

Buzz – How about when it comes to myspace. Do you personally respond to your fans?

Phil X – Yeah.

Ninette – We do. We do and some close friends. We all work together and do all that stuff.

Phil X – Especially if something comes up and our guy’s checking in and he goes, “Hey, you really need to check this out.” But yeah, we totally, personally respond to people.

Buzz – What do you guys do in your free time? How do you chill? Watching TV?

Ninette – Sometimes. We like Entourage. We used to like Sex and the City but it’s gone.

Phil X – But you know what? We’re always doing stuff. Ninette’s always training, I’m always in the studio working on loops and stuff, we finally get together and we’re…

Ninette – We’re like this…(Ninette simulates being wiped out and crashing)

Phil X – Actually, we like having dinner with friends.

Buzz – Dinner with friends. Cool and relaxing…

Phil X – Well, you know what? We hate going to clubs unless we’re playing. It’s seems so done. It’s like you want to go out but you don’t want to be in a loud place, so I’d rather go to a movie, have dinner with friends or bowl. Those three things – or watch Entourage. Man, that’s gonna make us sound so home-y.

Buzz – Any plans for kids?

Ninette – Maybe next year we’ll try.

Buzz – Do you think having a baby would slow you down?

Ninette – I’m gonna go until I fucking can’t.

Phil X – She’s just gonna push it out. (Laughs)

Ninette – I think what I’m going to do is, I’m going to climb ‘til I can and then I’m going to work on my own record while I can’t do anything, because if I’m not creative I will kill myself.

Buzz – A solo venture?

Ninette – Yeah, just something – I’m working on something a little weird – just something very bizarre.

Buzz – As a married couple and being sex symbols, you obviously have to deal with people checking both of you out. Does that ever bother you or go too far?

Ninette – Guys don’t really approach me. Men don’t approach – women approach, but men don’t really approach me.

Phil X – Women approach me and they’re like, “Hey I love you, man – I just want to be with you.” It actually makes me horny for my woman, and I’m like, “I can’t wait to go home with my girl!”

Ninette – This is our life. This is what we do for a living. You know what I mean? It’s part of the business. We’re just concerned with the creativity.

Buzz – Lastly – how does Powder compare to other bands in L.A.?

Ninette – They [promoters] know not to put us in the same league as other bands. They know we’re different – a different entity.

Phil X – We’re not just a band. We’re not just a band who gets up there and looks at our shoes. This so much of a visual aspect to us…we’re different.