 |
The Brazilian Girls’ sound has been categorized as everything from down-tempo world music to dance, funk, and pop, but we think all these descriptions miss the mark entirely. In fact, we can condense the list down to one simple word—seductive. We find this fitting in many ways, especially since after interviewing singer Sabina Sciubba, we instantly fell in love and have decided to use our spare time to launch a Brazilian Girls Fan Club. In fact, we're in the process of printing stickers with the club's logo and are making T-shirts to sell in the hope of opening a fanquarters in the Brazilian Girls’ hometown of Brooklyn.
Think we're being dramatic? We challenge you to pop in some Brazilian Girls and read the interview below. Mark our words—you'll be on your knees begging us to allow you into our little club before you even reach the end. When this happens, as it most definitely will, we may say something along the lines of “Told you so.” Or, if we're in a particularly good mood, we may say, “If you send us your lunch money for the next two months so that we can continue selling our lovely ‘Sabina Sciubba Is a Goddess’ T-shirts, we may consider letting you in.”
* * * * * *
 We hear that Quoquim, your beloved French rat terrier, recently passed away. How are you holding up?
I still dream of her every week. I've had dogs all my life. I mean, I grew up with dogs, horses, donkeys, sheep, ducks, rabbits, and all kinds of animals. But this dog was definitely the one I was most attached with and who got most attached to me. … I hope I meet her again one day.
At PETA, we get calls every day from people whose neighbors or coworkers are leaving their dogs chained up in the back yard. What would you say to someone if you knew that they treated their dog like that?
I really think that a lot of people should not have dogs or animals. There are a lot of people who don't see an animal as a companion or as a soul, but as a free alarm system or bodyguard. Who knows—maybe these people treat their girlfriends or children the same way. There's a lot of misery on the planet. In fact, if music wasn't my passion, I think I would be trying to help lessen animal suffering because there's a lot of it.
That was actually one of my questions. I was wondering how you think musicians and people within the music industry can raise awareness for animals?
I don't know how much we can do, because it's not like we have this tremendous public exposure. You know, it's not like we’re Michael Jackson. … Well, maybe Michael Jackson isn't the greatest example, but it's not like we have this huge, massive amount of fans and if we say something, a million people are going to do it! It's more like, if we say something, five thousand people are going to say “Huh?” So, I think that if you are an artist that has a huge audience, you can definitely do something. If you are somebody who makes a lot of money, you can obviously do something. In our case, I think that all we can do is express ourselves openly, try to put a word in whenever we can, do a little action here and there, and donate.
That's good advice. Are there any other animal issues that are important to you? For instance, is there anything that you feel particularly passionate about?
I feel strongly about the systematic eradication of whales and animals that are rare—we really need a plan of action. And just generally speaking, if someone you know has a pit bull that they are locking up all day, you should talk to them. Or if your 5-year-old wants a cat, but nobody's going to be home the whole day for the whole year, you shouldn't get one! We shouldn't use animals. You should never treat an animal differently than how you treat yourself. For me, it's very particular, because I grew up with animals. People that didn't grow up with animals are perhaps a little afraid or just don't see that an animal is a living, feeling being. I don't really know what tip to give exactly other than to just use your heart.
I've read that you were born in Rome and raised in Nice and that you sing in German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English. Have you noticed any differences between the way animals are treated here in the U.S., as opposed to some of the other places that you've lived or traveled in?
Generally speaking, I think that in poor and southern countries, animals are usually not treated very well. In Italy and Spain and Mexico, from what I've seen—and I'm sure it happens in many other places that I haven't been to—animals are treated like shit. A lot of times, they are not owned by anyone. They're just street animals, and if they pick food up from outside a restaurant, the owner just comes out and bangs on them with a stick.
I know that in France, they treat animals like human beings. Animals are welcome. When I was in France with Quoquim, I could take her into any restaurant, and she would get a chair for herself. And I could take her to movie theaters. The French love dogs—they love animals, period. I'm sure there are exceptions, but from what I've seen, they treat animals very well. I think that in the U.S., because it's such a huge place, it varies. For instance, in much lower social layers, people are probably more likely to take out their frustrations on their dog. So I think it has a lot to do with that too. If a person is very comfortable and doing well and is well off, then they probably treat their animals quite well. It's the same with children—a lot of times, the animal or the child is the underdog, the lowest member of the food chain, and they get all the last words.
 We often talk about the link between animal abuse and domestic violence. If you knew about a situation like that or if you saw someone abusing a dog, what would you do?
It's really difficult to tell someone what to do. If it's their child or their dog or themselves, it's like going up to a junkie and telling them, “No. Stop doing heroin.” If I were to see or was aware of someone who has an animal and the animal was badly treated, like starved or beaten, I would call an organization like the ASPCA.
A lot of the kids who visit our Web site and are involved with peta2 are vegetarian and vegan. Since you live in New York, I was wondering whether you have any recommendations for places they could eat if they visit?
There are a lot of great Asian restaurants and a lot of great Japanese places all over the place. Specifically, there's one vegetarian place that I really like, it's right on the corner of Thompson and West Third. It's called Temple in the Village. It's a great little place, and it's kind of like a buffet. They cook the food fresh every day and it's all vegetarian, super-healthy, and tastes great. Plus, it's very quick and cheap. There's a little higher-end place called Zen Palate, which is right on the east side of Union Square. It's great food and extremely healthy, vegetarian, and very conscious. Other than that, there are loads of other places to go. I mean, Thai restaurants always have great vegetarian dishes.
* * * * *
Since Sabina has probably just made you exceptionally hungry, why don't you pick up a good vegetarian or vegan cookbook? We have a whole slew of cookbooks readily available for your viewing and salivating pleasure. Of course, you could also check out our “Roadmap to Lunch” video compilation, which features your favorite musicians giving their rundown of the best veggie eats throughout the country. If you choose the latter option, might we suggest eating a quick meal so as not to drool onto your keyboard? And remember, you can order peta2's free vegetarian starter kit, which includes great recipes, as well as tons of free stickers, a free copy of our High Fives & Stage Dives DVD, and
one of our “Question Authority” booklets, which is full of facts and tips that will make it easy to go vegetarian.
|
 |
