Until recently, it seemed like Peaches was never going to let Merrill out of her metaphorical pit. The hyper-sexualized caricature that Merrill Nisker parades on stage and in interviews didn’t show up to a telephone conversation we had with her from Los Angeles. Instead, the Peaches we spoke with was articulate, socially engaged, and downright sweet at times.
Chalk it up to personal growth or having just woken up, but Peaches spoke enthusiastically about her new album, Impeach my Bush, her band, and even stem cell research. Essentially we get to see less of the omni-sexual creature that clawed out of Merrill Nisker’s subconscious and more of the person behind the fuzzy bush.

ES: How’s L.A?

Peaches: It’s another warm and sunny day. My days are long. I’m rehearsing my band right now so the only time to do interviews for me is the morning. So, you’re my alarm clock. Thanks, you know, for doing the whole interview-alarm service.

ES: Glad to be of service. We’ve all woken up in crappy motel rooms.

Peaches: I once stayed in a hotel where I felt around with my foot and I was like, “[mlahhhhh]…something’s in the bed!” and it was someone’s used sock.

ES: Frightening. So with your new band you also have a new album coming out. What can we expect from Impeach My bush?

Peaches: You’re in for a surprise! I really stepped up the production. I worked with a co-producer, Mickey Petralia, who produced my friends Electrocute and I liked the way it sounded. He’s just a cool guy and I thought I could learn a lot about production from him, which I did. He’s someone who can get your own vision out there, not take over and say, “I’m a real producer. This is what you need.”

ES: I’m sure everyone’s curious to hear this album without the Roland MC505.

Peaches: I kind of made it my thing on my last two albums and that’s how I learned about production and recording. So, it was time to break out of the box. But we’ve replaced those sounds with original Moogs and the drum machines were replaced with original 808 sounds.

ES: A friend of mine once told me he thought Fatherfucker was…

Peaches: Did it scare him?

ES: No, he called it ‘tame’ of all things. Perhaps it’s because he’s into really dirty bands like Punk Bunny.

Peaches: Punk Bunny’s awesome. Everybody’s got their own opinion. Yeah, whatever. May be he thinks it’s tame. Punk Bunny talks about golden showers and stuff. I can pride myself on being inspiration for all those bands. [scathingly sarcastic] So… Mr. Tame… Those bands wouldn’t exist without me. Felch out my ass, buddy!

ES: Speaking about inspiration, you were lumped into the ‘electroclash’ group a while ago. Since it fizzled out in North America, where do you see dance music going?

Peaches: I just think it’s stupid that they were trying to hype something that was growing organically and has been in Europe all the time. Just let it grow. Dance music’s going in every direction as everything else. There’s the cheesiest, grossest Ibiza-crap and that will always get people to dance in the same way that cheesy pop music will always be there. I’m just happy because when I I can pride myself on being inspiration for all those bands. Those bands wouldn't exist without me. first started there wasn’t something like ‘electroclash.’ There was house music. I wasn’t a big fan of it. I thought it was really over-produced, but I liked some of the sounds. So I’m glad that this has become a genre. I’m glad that people find me tame, because that means there’s more out there. I’m not offended by that ‘tame.’ It’s cool. I want to be seen as mainstream because if I’m mainstream, that’s great! We’ve moved forward.

ES: One last serious question - Other artists with stage personas similar to yours, like the Chicago artist named Misty Martinez dropped the persona because I read that it was difficult for her to maintain a dual identity.

Peaches: I don’t think mine’s a multiple personality. I just always called it an extension of myself. Maybe that’s the problem. May be it wasn’t really part of her. So, DON’T DO IT. Because you have to make sure that you find what it is inside you that you want to bring out. It’s gotta be a part of you from the beginning.

ES: Thank you for talking with us, Peaches.

Peaches: No problem. Keep listening to Punk Bunny!

ES: So, ‘Jim’ writes in and says he might join a three-way. What advice do you have for him?

Peaches: You should play off each person. Just tease each one so that they want you more. Give attention to one and then go to the other. It’s really important to have a lot of teasing because there’re three of you. It’s kind of like a voyeur that knows they’re gonna get to join in, so you can really play off that and that’ll heighten things.

ES: ‘Lisa’ writes in and says that her man is upset that she’s hanging out with her ex boyfriend again. How can she reassure him that he’s the man for her.

Peaches: Get away from that fuckin’ ex-boyfriend! That sucks. I hate that shit. It’s drama. Yeah you can be friends with them, but if [the boyfriend] starts getting jealous, you have to respect…I dunno…it’s tricky… you gotta give it time.

ES: Good advice. I’m sure the readers appreciate it.

Peaches at the Brixton Academy
in London in 2004

ES: On a more personal note, your brother-in-law has started a project called Walk a Mile in My Shoes. Do you want to describe that, what it’s about, and how people can get involved?

Peaches: Yeah, my sister lives in New York with Multiple Sclerosis. She’s had it for almost 15 odd years. It just keeps getting worse. There’s no cure for this disease. There is evidence that stem cell research can find a cure for that and other diseases. But Bush won’t touch that because stem cell research uses aborted fetuses for research. Now, that sounds really harsh, but they are aborted fetuses that are thrown out. 8000 of them are thrown out a year. Bush is against it because he thinks it’s unethical to a) have an aborted fetus and b) use it for research. I say it’s unethical not to use it for research. And so my brother-in-law has started this program called Walk a Mile In My Shoes. He’s set up a place where you can send an old pair of shoes and a letter to Bush saying why we should implement this research. You can find that address at www.peachesrocks.com

ES: It is good news that neither Bush nor Cheney are not running in the 2008 election.

Peaches: WOOHOOOOOOOOO! You know, I was watching Conan O’Brien last night. And he said that more people voted for American Idol then ever voted for any election …which means they should start singing!

ES: And there’s now that new reality show where all the contestants live in a house. It’s ‘new and improved’ American Idol!

Peaches: Oh really? The Democratic and Republican parties need to make a reality show together. That could be the next election – a reality tv show. CNN’s first reality tv show.