Meanwhile, Debbie pursued dance, drama and athletics over what few art programs were available in Florida. Her dissatisfaction with college led her to Tucson on New York's Eve 1997 to join W.O.M.B. She played her first gig with the girls at a coffee house two days later. "I didn't know half the songs and would just belt out choruses."
"We just gave her a bass and said we wanted to start something," recalls Cristiana.
Dan Huff
W.O.M.B.: An unbridled all-girl trio made up of musicians who are also visual artists.
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Scheduled to perform on Saturday, November 3, for a CD-release party/art showing. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the art reception, followed by a performance at 10 p.m.
Alwun House
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"We're like the female Police," says Debbie, citing the W.O.M.B. power-trio lineup which de-emphasizes lead guitar in favor of melodic harmonies. "There's hard rock but there's a humanistic side, political and social side, as opposed to Britney."
"We met Britney and she was cool," interjects Marta, who seems in a professional interview mode. The more Merlot she drinks, the more mindful she is of what she says. Nope, she won't dish the dirt with the rest of the girls. Maybe because W.O.M.B. can see a little of themselves in the teen queen, not so many years their junior.
Prior to Debbie's Tucson sojourn, the sisters took a backpacking trip through Europe. According to Marta, they wrote many of the early W.O.M.B. songs on a microcassette recorder. "We've got all these recordings of us walking through Prague, waking up on trains in the middle of the night singing "there is no science/I have decided." We're going to include those songs on our next CD, which is going to be recorded on toy instruments. We want to do a children's record next."
If the Warriors carry through with their plan, it will be the first children's release with a Parental Advisory sticker. The previous two self-pressed CDs contain lots of frank talk about sex that might scare little Jimmy and Jane off. But that's just semantics -- the word "head" isn't dirty unless you're giving it to someone. W.O.M.B. also sings orgasmically timed "uh uh uh uhs" like Donna Summers on a pogo stick for what many agree is the money song on the new Kinetic MusicCD, the controversial "Sex Will Sell."
Of course, sex sells -- you don't see our sexy triumvirate dressing up in bulky sea diver costumes for shows or for their self-published coffee-table book or their music and art Web site, www.warriorsofmakebelieve.com. But you need only to think back to '80s lady Pat Benatar, who issued a song titled "Sex As a Weapon" with a sexploitative video and a mixed message of "STOP using sex as a weapon," something she'd been doing since her spandexed ass first landed on MTV. Listeners felt sucker-punched, as if Nicole Sheridan stopped gyrating in the middle of a porn video to chastise you for exploiting women. Benatar never had another hit, sexy or otherwise.
"Sex Will Sell" has already given W.O.M.B. some ideological problems. Recently, they played at a body glow show at the old Grand Slam in Miami and Marta admits, "We did play 'Sex Will Sell' and they were using that song to literally sell their product. So there was a clash of interests there."
Less controversial and even more catchy is "Blood $," which clearly states the consistency of thick blood over flimsy paper currency. Even if its anti-establishment rant is a wee-bit vague ("I never sold my friends out and I never will/I know the system will make you doubt what you're afraid to feel") the catchy "bloody bloody bloody bloody" climax of the song will stick to your brain like audio super-adhesive, like nothing you've heard on radio since, well, the last time you thought radio played anything good.
"There are a few songs that definitely have a chance. 'Sex Will Sell' has a radio vibe," remarks producer Cole. "When I first hooked up with W.O.M.B., they were pretty green, but I knew there was the potential because they have a huge body of work. They write tons of tunes. If a band's got a big well to draw from, chances are they're gonna have a hit there somewhere."
To celebrate the release of its new CD, W.O.M.B. is hosting a combination performance and visual art installation at Alwun House in Phoenix on Saturday, November 3, the first time the group has combined its paintings and stage show at one installation on such a grand scale.
"Because all three of us are painters, and we essentially paint with sound in the studio, it's hard to know when something's finished," says Cristiana. "One of the great things about having a producer is that he can come to a song with fresh ears and say, 'Why did you re-record this? Wow, this is great. No more. Stop!'"
