The Moaning Myrtles are one of many Wizard Rock bands that sing songs about…what else?…Harry Potter and his world! This band however, being named what it is, sings songs in the point of view of Hogwart’s most miserable ghost, Moaning Myrtle.
1. Can you please state your name(s) and what you do in The Moaning Myrtles?
Lauren Fairweather – I sing, write mostly lyrics, play bass, run the websites, book shows, record our music.
Nina Jankowicz– I sing, play piano and guitar, write the songs, chip in on the lyrics, and am generally insane.
2. When you do this kind of thing, do you take yourself seriously as a rock band, or is it something you do because its funny and/or fun?
Lauren: We’re definitely doing this because it’s a blast and we started it because we thought it would be funny, but we also take ourselves seriously. You kind of have to be serious about something if you spend every day working on it.
3. There are so many Wizard Wrock bands and it’s always interesting to see what name they come up with. Why did you all go with The Moaning Myrtles? Out of all the other bands, what name is your favorite?
Lauren: We didn’t want to pick a character who would be too important or even a central character in the books. Myrtle gives us an opportunity to be creative and humorous since she’s not your typical character, being dead and all. She’s also a challenge to write about because she doesn’t appear often in the books and we enjoy that. I don’t know if I have a favorite name though… there are so many.
4. Can you tell us what it’s like to play live shows for a band such as this? What other Wizard Wrock bands have you played shows with?
Lauren: Live shows are my favorite part of being in this band, even when I’m not actually performing. Wizard rock shows are full of Harry Potter fans, dressed up, and because of that connection, it’s really easy to start conversations and everyone seems to make friends with the people near them in the audience. There are also a lot of hugs involved. We have played with The Remus Lupins, The Whomping Willows, Draco and the Malfoys, The Hungarian Horntails, The Parselmouths, The Marauders, DJ Luna Lovegood, The Cedric Diggorys, Order of Merlin, A Lightning Bolt Scar, Snidget, and there are probably a few more I’m forgetting. I apologize.
Nina: Performing is also my favorite part. Even though we get friend requests and comments on myspace and our website, its great to unite people and really see how much they enjoy our music and the fandom in a live atmosphere.
5. Your name is The Moaning Myrtles and in turn, you sing songs about her, but what character is actually your favorite? If you could really focus on another character for songs, who would it be and why?
Lauren: My favorite is Luna, but I would love to sing from the Weasley twins’ point of view if given the chance.
Nina: I love Professor McGonnagal. I’m not sure she’d make a good band character though.
6. If you had to pick another book or series to write songs about, what would you choose?
Lauren: Can I pick a TV series? I’m pretty obsessed with Friends. I can already play most of Phoebe’s songs.
Nina: I always thought it would be fun to write satirical, politically-oriented songs… and I read a lot of political non-fiction.
7. Besides Harry Potter, what other books are you all a fan of?
Lauren: I’ve loved Louis Sachar’s “Holes” since I was younger. I also really like “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Sirens of Titan”.
Nina: I love anything by Tom Robbins (especially “Still Life With Woodpecker” and “Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates”), “The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and most Kurt Vonnegut.
8. How many albums do you currently have? Where can people buy it?
Lauren: We have two out right now. We only have a few copies left of the first one and those will be for sale at our shows this week. Our new one, Toilet Humor, is available at our live shows and on our MySpace through PayPal.
9.Out of your songs, what is your favorite? Which one do most of the fans seem to really like?
Lauren: My favorite is “Flushed” and our fans love “Prefects Are Hot”.
Nina: My favorites are “Don’t Throw That Book At Me” and “He Didn’t Do It.” The fans definitely like “Prefects,” but lately there has been a strong following for “The Boy Who Lived,” which our friend Mike Stein wrote for us.
10.I really like the idea of the cover for Toilet Humor, making you both transparent. Whose idea was that? What do some of the notes on the stall door say? Who came up with those?
Lauren: Dani from The Potter Journal is completely responsible for our amazing album artwork. She came up with the idea and put it together for us once I sent her the photo. The stuff written on the stall was thought up by us, Dani, and a handful of our fans who submitted ideas. They’re mostly inside jokes in the Potter fandom.
11.Now that the last book is finally out, what did you think of it? What did you guess right and what did you get wrong? (SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE LAST BOOK)
Lauren: I liked it overall, but like everyone, I had a few issues with it. I guessed right about Snape and Lily, which I’m pretty proud of. Everyone seemed to think he was good, but that was a pretty awesome reason for him to be, I thought.
Nina: I didn’t theorize, really, but I did enjoy the book.
By: Lauren, Ashley, and Keaton
www.myspace.com/themoaningmyrtles
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