Suicide Girls have been an online phenomenon, a website featuring alt versions of pinup girls, a little edgier, maybe a little meaner, with nose rings and tattoos replacing an older generation's high heels and garters. Now, the electronic has been made flesh, as six of the site's models come to Mandalay Bay for a punk take on burlesque. We talked with Siren, the troupe's manager. That odd noise you hear is us pretending we have a pierced tongue to impress her. It didn't work.
Why burlesque and why now?
It's just something I've always loved doing. I was always interested in it as a young girl, so I started doing it three years ago, right after I joined Suicide Girls. I just liked doing it because it was creative and artistic and I could express myself or tell a story if I wanted to at the same time, which was something I had a passion for. For me, it was a mix of theater and dance, which is what I had been doing since I was young, and I finally found a way to share it with an audience.
Did you study dance and theater in college or privately or anything like that?
I studied voice privately. I studied theater throughout my entire grade- school through high-school years, and I studied dance in high school and in college.
So you know what you're doing.
Sometimes. [laughs]
Do you think there's something about the times we live in right now that makes burlesque particularly timely or appealing?
After so long of everything being about shocking the audience and pushing the limits, I think that people find it refreshing to see something that's kind of from back in the olden days, and something's that not trying to shock you and go over the limits. It's still cute and it's classy, and there's still some mystery to that, which you don't get a lot of anymore.
Speaking of which, how much or how little can folks expect to see?
There's no full nudity. It's pasties and little bottoms. It's suggestive but it still follows the laws. It's also our choice, too, because we didn't want it to be about nudity and about trying to get people off. We wanted it to be something that a lot of people could enjoy without feeling uncomfortable.
In total, how many piercings would you say the whole troupe has?
Oh, God. There's some girls who have no piercings except maybe their ears, and then there's others of us who have 10 piercings apiece.
And you've got five girls in the troupe?
I've got six girls in the troupe, so I would guess at around 40 to 50 piercings all together.
What about tattoos?
Oh my goodness. That's a lot more.
What would you say your definition of sex symbol is?
I think that embodies a lot of different things, and I think it's all relative to who is making that decision. Everybody has a different idea of what's sexy and what's ultimately appealing to them, and I don't think it should be restricted to one look or one type of person or one genre or one culture.
What about you personally?
I like people with a different look. I like exotic people with interesting noses. And I really like people who can have good conversations. Somebody who's got something to say. That's what I find sexy. And even better if they have a great singing voice. I love that, love that.
Darn, I was in the running up to that last point. So, what's your take on the whole Janet Jackson-bare breast incident?
Everybody keeps asking what I think about that, and the funny thing is, I don't really know what I think about it because I have been so cut off from news and what's going on in the world for the last two months that I didn't see it. The only thing I know about it is what I read in People magazine a couple of weeks ago. I think it's hilarious. What I think is the funniest, though, is that people are making such a big deal out of it. They get so angry that it gets so much attention, but they're making it get so much attention.
Do you think the Federal Communications Commission overreacted by coming down on radio stations and TV stations?
No, not totally. I can understand some of their reasoning behind wanting to keep things a little PG. I mean, there's children out there watching these shows and what are they learning from this, you've got to wonder. So I totally understand that. It's just that it's so hyped up.
I've read some harsh criticisms of some of your past shows. Mostly they are saying they were expecting something more professional.
We've heard a lot of good things, and we've heard a lot of bad things. I think that in some places we go, people are expecting something totally different. I think they're expecting, say, the Pussycat Dolls, [who] have tons of money and people behind them to sponsor what they're doing. And for us, we're very DIY. This is something we put together without anyone else's help. Our girls did this all on their own, so this is a very personal project to us that we've been working on very hard. It doesn't really bother me when people say that because they're not getting the picture of what we're trying to do. We're not trying to put together some big, huge, fancy production. Granted, if we had money, and we will have more money to do more on the next tour so it will be a bit bigger of a production, but we feel like we've put together a really good show with the resources that we had and we worked really hard on that and we're proud of it. It's our first tour and every show that we do we're getting better and better.
Are you going in the right direction? Are the Pussycat Dolls?
I don't really know what the right direction is. I think that there's definitely enough room for more than one burlesque troupe. Our burlesque troupe is very different from most of the burlesque troupes out there. We're focusing our attention on a very defined niche, something that our generation relates to a little bit more. It's not your daddy's burlesque. And I'm sure that the Pussycat Dolls, along with a lot of other troupes out there, have their own focus and their own style that they're trying to create and do. I think that with each group being so different, each one has something really great to offer their audience.
Suicide Girls is auditioning women for its next tour in June and July. For more information, visit www.suicidegirls.com.