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Breaking Rules and Breaking Hearts in NYC: Sharon
Middendorf of Motorbaby
By Maya Lahr Gottfried, Motorbaby, the New York-based band which has been steadily gaining recognition since its 1994 Lower-East-Side beginnings, features the brains and beauty of lead-singer, guitarist Sharon Middendorf along with bassist Ron Mancuso (Beggars and Thieves) and drummer Lez Warner (The Cult and Spinal Tap). Their self-titled debut album released August 25 on Mercury Records, intertwines fast-paced rock like the tune “Slam Train” with slower, moodier works such as the sultry “Marlene.” |
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Middendorf knows the difficulties of trying to make it in any business, having modeled and fronted several bands. She is not, therefore, one to quickly pass judgement on her peers. Rather, she has a great deal of respect for anyone who manages to succeed in the music industry, and for those who are self-made. An intelligent, talented knock-out with a sense of style that reflects a mixture of compassion and strength, Sharon Middendorf can easily be deemed a force to be reckoned with. |
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Sharon on Families and Empires | |
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...I've been pretty much on my own. I speak to my parents and stuff, but I can't say that I'm supported by them. Your typical dysfunctional American family [hometown: Cleveland, Ohio]. |
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A lot of people think that coming from a somewhat painful background is bad, but it somehow forces you to be more independent, which in the end... |
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...is a good thing. You know, if I didn't have these parents, I wouldn't be what I am. I'm a big believer in self-starters and self-made people. |
Sharon on the History of Motorbaby | |
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How did you all hook up together? |
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Ron and I basically work together. And I've known Ron... God, he's like a brother to me. I've known him for years. |
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That must help in working together. |
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It helps immensely. Ron had the idea to bring in Lez. I knew him from the scene. We were friends and one day he calls me. It was the day after Ron mentioned him. How weird is that? Anyway, there we are on the phone and I'm like, "Hey, want to do a record?" It was like Lez knew we needed him somehow. I don't believe in coincidence... |
Sharon on England | |
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Lots of ghosts and spirits flying around there. A lot of haunted mansions. |
Sharon on Performing | |
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Just from seeing you play, I perceive you as someone who doesn't really care about what you're "supposed to do, and not supposed to do" on stage. Do you see yourself that way? As a sort of rule-breaker? |
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Yeah, I don't give a shit. I don't at all. You can't, because you're out there naked. You know, you're in front of people and I don't really care what people think. If I was sitting there worried, "Oh my God, do people like my hair?" or "Do they like what I'm wearing?" It's weird, when you go on stage; I have sort of a very open mind frame. |
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And you just do what you want? |
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Totally. It's very freeing. I love that about the stage. |
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So, you're not always like that? |
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I think that a totally different person is on stage than when I'm normal. |
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Do you remember what you said at Coney Island High? |
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What? |
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You said, "This isn't real. You know that right?" |
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(laughs) |
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I'll never forget that. I thought that was the greatest thing... |
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Sometimes I don't know what... it's weird... it's like the subconscious comes out and bites you in the ass. |
Sharon on Spice | |
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What do you think of the Spice Girls? |
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Well, it's funny; I went to see them at Madison Square Garden. I had free tickets so I went. And I liked them. I'm not a fan of their music but I think the music is good. I mean, it's not my cup of tea but what I like about them is how entrepreneurial they are and what successful business people they are. It's not easy to make a lot of money. |
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...going from nothing to something. |
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That's a feat you know, and I bow down to anybody who can do that. Especially being women. You know Baby's a great singer. I mean, I watched them. I really watched them, and Sporty, she sings really well. The songs are well written. They had a really excellent band behind them. |
Sharon on Challenge | |
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Do you have a hard time because your looks are so striking. Do people not want to take you seriously? |
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Oh, all my life. I mean, when I was modeling, you know, that was a piece of cake compared to this. I tend to want to make my life hard. I don't like anything easy. I'm a Capricorn too and that's the way they are. Capricorns are like really feisty goats. Sometimes I make things harder than they need to be. Sometimes I create problems that aren't even there. |
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Just for the challenge? |
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Yeah, I just have very high expectations for myself. |
Sharon on the Motorbaby - Love and Rockets Connection | |
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I went to see Love and Rockets [originally Bauhaus, the Goth rock progenitors who disbanded in 1983 but recently resurfaced for a reunion tour] at Irving Plaza. Daniel Ash [singer, songwriter, guitarist] is a good friend of mine and I gave him a T-shirt. It was a Motorbaby T-shirt. So he came out and it said "Motorbaby." So he was Motorbaby. And you know it's funny, they're [Bauhaus] going to be in town the same week as my release party. It's the sixteenth and they're playing the tenth and the eleventh [of September]. |
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So there's a Love and Rockets - Motorbaby connection... |
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Mmm-hmm. Major Love and Rockets and Motorbaby. |
Sharon on Celebrity Deathmatch | |
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I've never seen it. |
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It's pretty amazing. They have like Marilyn Manson fighting Charles Manson. |
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Cool. I wouldn't mind seeing Madonna and Courtney Love. 
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