Interview with Cristina Scabbia

It's so weird for me to interview you! We usually go out and eat pizza together, but today we are a little bit more professional. All right, let's make an official introduction for SpazioRock: she's Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and ... Welcome on SpazioRock! Thank you, thank you very much. How are things going on? You are always superbusy! Yes, I can't stand still! Every time I'm done with Lacuna Coil I say "Ok, let's take a break! Let's relax a little!" and I can't do that! So, there I am once again with QueenMania at Alcatraz, a place I know very well ... ... It's like a second home! ... I feel like home, yeah! Let's talk about Lacuna Coil: you're taking a break right now, I mean you don't have any incoming events right now ... Yes and no. We have just finished the European tour and we are writing new stuff for the new album ... So, we are taking a break from the gigs, but we are not taking a break from the band at all. We want to issue a new album next year, so that's why we are focusing on new songs. Yeah, because I read on Facebook that the album is shaping up and as far as I remember there was something about a "darker and a heavier" atmosphere. Maybe you can tell something about that? We're at the very beginning, I am not able to say how the album will come out, also because we tend to change many things while recording. Even when we have completed the pre-production, sometimes we completely change lyrics, passages, arrangements, so ... Our purpose is to make it a little bit heavier and darker. I don't feel like telling you that it will be like "Comalies", like "Unleashed Memories", because we like making things different everytime, I wouldn't say reinventing ourselves, because we like the rock/metal scene. Anyway, we don't know where creativity is going to lead us. Well, you know, I've been supporting you for a while and I liked both "Karmacode" and "Shallow Life", which was rather different ... So, no matter what shape it will take ... You're always Lacuna Coil! Yeah, it's a matter of taste, we never compose according to someone else's taste, we try to do our best according to our tastes. For sure, some people will love the album, some others will hate it. The most important thing is to stay true to ourselves. That's the most important thing. So, you suggested me another question: you have a very lasting line-up and you have a very strong bond, there's trouble for anyone who touches one of the guys ... Is there any secret, if there is one? Or something that makes you feel so close ... There are different ones ... More than secrets, they are some little rules. There's a very important thing for us, that might seem ***, is to share tasks: that is composing songs and who is not able to write a song, then he will take care of the website, of the business side of the band. And that's a good thing, because that means we are all on the same level, we are all important, maybe in pictures there's a band member that stands out and there are many people who point the finger at you and say that you are the vocalist and you obviously stand out; but besides that a woman gets more attention in a band, a band is a band, we are all important, there are no ego problems, as no one thinks to be more important than another one, that's another secret; we respect each other a lot and, as it happens even in the best families, even when we fight we try to understand each other, we try to yell out all the negativity and we try to smooth things over together. There's a lot of communication and we're friends ... There are different rules and secrets, but in the end it's all up to chance! Maybe, we were just lucky! Do you have any idea when you will record the album, more or less? Honestly, I don't know. We thought about making the pre-production in the first months of 2011, but it all depends on how things will go on, you know, on Christmas time Italians tend to be lazy, to spend more time with the family, especially us, since we are a band in constant motion around the world. We do want to write new material, but we also want to relax. For sure it will be next year, but I don't have any precise date yet. Enough with Lacuna Coil! Let's talk about tonight show: it's not the first time I see you with QueenMania, as I saw you last May with them, and you got into a project that is totally different from Lacuna Coil ... Everything I do I try to do my best and I do that with passion, I would never do an appearance unwillingly or inaccurately. I began with QueenMania last year, and I felt at ease with them, and this happened thanks to a friend of mine who told me that the band would have been glad to have me as a guest. I said that I liked Queen and that I would challenge myself gladly, because singing songs that are not yours is the hardest thing in the world. Especially if you sing Queen songs, a band that made history and it had a singer that I love and miss really much; it's hard to sing Freddie parts, but it's a nice challenge! I really like Freddie Mercury, too; but anyway, you did really great [last May] because you got into the role so much, even with the outfits ... I like this thing of changing outfits too, I am a woman after all! I love the visual aspect of a show, changing outfits is very theatrical and it is an added value to the show ... I assume you get along with the guys really well! Yeah, we became good friends, just like Rezophonic; I feel at ease with the guys and we played in other gigs; we recently went to Naples and to Rome and we spent many hours on the road together and it's good because we became friends, besides the professional aspect. Talking about tribute bands and so on, is there another band or artist you would like to pay tribute to? Even if it's off-rock! You know what? I don't know! Because I don't have favourite artists, I like and appreciate many many artists, but I also love many songs, so I'd probably love to mix different artists together, like Queen, Muse, Depeche Mode, but not necessarily rock artists! I can't think of a name right now. David Bowie? I'd love to! Well, I'll be also David Bowie this night, as I'll sing "Under Pressure" ... I already have my role as David Bowie! So, Milan A.C is leading the championship this winter, I say that as a supporter of Inter F.C! I surrender! I say nothing about that! The championship is long! But I'm glad to see that all my friends supporters of Inter F.C had stopped writing me emails or on Facebook everytime that Inter F.C wins a match! I managed to shut them up for a while! If Inter F.C doesn't win anything, they'll probably disappear, it's always like this ... I don't see a bright future for Rafa Benitez, but nevermind! But he did something good, maybe he will stay ... I call him Cicciobello! [as Benitez is a chubby man] Another question: perhaps you are the artist that interacts the most with the fans, as far as I know, so you spend a lot of time on the internet, on social networks, you expose yourself pretty much ... Yes and no. I expose myself on the artistic side, I sometimes reveal something about my private life, but not that much, as I care a lot about my privacy. But I really like chatting on social networks, especially on Facebook, that is the page that I follow the most. I love receiving messages from fans and I love replying them, because I have never liked the idea of a distant and unreachable artist. I think it's a good thing to keep in touch with a musician and I would love if the artists that I admire did the same with me too. They are not more interesting if they are unreachable, that's ***. All right, we finished the interview: thank you very much, that was a weird experience ... Let's see you at the next pizza together! Would you like to leave a message to our SpazioRock readers and to your fans? All right, we'll see you very soon with the brand new Lacuna Coil album, but we don't know how it will come out, but it will be made for sure with this ... Kisses to everyone and rock on! Ciao!