Vampires And Poodles: The Rogers Sisters

Talk of hanging out next door to a Busta Rhymes video shoot that ended in a shooting, how they hate Madonna and their plans for an underground lair - The Rogers Sisters have nice line in interesting soundbites. The setting of a gastro pub in that well-known rock n’ roll bastion of Wandsworth, with the delightful accompaniment of a Keane soundtrack, is not the usual place you expect to meet a band. However, after a good feed, the Rogers Sisters are feeling happy and looking forward to seeing how their third album, 'The Invisible Deck' will fare when it’s released in March.

“We wanted this record to be a full album. It’s our first co-ordinated effort”, explain guitarist and singer Jennifer. “Our last album (2005’s 'Three Fingers') was less of a complete project”. First single ‘Learn to Fly’ comes out on March 13. It was while shooting the video in New York that the band had their encounter with Mr Rhymes. Jennifer complains, “The crew for his video kept coming over and stealing our catering. We didn’t see him but we heard him practising. There’s a scene in our video where I’m floating wearing a bathrobe. I tried to creep next door wearing it to get a look at Busta. There were hundreds of people around. I tried to chat up a security guard but he wasn’t being too friendly. The shooting happened after we’d just left.”

Despite missing out on dodgy gang warfare, The Rogers Sisters are feeling content with their latest work. Laura, the drummer, explains, “Bands sometimes lose focus, but I think we’ve got better, the music is more realized”. Jennifer adds, “'Three Fingers' was more bass heavy whereas 'The Invisible Deck' has more concentration on guitars. This album captured some darker moments. It reveals a more serious side to us but it’s still fun”. At this point, the sole man in the group, Miyuki, chimes in with, “Yeah, it turned us into vampires which was fun although we’re now doomed to a life as immortals”.

Right, so the Rogers Sisters may reveal alarming blood-sucking behaviour at night. However, at the moment in this light-drenched pub they chat about their latest touring commitments.
The band have just returned from a mini press tour of Spain and er, Belgium. As you do. The Iberian fans made a big impression. Jennifer laughs, “We were accosted by a large woman who demanded that we carry on playing our songs. She was pretty scary.” Miyuki nods in agreement, “The Madrid crowd were cool, they liked to party and were very enthusiastic dancers and consumers of alcohol”.