Seattle Weekly: You do this keytar-based jazzercise/electro-pop fusion thing—how did you develop your act?
Anna Oxygen: I grew up recording on this eight-track karaoke machine I got from my parents when I was 6. [Later] I bought a drum machine for my band Jacqueline Bon Bon because we didn’t have a drummer. I bought the keytar for this band, and on the side I would make up all of these stories and electronic songs by myself in my room. Olympia was really influential in that suddenly I was in a village where [the pop culture] gap could be meddled with. The idea of “public” there sometimes just means that you are in a small room with other people from your small town, and you all have something to offer.
An element of audience participation seems integral to your shows; you get people to dance. Are there times when it doesn’t happen?
There are lots of times when people don’t move. Usually it is at shows with more self-conscious hipsters, in bars. This is why I like to play all-ages shows. I’ve always had this way of just blurting things out onstage as if I am talking to someone I know really well, and this sometimes allows for a more sloppy environment. I don’t want to feel more special than anyone else in the room. The other day I had a small show where I didn’t really feel like playing any of my old songs. Instead, I brought wintergreen Life Savers and passed them out. We all went into a dark room and chewed them really fast to make them spark in the dark. I liked that show.
Is there a reason why you perform alone, a reason why Anna Oxygen isn’t a full band?
I actually prefer collaboration to working alone. The way I satisfy this is by surrounding myself with a community of people who are constantly supporting each other in their solo projects. I’ve decided I no longer condone the concept of DIY. My new motto is DIT: Do It Together.
You’re teaching a class August 8–19 at the Northwest Film Forum for girls ages 10 to 15 called Loop Girls. You’re teaching songwriting, beat making, videography, and how to start a band. What are your goals for these classes?
I want girls to see how easy it is to write pop songs if they really want to. So many girls don’t write music because that gap between them and the art they experience seems so huge, they wouldn’t even think of becoming a part of it. They shouldn’t be afraid to pick up a drum machine and start pressing buttons on it. They can be the one that makes the beats. They can be the one that makes the three-chord pop songs. Then they can share them with their friends.
Anna Oxygen teaches Loop Girls: Songwriting and Video-Making Camp for Girls Ages 10–15 at Northwest Film Forum, noon–4 p.m. Mon.–Fri., Aug. 8–Aug. 19. Tuition: $400 (scholarships available). More information: 206-329-2629 or www.nwfilmforum.org/wigglyworld/workshops.shtml.
