by Angel Park
Emilie Autumn is not your typical musician. She is not a pop star. She is not a rock icon. She is a trained violinist with a Victorian-like fashion sense and a haunting voice that will battle among the masses to be remembered. She is a unique force to be reckoned with.
“Fight Like A Girl” was originally inspired by Emilie’s own autobiography, “The Asylum for Victorian Wayward Girls.” The biography contains her personal account of being admitted to a mental institution, an event that no one, especially Autumn herself, would want to relive.
“It was the worst kind of experience,” Autumn explains, “I was restrained. I had no rights. It was like a warzone and I knew right then I had to stay on my guard. Really, the whole mental health system is flawed and I knew all I could do is pull through and not come out a victim.”
The FLAG tour, however, has seemed to keep those dark days at bay.
“So far it’s been excellent,” she says cheerfully as we begin speaking, “Right now we’re in the middle of a break between the next couple of dates, so I’ve had some time off to unpack and relax.”
The tour consists of several dates spread out across the United States and Europe. With Autumn being known for her extravagant live shows, she’s hoping to give her fans something a little wackier this time around. “We’ve got some crazy new stuff,” she explains, “I have this new mohawk thing going on right now — it’s got to be at least six feet tall by the time I go on stage. We’ve also got a new “Crumpet” cast member on board.”
Autumn’s “Crumpets,” officially known as “The Bloody Crumpets,” are her backup stage dancers and stunt artists. For “Fight Like a Girl”, each has a role in the live shows by representing different characters that exist in the show’s asylum story line.
“Her name’s Mall,” Autum adds, “and she’s going to represent a victim that is shunned from society from not being normal. It’s something that I think everyone has felt at one point.”
As well as being in favor of the support of mental illnesses, Autumn puts a lot of effort into the female empowerment themes that go into her work. “Women are basically still second class citizens, especially in the music industry,” she states, “And the women who speak out against it aren’t taken seriously. The music business is all about the control of their image and once you break that mold you’re pretty much outcast.”
Despite that, it has never stopped her from being who she is today. “It took a long time for me to be comfortable with my identity. I’ve always been very quiet and shy, but things happened to me, like being admitted to the institution, to change me.” Autumn’s voice doesn’t miss a beat, “ I got to the point where I had nothing left to lose so I had to embrace who I was completely. I want to communicate that to my fans and let them relate to it with the music that I make, including on this tour.”
Emilie Autumn will be making her stop at the TLA as part of the FLAG tour this Sunday, November 24th. Don’t miss it.
“Fight Like a Girl” music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGF7bJdn6zI
