Here is our interview with the multi-talented artist Guinevere Q, the lead singer and bass player of The Wyatt Act.
Pro Media Mag : First of all, tell us about the start of your professional career?
Guinevere Q : I’ve always loved music. It brings me great joy in life. I started out in theater and poetry. As I began to get further involved with the activist community, I learned the power of performance, especially through music. I fell in love with performing live music. At that time, I had graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Psychology and was working in the mental health field. I thought that was my career choice, but the music kept pulling me – it was magnetic. So, against the advice of my well-meaning friends and family, I quit my job to become a fulltime musician.
Pro Media Mag : Who or what inspired you to get into music industry?
Guinevere Q : Amy Winehouse, James Brown, Janis Joplin, Janelle Monae, Les Claypool, and Kurt Cobain.
Pro Media Mag : Tell us about your recent release?
Guinevere Q : “Sex Robot” is a dark, synth-bass-centric, SlamRock song with frenzied horn lines and 90s grunge style, BDSM-inspired lyrics about a Sex Robot who comes to dominate you. It’s a reaction to our current society and a deep critique of the current narrative that our technology will save us from ourselves. The Wyatt Act recorded and mixed “Sex Robot” at Hyde Street Studios and mastered at Neato Mastering.
Pro Media Mag : What kind of response you have received from the release?
Guinevere Q : So far, it’s been well-received. The Faulkner Review compared it to David Lynch’s Eraserhead.
Pro Media Mag : What attracts you more, performing on stage or working in studios?
Guinevere Q : Performing! I love that rush, that energy, that spontaneity, that connection with a live audience! It’s so invigorating! We put on themed shows that involve a lot of interaction. We’re sort of a circus in that way. Every show is different. There is no “fourth wall” between the audience and the performers. We all share a dream together. We breathe the same air and create a fantasy world. I live for it.
Pro Media Mag : How did you join The Wyatt Act?
Guinevere Q : Jason Young Sun and I met Breakfast through an Open Mic that we used to host at the Brainwash in San Francisco. Sadly, it’s closed now. Like many local businesses, it was strangled by the cruel, concrete, capitalist condos that have become a symbol of gentrification and the housing crisis here in the Bay Area. But that’s another story. We started a poetry rock band. We needed a bass player, so I learned how to play bass. Breakfast met Karissa through the Brass Liberation Orchestra, a protest brass band here in San Francisco.
Pro Media Mag : What about your working experience as Bass Player in Doctor Striker?
Guinevere Q : I met Doctor Striker at Balanced Breakfast, a meet-up group for musicians that started here in San Francisco. He was wearing his labcoat, as he always is, and I introduced myself, as I always do, to the group by saying, “my name is Guinevere Q – No Big Fucking Deal” and then he introduced himself by saying, “my name is Doctor Striker, and I rock major fucking ass.” We didn’t talk to each other in person that day. I went home and I watched his music videos online and later found out that he happened to be auditioning bass players. I auditioned and got the part! I really love playing in Doctor Striker. It feeds my obsession with industrial, electronic, rock and my desire for rigid discipline.
Pro Media Mag : Are you currently working on any other project?
Guinevere Q : Yes! I play in a comedy rock band with Jason Young Sun called SUNQ and I play with some other bands around the San Francisco Bay Area, including Project Queue, Revolushn, Matt L., Kevin North Band, Tadd Scott, and more. I also do session work and sub in for bands who need bass players or singers from time to time. In addition to that, I was recently accepted to the Apprenticeship Program in Local 510 Sign and Display Union, which means that I am learning how to make signs and graphics for trade shows. I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to learn new skills and play music with such amazingly talented and creative people! I’m thankful and optimistic about the future. Most of all, I just live to make art, art, ART!!!
