This interview with Sinergy vocalist Kimberly Goss was made for my Lucy Lawless magazine LUCY IN THE SKY (issue 5). Obviously, she put a lot of energy into this e-mail interview (it arrived in mid-August 2002) and I thought that surely it would be a good addition to Trinkelbonker to include it here in original form. Alexi, who is mentioned now and then, is her husband. For fans of Kimberly, Sinergy and Xena, this is a great interview – in fact, at the time she thought it was the best she had ever done! Enjoy!
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I have to confess that I know very little about you Kimberly, except that I took Sinergy to my heart when I heard the first album “Beware The Heavens” and realised as I got into it that, lo and behold, there´s a song called “The Warrior Princess” here! Which made you my hard rock warrior princess in a heartbeat. But tell me about yourself. Where were you born and so on?
– ”I was born in Los Angeles, California. My mother was working there at Korean Airlines where she met my father who is from Seoul, South Korea. My mother has blonde hair and green eyes believe it or not! Her grandparents come from Germany. So I’m ½ Korean, ½ German in blood, but 100% American in my heart! Anyway, in L.A. my mom was studying Japanese and also working two jobs on the side, one of which was singing on the weekends at a Japanese owned nightclub where she’d be singing in Japanese (that’s right, a blonde haired green eyed American girl singing in Japanese!). One night a man approached her with an offer to sing in Japan as a regular at a Japanese jazz & blues club (yes, sounds strange I know. *laughing*). They offered her and her daughter (me) a house to live in which would include our own cook, and a nanny to look after me. So she packed us up and we moved to Japan! I guess I should state that her and my father seperated before I was born. I’ve never met him actually. Anyway, we lived in Japan for one year right about the time I was learning to speak (Japanese was actually my first language). One year later we moved back to the states because my mom wanted to raise me in America. There was one small problem. I didn’t speak english though. I would be playing with all the kids in our building (we lived in sort of a “Melrose Place” style apartment building with a pool in the center, only it was a “ghetto” version *laughs*) and my mom felt sorry for me cuz no one understood what I was saying. So my mom taught me English (when you’re that young it’s easy to learn since your mind is so fresh, with very little information *laughs*). After having learned English I refused to speak Japanese with her. She’d try, but I’d cover my ears and sing some children’s songs to avoid listening. So now I only remember a few words in Japanese (and man do I regret it!), We (Sinergy) have many fans in Japan and when we’re on tour there I always kick myself for not having kept on speaking Japanese”.
Where do you live now and what nationality can we give to Sinergy as a band, if any?
– ”Well… maybe I should first continue with the previous Story before I tell you where I am now. So, when I was five years old my mom decided that she wanted me to be close to the rest of our family so she packed us up and we moved to Chicago (her birthplace and hometown). We were really poor (my mom was 20 when she had me) and at first we lived with my uncle and slept on the floor for two years. I remember when I was seven we finally got one single bed (the smallest kind) and I was so excited! My mom was working three jobs so I was tossed around from one babysitter to the next. We moved five times from the time I was 5-12 which also meant I went to five different schools. We finally settled in a very nice upper-middle class area (my mom finally got a great high paying job after all those years). This was right in time for my “rebellious” phase *poor mom*. I ran away from home all the time and quit school when I was 16 (but hardly ever went there for the two years prior to that). From 16-17 I moved all around the states with various friends. At 17 I moved to Oslo, Norway (we’ll get into that later) at 20 I moved to Gothenburg, Sweden, and at 21 I moved to Helsinki, Finland. This is where I’m currently living (and I sure as hell don’t plan to move anytime soon *exhausted*). I’m now 24 years old. The rest of the band consists of three Finns and our lovely new bass goddess MELANIE SISNEROS from the U.S. of friggin A.! She is a delightful addition, because not only is it nice to have a fellow american in the band (we can have inside jokes only us Yanks understand and talk about our youth in america, and share in our homesickness ect…), but it’s a bonus that she’s a woman! I’ve longed to have another real metal chica in this band and my wishes are finally a reality! However, since this is a Swedish Lucy Lawless magazine-interview I should point out that on our first album we had three talented Swedish guys as a part of our original line up. Myself and Alexi are the only originals left in the band”.
You turned to music at some point in your life, can you remember what it was that gave you the initial spark to engulf yourself in that? And how old were you?
– ”My entire family was very musical. As I said, my mom was singing blues/jazz for some time. My uncles were in a rock band in the 70s. My mom’s cousin played in a rock band called Off Broadway which was actually signed to Atlantic Records, but after two albums with poor sales they were dropped. They toured with Cheap Trick and UFO among others though. My grandmother was an opera singer and classical pianist. I think I’m the only one in our family who has ever made a steady living off of music alone though which I think is pretty cool”.
Name a few artists that you think inspired you in one way or another and why?
– “I’ll try to name some that your reader’s will be familiar with *laughs*. As far as vocalists I’d have to say Pat Benatar and Billy Idol have influenced me a great deal, though I guess with our new album I’m singing more aggressively than they did. They both have such great style. A bit rough around the edges, lots of power and attitude. Even a little bluesy at times. Most of all, I’ve been into metal music my whole life. Anything from mainstream 80s heavy metal to extreme underground death & black metal of the 90s. I’m not used to doing interviews with non-music related magazines so I just assume many of your reader’s probably won’t understand one brand of metal from the next, but believe me when I say I think metal musicians are probably the most talented players in the world”.
I love your hair. How long have you sported this look and is it natural black?
– ”I’ve been sitting on my hair for as long as I can remember now! It is naturally black, but lately I’ve been putting in some red highlights and lightening it”.
It reminds me of Morticia in the Addams family, and I got to tell you, when I saw that tv show back in 1970 (when I was nine years old) I quickly developed a serious crush on her. So here´s a silly question, but do you have an opinion about that character at all? Is she in there in the mix somewhere as well or is that just me ranting in the wrong direction?
– *laughing* ”Yes my dear, I’m afraid you’re ranting in the wrong direction. I was a fan of The Munsters though. I don’t know if you ever got that show in Sweden, but it was sort of like a funnier version of The Addam’s Family. Anyway, my look is just me. It wasn’t inspired by anyone. It’s who I am and how I feel comfortable”.
What bands have you been in and which have you recorded with?
– ”My first band from Chicago was called Avernus. I sang clean backing vocals to contrast our lead death metal singer. Then I joined a Norwegian black metal band called Ancient to play keyboards and provide backing vocals. From there I found myself in demand as a touring keyboardist for bands like Therion (Sweden), Dimmu Borgir (Norway) & Children Of Bodom (Finland). I’ve recorded several albums as a guest vocalist or keyboardist with various bands (Warmen, Eternal Tears Of Sorrow, Exhumation, To/Die/For, ect…) besides the three Sinergy records we currently have released”.
Tell me about Sinergy as a group. Is it your band or is it a democracy kind of thing?
– ”Well, even a democracy needs a leader. I am definetely the leader of this band. I negotiate all contracts, I have all the contact with the booking agents for tour planning, I set up recording sessions, photo shoots, I do the layout of each album together with an artist, I come up with our t-shirt designs, I do all the interviews, I write 100% of the lyrics and 25% of the music, I’m tour managing on any of our tours that are less than two weeks (the longer tours are managed by someone else, or else I’d die!), and the list goes on forever! I consider myself to kinda be the mother of the band”.
You are obviously responsible for the lyrics, do you contribute more than that and if so how does it work?
– ”As stated in the previous answer I write approx. 25% of the music. I usually am the first one in the band to come up with any new riffs if it’s time to start writing a new album. Then I show them to Alexi on keyboard, and then he’ll show the other guys on guitar. I write most of my riffs on the keyboard, but I have written a few riffs on guitar as well as just using my voice to sing into a little tape recorder. I always point out which riff is meant for guitar and which is meant as a vocal melody”.
Do you play any instruments and have you had some musical schooling at some point in your life? Or are you self tought, so to speak?
– ”The only training I’ve ever had was to play the French Horn in my elementary school orchestra. Other than that I’m self taught on the keyboards and vocals”.
Are you one of these people that started writing poetry and little things in diary form only to understand that “hey, I could do this within a song” later on?
– ”Not at all. In fact, the first Sinergy album was the first time I had to write full length lyrics (I did bits and pieces before in my first band). Looking back on the first album, I’m quite embarrassed at reading those lyrics. I didn’t have a clue what to write about, so I mostly sang about fictional subjects. As time went on, my lyrics have greatly improved. I write now more on factual subjects dealing with feelings I have about myself and the world I live in. I’ve found this to be some sort of cheap therapy. It’s great to let out all your bad feelings that you have trapped inside yourself. Of course on our latest CD I did make room for one song about XENA!”.
I only ask because to me a lot of your lyrics are like poetry. You have a real talent for what you are doing. What is the best compliment that you have ever recieved as a lyricist?
– ”Well thank you! The best compliment I’ve ever received was from a German girl who told me that my lyrics on our latest album, “Suicide By My Side” actually saved her life. She told me she was on the verge of suicide before reading those lyrics. She said that reading those lyrics made her feel like she had someone to relate to and that her world didn’t seem so lonely anymore. That’s the best compliment I could ever get! A lot of journalists have asked me if I’m afraid the fans will get the wrong message and take these lyrics as a suggestion to kill themselves. I know that our fans are smarter than that! This album deals with real human suffering. Real pain and tragic emotions. When someone is really depressed, the last thing they want to hear is a song like “Shiny Happy People Holding Hands” by R.E.M. *laughs*. People want to hear something that relates to their mood”.
How do you rate the Sinergy albums? I know you are close to the last one right now but how do you feel about the first two looking back?
– ”I can’t even listen to our first album anymore. I think my vocals are really powerless if you compare it to our latest CD. Of course I’m proud of it in one way, cuz that’s what launched our career, but I think any musician will tell you they can’t listen to their first album anymore. The point is to get better through time and experience. That’s what I feel we’ve done looking back from “Beware The Heavens” onward to “To Hell And Back” and now with “Suicide By My Side”. We’re much tighter and stronger now as a band and I think you can hear the difference”.
Does inspiration come easy or is it hard work against deadlines sometimes? Is it all worked out well before hitting the studios?
– ”So far we’ve been lucky and haven’t had any pressure from the record label for any certain deadline. The most difficult thing is to schedule the recordings around the other band members private schedules. Once the studio dates are set, it is quite easy to write the music. I’m lucky to have really talented guys in this band. They all put something in as far as the songwriting goes”.
Your new album “Suicide By My Side” is very dark. I would say that this is dark poetry right through the album almost, dealing with a theme that isn´t very pretty. Why did you chose this concept on this album, why is this particular album so dark?
– ”It’s beacuse of the things I was going through at that particular time in my life. I was very depressed and extremely suicidal. If I didn’t get all that negativity off my chest, I might not be here today. It wasn’t really any one single event that triggered these emotions. It was a number of things happening all around the same time period. It seemed like my whole world was crashing down. I don’t want to go into specifics, but it was a really hard time in my life and I felt completely alone. It seemed like the world would be a better place without me. I know this is heavy, and some people might think reading this that, “She has it made! What’s she complaining about?”. All I have to say is without knowing what I went through, you can never understand. You can try to read between the lines of my lyrics and come up with your own conclusion”.
It could be controversial, do you recall the american lawsuits agaist Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne a decade ago?
– ”Yes, I do. We’re not as famous as Ozzy or Priest though, that would never happen to us”.
The Xena related song is, naturally, very interesting. You take on the part as Xena in it, relating to other characters from the “Sin Trade” episodes from season 4.
– ”Yes. I already did a song on our first album called, “The Warrior Princess” and naturally many non-Xena fans could plainly see the song was about her and the show since I mention her name in the lyrics. A lot of our non-Xena fans complained that the song was cheezy and silly. I didn’t care, and we still play that song live to this very day! In this case I wanted to make a special song just for Sinergy Xenites! I don’t mention Xena, Gabby or any of the obvious characters in the show. This song is written FOR Xenites BY a Xenite!”.
Do you remember the moment when the idea to write this lyric came up?
– ”Yes!!!!! Right after watching the two part episode! It was the most intense episode I’d ever seen at the time. I immediately fell head over heels for Alti’s character. I loved the darkness that surrounded the characters and the storyline. I knew I had to write a song about it. Lucy’s acting is simply perfect! She made me feel things I’ve never felt before. She is extremely underrated as an actor. She should be winning Oscars for cryin’ out loud! She has showed us through the six seasons every kind of emotion and made us believe that every situation she was put in was REALLY happening!”.
How long did it take you to write it?
– ”It took awhile actually. I had to watch the episode several times. I also took some lines directly from it and used them in the lyrics to that song! I wanted to tell the story correctly, but at the same time making sure that each specific lyric would fit to each riff in the song”.
The lyric is, like Xenas battle, about good versus evil and how the dark forces are battled successfully in the end. That is a contrast to the rest of the lyrics.
– ”Very true, but my answer is always, “Hey, there is only so many ways to sing about how depressed you are and how much you wanna die”. I didn’t wanna repeat myself lyrically, so I had to have a couple of songs unrelated to the main theme of the album”.
How highly do you rate these Xena episodes?
– ”They’re definetely in my top 10 for sure! They also include one of my all time favorite fight scenes with Xena and Cyane fighting in the trees. WOWOWOWOW! That scene is absolutely breathtaking! And it’s also the introduction of my second favorite character (Alti) in the series. Alti is such a bad ass! She´s one of the bad guys you LOVE, ya know what I mean?”.
Lets talk about your love for the show then, which we all share. Do you recall exactly how and when you first saw Xena?
– ”I watched Hercules first cuz I was really interested in Greek mythology when I was in school. I saw the episodes where Xena premiered, and then heard about her starting her own series. I watched it from day one! Unfortunately, I moved to Norway (well not so unfortunately actually *laughs*) towards the end of season one and the show hadn’t made it to Europe yet. I spoke of Xena for at least two years before it premiered in Norway. When I moved to Sweden and they had Xena & Hercules on back to back every (Sunday was it? – Yep, MIKE). Me and my roommate would stock up on treats and snacks and watch them both together. It was so much fun!”.
Do you know what it was that attracted you to the show initially?
– ”Bad ass chicks kicking some serious butt! That was it for sure! Lucy is such a strong woman, yet very sexy at the same time. She is so believable as a warrior woman. Not some Buffy bimbo (Yuck! Buffy is sooooooo lame!). I fell in love with Xena from day one, but absolutely HATED Gabby at first. It took about five episodes before I started to accept Gabby on the show. At first I was hoping they’d get enough complaints to throw her off the show. Well, seeing as the show developed I’m soooooooo glad they kept her. Renee is also a wonderful actor and should also be up there winning Oscars right along with Lucy. I mean, someone who annoyed me so much in the beginning, and then made me turn my feelings around about her 100% must have amazing acting skills!”.
How long did it take you to become a Xenite?
– ”I was officially a Xenite after the episode “Callisto”. This was the last episode I saw before moving to Norway. I was begging my mom to tape me all episodes and send them over to Norway, but of course she forgot *laughs*. That episode made me scream! I had never seen anything like it before. Two very strong, sexy women showing us what they’re made of! That was also the first episode Joxer premiered in (another guy I grew to love after inital disgust for his character *laughs*). Now I’m such a Xenite, that I even have the word tattooed on the back of my neck! Also, I collect anything and everything Xena related. I have all six seasons on VHS & most of them on DVD (they’re not all available on DVD as I write this interview). It’s funny, cuz the ONLY shop that carries the Xena DVD box sets here in Finland actually has my phone number and they call me whenever a new box is released. *hahahaha*”.
Would you agree that the show has a tremendous energy – something that is very positive if you discover it and kind of get into it. It brings me a sense of happiness that took me a bit by surprise. Was it the same for you? Can you relate to that?
– ”Absolutely! Xena is like a drug for me. It gets me so high! I have cried, laughed, been angered, frustrated, happy, and felt tremendous love from watching the show. It brings out the child in me. Sometimes I watch it screaming, “Hell yea! Kick that warlord ass Xena!”. Other times I sit holding the pillow tightly in suspense. The thing I love the most about the show is the undying love between Xena and Gabby. In a way it almost makes me sad because I feel like I have never experienced a love like that with another woman. Most of my friends are male, and it’s just not the same. I envy their relationship and I’m longing to have one as strong as theirs. I also love the evolution the show had made through the years. I love how they mix Xena in with Greek, Norse, Roman, Christian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, ect… mythologies. It’s so cool! Sorta like a “What if…”. Know what I mean? Like, “What if Xena had been there!” *woooooo hooooo!!!!* It’s brilliant!”.
The buzz is that you are out there on the internet. What do you enjoy to do to get your “Xena fix” when you go online?
– ”I have the following sites bookmarked on my pc: Amphipolis Village, Aphrodite’s Xenites.com, The Xena Zone, Xenaville, Whoosh!, Xena Fight, Xenite.org, ect… I have many many more! I write on two Xena messageboards as well. I’m a total geek!”.
Do you have any favourite homepages?
– ”I really can’t answer that. I find them all interesting”.
Given the time, would you consider to create a Xena site yourself and if so, what kind of a twist do you think that you would like to give it?
– ”That’s a hard question. If I made a Xena site it would be a Xena site related to me and my obsession with the show. I’d include convention reports, pics of me with the actors I’ve met, list my collection of Xena collectables, show off my current Xenite tattoo, and also the chakram tattoos I plan to get in the future! I’d give my reviews on my favorite episodes, and also about the ones I didn’t like as much (that list is VERY short though). You get the point”.
Do you enjoy the different angles in the Xena episodes, that humour can be there one week and Greek drama the next? Or would you personally have dropped something?
– ”This is one of the brilliant points to the show! I hate when I speak to people who’ve only seen like 5 episodes and base their opinion of the show on that. Usually they complain about Joxer, or the modern language they use, ect… I always say to people, “You MUST see EVERY episode from start to finish in order to watch the evolution of the characters and all the diversity displayed from one episode to the next!”. I actually have a ritual where I fall asleep to old Xena epsiodes every night. I choose the one that best fits my mood, and there is ALWAYS an ep that can portray whatever mood I’m in at the time. It’s amazing! As for the comedic eps, my all time favorites are “The quill is mightier….”, “A Comedy Of Eros”, and the BEST: “Old Ares Had A Farm”!!! HAHAHAHA! They rule!”.
“The Bitter Suite” is in my opinion a fantastic episode, and I usually want to leave the room when a musical is on. What do you think of that episode?
– ”It’s AWESOME!!!!!!!!! I was very skeptical about it at first, being that I’m a singer and I LOVE musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, Joeseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, ect…… When I saw the “The Bitter Suite” I was so scared that it would just change my whole opinion of the show. Well, it just made me love it even more!!!!!! It’s one thing to act, and it’s another thing to sing…, but to ACT & SING at the same time really requires talent. I was especially impressed by Renee because she doesn’t actually sing on the soundtrack, but her lips were in sync and her acting was very convincing. Lucy’s voice just blew me away as did our beloved Kevin Smith (R.I.P.). I had no idea prior to that on how great their voices were! I actually do my own one-woman version of “The Bitter Suite” at home all the time! I can sing every line and I attempt to act out the parts too *hahahaha*”.
Have you bought the six Xena soundtrack albums?
– ”Of course! It’s great music to make love to”.
Personally I can´t wait to get my hands on a record that says “Lucy Lawless” on the label, how do you rate her as a singer?
– ”I think she’s great! She has a deep voice, which I LOVE on women. It’s really sexy. She sings with so much emotion. I believe she could sing any style of music if she wanted to”.
Did you see her in “Grease” in her Broadway stint back in 1997?
– ”No, I had already moved to Norway by then”.
Have you been to any conventions?
– ”YES!!!!!!!!! Only one so far. It was October, 2001 in Dearborn Michigan, USA. It featured Hudson Leick and Kevin Smith. I was so fortunate to meet Kevin before his tragic passing. Hudson was sooooo funny! She’s really quite a character off screen too! She invited me along with several other fans on stage with her to do her infamous battle scream. I was shaking! Can you believe that? I’m so used to signing autographs for my own fans, and I never could understand why people get nervous around me. Meeting Kevin and Hudson made me realize what it is to be a fan meeting your idols! It was such a great time. I plan to go to the Pasadena con in 2003”.
Lets talk about your collection (as a Xenite I know you have one!), what have you gathered over the last few years?
– ”As I write this interview I can say I have all DVD box sets which have been released until now, as well as VHS box sets. I have several books, comics, posters postcards, calendars, trading cards and magazines. I have the Xena board game (which I still can’t figure out how to play???), Xena playstation game, Ares doll signed still in the box signed by Kevin Smith, fan club kits, all three limited cereal boxes (unopened), Xena candle holder, replicas of Xena’s gauntlets, 2 plastic Xena swords *lol*, Xena miniature doll, Xena wall clock, etc… but my favorite item is my CHAKRAM!!!!!!! I bought the newer version of the Chakram made by the propmasters from the show! It’s limited to 500! It’s cool to look on the back of it cuz it has “Made in New Zealand” engraved into it! I’m still collecting more stuff all the time”.
Did you buy anything on last years big sales craze when they auctioned off stuff from the show on the internet?
– ”No. Maybe I was on tour or something, cuz I don’t think I even knew about it”.
What is your favourite Xena item if you had to pick one?
– ”The CHAKRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No question about it!”.
Have you played the Xena PlayStation game and if so how do you rate it?
– ”I’ve played it through three times. I’m a video game fanatic, so if it were the same game withtout the Xena characters, I’d give it a low rating. BUT… since it is Xena, I LOVE IT!!!!! *lol*”.
Did you know about this Lucy Lawless society before this? And that we wrote about Sinergy in the first issue?
– ”No, I had no idea! I think that’s awesome! I showed everyone in my band the first issue when you sent it to me. I was so excited!”.
About your Xena lyrics, have there been sketches to more of them than the ones that we have heard so far?
– ”Not yet, but you can be sure that I will write another Xena themed song on the next album. I just don’t know what yet. It has to fit with the music, ya know? There are sooooooo many eps that have really moved me, but since we’re a heavy metal band I assume I’ll write about one of the darker themed eps”.
Apart from this interview, how have the reaction to them been?
– ”Well the Sinergy fans who are also Xena fans LOVE these songs! The non-Xena fans of ours however think these lyrics are completely cheezy and ridiculous. I don’t care what they think though. If they hate it so much, don’t listen to it!”.
What does the rest of the band think about it?
– They laugh. They know my obsession with the show and they think it’s cool. None of them can write lyrics, so they don’t really have any say in the matter. These songs go over really well on stage though!”.
If you wrote a couple of new ones you could release a “Warrior Princess” mini CD, I can see hordes of Xenites running out to buy that one. I guess there could be a legal problem but what do you think of the concept?
– ”Hey! That’s actually a great idea!!!!!!!! I never thought about it. I will surely think about it and run that idea by our record company”.
You must know how they decided to end Xena in the final two episodes. I guess you could have an opinion regardless of wether you have seen them yet or not. Was it brave television or does it disturb you?
– ”Well, all good things usually come to an end. I personally LOVED the finale. I loved that it took place in Japan (a land we’ve never seen them journey too in previous eps), I loved that they only had Xena and Gab and all other characters were completely new and never been seen before on the show. I loved the storyline. I loved ALMOST everything! My only complaint is one of the last scenes when Xena and Gab were at the fountain. If I were to write it, it would’ve gone like this: Gab would have shown a LOT more emotion, begging and crying and screaming to Xena to please let her (Gab) bring her (Xena) back to life. Xena, would be trying to shake some sense into Gab saying, that “You’re not thinking about the bigger picture! The end result! You’d be responsible for thousands of souls never being redeemed!”, ect… Then Gabby would freak out and just throw the ashes into the fountain anyway, and Xena would catch the ashes just before they hit the fountain and at that EXACT moment the sun would set, making it impossible for Xena to come back anyway. THAT WOULD’VE BEEN AN AMAZING END TO THE SHOW!. I’m one of the few fans that is glad that they chose to kill Xena off. If she would’ve lived it would’ve left me feeling cheated out of new adventures. It was beautiful and this show was brilliant from start to finish!”.
Do you think that there will be a full blown Xena movie some day? Want to bet your money on a year even?
– ”I really hope not! Again, I think I differ from most Xena fans on this issue. I don’t think it would be possible to make a movie out of the show. Lets take the X-Files movie for instance. It was good, but only seemed to be a LONGER version of a regular episode. I don’t want to see that happen to Xena. Let her rest in peace”.
Has any other tv show ever got you as excited and involved?
– ”No, not at all! I collect all episodes of “Friends” just cuz it’s so damn funny, but I don’t collect merchandise or idolize any of their characters, ect…”.
Have you ever been to New Zealand and checked out the scenery?
– ”Not YET! I must stress the word YET! I will go there someday for sure! I already have found websites mapping out the different locations in which the show was filmed. I will go to them all!!!!!!!”.
I know wonderful people who love to dress up like Xena, have you ever gone for it in that way?
– ”Hahaha, no. I’ve never dressed up like her. I wouldn’t want to. There can only be one Xena!”.
Have you considered to use any of Joseph LoDucas music as an introduction tape for Sinergys performances?
– ”Already been done! In the past we’ve used the title theme to the show as an intro to the song “The Warrior Princess” and on our most recent tours we’ve been using “Xena Kicks Bacchae Butt” from the volume 2 soundtrack as our intro before we make our entrance to the stage! It’s VERY intense!”.
I just realised that the bands name, Sinergy, has “Sin” in it, like “Sin Trade”. Far fetched?
– ”Purely coincedence. We existed before that episode ever saw the light of day”.
Outside of Xena, if we talk fantasy briefly, what interests you in that field? Mention a few books or movies that you like.
– ”Well, I’ve always been interested in Greek mythology, which is one of the reasons I love the show so much. Honestly speaking, most of the books I’ve read in my life had nothing to do with fantasy. I mainly read books on behavioural sciences, forensics, true crime books on serial killers and mass murderers, FBI related books, ect… My first dream as a child was to be an FBI agent, to catch and profile serial killers. Kinda like Agent Starling from the movie, “Silence Of The Lambs”. As for Fantasy movies, I like Lord Of The Rings of course! My all time favorite movie though is “Moulin Rouge”!!!! I specifically went out and bought a new home theater system just for that DVD! *lol*”.
We all need to relax with a laugh or two, so outside of Joxer tripping over himself in Xena, what sitcoms do you enjoy to watch?
– ”Friends! That is the funniest show on the planet! I’m very much like Monica’s character. I’m an ultra picky neat freak and I love to cook”.
Do you have an interest in the paranormal? The unknown.
– ”Absolutely! I believe in everything. I even believe our apartment is haunted by a friendly ghost. When we first moved in the stove would always turn on by itself, doors opening when I KNOW they were shut tightly, ect… I even had a converstaion with the ghost after the first few weeks. I basically just talked to the air and said, “Hey, why can’t we live in peace together? You don’t have to try to run us out of here. We like this place. Let’s be friends, okay?” HAHAHAHA, can you believe that? I really did that! Since then there hasn’t been any SCARY things happening, but still some other stuff. I think our ghost likes to play games once in awhile”.
Do you believe in reincarnation?
– ”This is impossibe for me to know. I certainly hope not though. I don’t wanna live again. Life is too hard. I’m scared of death though, only because I really don’t know what is waiting for me. Hopefully nothing at all. No thoughts, no nuthin’!”.
Do you think that there is an ongoing UFO conspiracy, that we are not told the truth?
– ”Totally!!!!!!!!! When me and Alexi went to Roswell in 1999, we went to UFO museums and checked out all the sites. We tried to get to Area 51, but they have people patroling the roads up to there. They even have the maps there that read that there is no such place, when everyone knows it’s there! If that doesn’t raise some questions, then I don’t know what other proof you need. It was amazing to be in that town and visit the museums. We learned a LOT, and there’s no doubt in my mind that the US government is hiding things. I think that’s smart though. Learn as much as you can before going public with something that might change the fate of our planet!
Have you ever experinced something of this nature yourself?
– ”Yes, I’ve seen two UFOs. Let’s get something clear. Unidentified Flying Object. I’m not saying what I saw was something extraterrestial. I’m just saying they were something clearly unidentified. The first time was in Norway in 1996. I was with a friend and we were driving at night in the country side and suddenly OUT OF NOWHERE this “thing” just hovered in front of the car for about two seconds and then flew away in a split second. The whole thing happened so fast and we both looked at each other to make sure neither of us were going crazy. The next day in the newspaper there had been reports of a UFO sighting in that area the night before, so we were obviously not the only ones to see it. The second time was when me and Alexi were on vacation driving cross country in America in 1999. One of our destinations was ROSWELL, because we were both interested in UFOs aliens, ect… We were driving there at night (I was behind the wheel) and in the distance we both saw a light. We didn’t think anything about it at first. As we got closer the light grew brighter and as we drove right up to it, there was some sort of object hovering over the trees and as soon as we drove past it, the object made a VERY loud noise and then circled the car before flying away. THIS IS TRUE! I’M NOT CRAZY! I was screaming my lungs out I was sooooooo terrified. Alexi was just stunned, his eyes buldging out of his head in disbelief of what we’d just witnessed. I was so scared outta my mind and I pressed my foot on the gas and drove as fast as I could. When we entered Roswell, I was still shaking. We went straight to an all night liquor store to buy beer! We told the man working there what we had seen and he just shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. Then he started telling us stories of all the UFOs he’s seen, and how his sister has been abducted by aliens, etc… That town was spooky. EVERYONE there that we met had a different alien encounter to tell us about. We were beginning to think that everyone there were aliens themselves! Hahahaha”.
You dedicated your last album to the victims of september 11 2001, which is a nice geasture. I think we are all dealing with the demons created by the images we saw that day. Has it made you afraid to fly?
– ”A little bit, yes. I won’t deny that the first time I flew since then (only a few weeks later) I was observing what sort of people were boarding the plane. I was checking if anyone looked suspicious. It’s better now. I haven’t been afraid the last few times we´ve flown with the band”.
It is bound to have quite an impact on everything. You had already recorded your last album when this occured (ending the job only the day before this happened). Have you felt inspiration to lyrics for the next album from this?
– ”It has affected me deeply, but I don’t see myself writing a song about it. I’ve donated money to the “September 11th fund” and I desperately wanted to go to New York and help with the clean up efforts. I even tried to book a flight there but there were no flights going there right after it happened. I didn’t leave the house for 10 days after it happened and I hardly got a minutes sleep. I just stared glued to CNN. It was horrible”.
In a sense I´m glad that we have Xena in all this, to me that fantasy world gives me somewhere to go to forget everything else, including idiot terrorists, at least briefly. I guess we need our entertainment more than ever in times like this.
– You know something, for at least a few weeks after it happened I felt really guilty if I laughed or had any fun of any sort. No Xena, no anything. Just CNN 24 hours a day crying my eyes out. Then again, I always cry when I watch CNN, I’m very sensitive to the issues enveloping the world today. Just yesterday I was watching a story on women who are victims of acid burns (I can’t remember the country). Anyway, these women have been disfigured for life because of jealous husbands or men in their lives that feel they (the women) have rejected them or damaged their pride as men. Apparently acid burning is a popular form of domestic violence there. I really wish I remembered which country. India or Indonesia I think. I was crying like a baby. Watching the news puts my whole life into perspective. My goodness, I have it really good. I won’t take that for granted anymore”.
Well, thank you for being an entertainer Kimberly, and good luck with your future career in music or wherever you go. Hope to see you live in Sweden some day.
– ”You will! check our website when we have updated tour info! We should be playin three Swedish gigs in early December”.
(End of interview)
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As it happens, we did meet in Stockholm and my friend (photographer) Michael Johansson took some amazing pictures of Kimberly at the venue (Klubben, Fryshuset). I published this interview in LUCY IN THE SKY #5 in July 2003 and sadly never hooked up with her again. It was also up on my old Atlantis Online site, which is saved on a disc so I could find it and republish it here now. I am so glad to showcase it in 2020 and the Sinergy albums still sounds great. They were released between 1999 and 2002 and the band broke up in 2004. Kimberly is said to have scored music for TV shows since those days. Wherever you are now, I am so glad that we met all those years ago.
Michael Eriksson (2002) / Trinkelbonker (2020)
(This blog has permission to use Michael Johansson images – if you quote this interview, let me know about it).
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