...the thing was that Judy and I have been working 2 or 3 years now on our SNATCH project. Initially, when we were at the level of going to see the recording companies we were there the same tine as the now big-time managers who were signing their bands. When their hands got signed the companies were finally acknowledging the quote punk movement. Prior to this they thought this was just a phase that would pass over. Once after they acknowledged it, they signed it up, and finally they killed it. By the time Judy and I got there they had already gone through their 2nd tier of punkdom. There was no point where Judy and I should have sold out to a company that would not let us get the record out the way we want, mix it the way we want, or use the art work we wanted for the sleeve which was also progressive. THAT KIND OF MONEY DOESN'T TANTALIZE! Money's easy to make, if that's what you Really want. For the amount of money they were offering us there was no reason to sell out. Finally, through LIGHTNING, we got the chance to do what we wanted...

I met JUDY on the phone. I was having a transatlantic conversation on the phone with a friend in London. I was in NY at the time, and Judy was in his studio. He had been telling her about me and vice versa since I was going to London soon. She wanted me to pick something up for her in NY. We discussed the possibilities of opening up a hat shop in London which was really amusing. The problem was, we realized we would probably be the only 2 people in the world who would wear them. I'm talking about hats like - miniature cowhoy hats with 40 foot veils and just off-the-wall shit like that.

When I came to London in about '74 we became good friends. We were trying our best to get something going, we were both creative chicks.. We both had ideas of sorts. When I was living in NY I was at one time designing. I studied design.

Being in London or in any foreign place or anywhere for that matter, you have to line up all the possibilities in front of you and see what you have to offer and how you can apply then very clinically. It's SURVIVAL, basically. Being in London I looked for the type of work that would get me as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time, with as little mental energy going out as possible. Something I could do easy, and get a lot for it. A specialty. It helps you save your energy, so when you're ready and have the money you can use your energy to do something you really Want to do. So, I got a job in advertising. I was someone with strong ideas, and good visual sense. It was a lot of money - I bought all my equipment from it. We built the studio I used from the money I made hustling jerk off guys from Ad agencies in their 3-piece suits drinking their gin and tonics. It was very easy to just storm in there! These morons that are running the media - it's pathetic! That's why I'm interested in it, because it needs so much!

SNATCH came together because Judy an I were the type of persons who were always working on ideas and projects. My mind's always working, it's hard for me to relax. My body may rest but my mind keeps busy.

For 2 foreign chicks living in London, what is there really to do? So that's why Rock & Roll! It was the obvious thing to do out of boredom. There wasn't that much to do - everyone was rapping how "boring" it was then -- that's cliche now! But there really wasn't thet much to do, and that many people to do it with...

We thought about forming a band together. We worked on basic lyrics and melodies and things. But it was hard trying to find people who understood where we were coming from. At that time all the punks were suddenly beginning to appear. Everyone was into saying, "I'm a punk. I'm cool, I'm aggressive, we're going to change it" and all this shit. It was nice in theory, but in practice I don't think it really worked. I don't think they have changed very much. I think it was a bunch of jive.

That's why Judy and I didn't form a band straight away - we didn't know the channels we had to go through. When you do know what you're dealing with, you can sit back and think, "Well, I'm going to find an obstacle there, now how do I actually word it to get around that obstacle to maintain what I set out to do?' This is the Big Problem. It's not just getting your thing together and having something to say. It's actually Not being misquoted.

That's why at that point, I wanted to get a studio together when Judy and I were studying the possibilities of putting a band together. I thought, "Well, I don't wanna be a fucking pub band, man" I understood and accepted the fact that there was a certain process involved in getting a band on the road. I didn't want to use the Orthodox process -- we've avoided that all the way down the line.

...Basically what I want to do is exercise the empire. I want to suss out what the music industry is about and use it.