CIRCUS MAGAZINE MAY 1997

Whether schoomzing with shock-jock DJ Howard Stern or pulling his facial contortions onstage, Marilyn Manson's bassist Twiggy Ramirez has become as visible and eye-opening as his band's leader. The former death-metal guitarist has already contributed a lot to the band's legacy, co-composing many of the new tunes and deputizing as guitar player on the latest album Antichrist Superstar. In an exclusive CIRCUS Magazine interview, Twiggy describes the public's perception to his band's alter guises, and the new disc.

Circus: How vain are you?

TR: I am very vain and I wear dresses more often off than onstage!!!

Circus: But your hit "The Beautiful People" is an open criticism about the beauty ideals favoured and hyper in series like Baywatch and Beverly Hills 90210.

TR: That's different. We are against the beauty and fashion fascist regime that gets hyped in America and all over the world. "The Beautiful People" is NOT against people who style themselves in whichever way.

Circus: You come from the Florida death-metal scene and said you like AC/DC.

TR: Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I want to record the same album over and over. Antichrist Superstar is a big step forward and I am very proud of it. No matter what out image is like-and we focus on a strong image-the music is extremely important. When we are writing songs or recording them, we see ourselves as artists and we act out our creativity. On stage we are simply performers and play different characters. We are like the Indians who used different masks and paints for different rituals. When we are playing a gig I simply become Twiggy.

Circus: Don't you become schizophrenic with all those different characters?

TR: There is a certain force and it can become a bit schizophrenic-yeah, I feel schizophrenic lately-but it is so much fun to slip into different roles. We are not only entertaining and amusing the audience, we are also entertaining ourselves.

Circus: How far does this go?

TR: Lately I started dressing up and camouflaging myself a lot even in my private life. When I go out I often wear a false beard or a moustache.

Circus: But why?

TR: Maybe because you can behave like you want, do whatever you want when you are not "yourself". You can act out all your evil dark sides without feeling responsible. It is not something Marilyn Manson invented. Check out Mardi Gras and how people behave.

Circus: Marilyn Manson are often accused to be Satanists.

TR: Christianity, like most religions, works with fear. Sins can be confessed and you are "clean again" and can start to sing again without thinking about your old sins. We believe that people should ask themselves why they sinned. They should show some responsibility.