The Rock Star Test - Vile Hour's Nichole Shade Goes Up Against Chaos Magazine's Editor Cassie SummersHave you ever sustained an injury in the name of your music? Either on stage otherwise?Cassie: I did once, actually, yeah. Although, it doesn't sound all too rock and roll. If anyone saw the documentary I recorded when I was co-vocalist with Big Light Show, they'll have seen it before, but basically I was being a royal little bitch to that Lauren girl that was also in the band – it's worth noting that I edit Chaos Magazine now, while she works in HMV in London, I saw her – and so she launched an empty coffee mug at my head on the tour bus...while I was pregnant as well. I was knocked out cold, and it was the most embarrassing thing ever, considering I was trying to be all tough at the time.
Nichole: Oh my god, probably one of the best stories I have: It was one of the first shows I had ever done. Castor and I were still in Detroit, playing in shitty bars, when somebody started yelling for me to take my shirt off. Now when people do that, I usually comply, but this wasn’t a great day to start out with, so I started making up a song right on the spot specially named “Fuck You, You Stupid Bastard,” and singing it as loud as possible. I guess the girlfriend of the guy that yelled that didn’t like that 1.) he wanted to see my chest, and 2.) I was calling her boyfriend a bastard, so she threw a beer bottle at me. I dodge it, but it managed to hit the wall behind me a shatter, getting some of the glass stuck in my face, right by my eye, and a few smaller pieces on the back of my shoulder. I was so pissed off that I jumped off the stage and started tumbling with this chick, which didn’t go very well at all because I’m 5’3” and this bitch was almost six feet, I would say. I went to the emergency room that night with seven stiches in my face, three on the back of my shoulder, one chipped tooth, and a black eye. All for the sake of music.
CASSIE 1 - NICHOLE 0 - Surely getting hit and knocked with a coffee mug is the ironic uber-rockest thing ever?What's the scariest situation you've ever encountered with a fan?Cassie: Pass, actually. I don't think I've ever had a moment with a fan that was all that scary. I used to get girls at shows coming up and trying to hit me when I was the lead in Cosmic Beauty Contest, but that was part of my persona, and I kinda wanted to make that sort of reaction to enhance my reputation. I had bodyguards and bandmates around though, so I never really felt all that “at risk” of injury, you know? In more recent years, my fans have become a lot more kind, but since I've managed to mellow a little, I guess it has become the case that they're calm as well, so no...I guess I fail on that front. Loser....
Nichole: I guess it’s kind of hard to scare me. I mean, Vile Hour has some crazy ass fans, but we’re pretty crazy ourselves, so I would say it comes with the territory. I guess the only really creepy moment I ever had was the first time Castor and I were touring. This guy was at every single show we did around the Northern US. He was following us everywhere, and always came up to talk to us after the show. At first, it was kind of cute, but then I started getting letter from him, sent to my hotel rooms. I’m still not sure how he found out where we were staying, but I was scared. One time I walked into my room after a show, and the whole place was covered in flowers with a note lying on my bed, telling him how well we did. It was a pretty tucked away, smaller hotel in Worcester, Massachusetts, so the scariest part was when we asked the hotel staff if they had seen anybody go up to our room, they told us that they couldn’t recall anybody even coming through the lobby that they didn’t recognize. I’m still convinced he was hiding in my closet the whole time.
CASSIE 1 - NICHOLE 1 - Stalkers! The ultimate rock star accessory! Way to go Nichole...this contest is back on!Have you ever had sex in a public place? If so did anyone see? (Bonus point)Cassie: Can you just give me the point by default? Wow.....yeah. I think my most famous moment was when I had sex with multiple partners on the first season of Celebrity Big Brother. I slept with my future husband, Jason Smith once or twice in there, and then we had a little group session with Katie Coyle, before I slept with that Kestrel Comatose girl the next morning. Crazy times. Also, we can't forget that time when I was barely famous that I made that sex tape with that mentally deficient Lukey Comatose guy that sorta went the porn version of viral. That was not a fun one to have to explain to my mother and father, but I guess it was fun at the time, and sort of got me to where I am today...or at least gave me the first push towards fame that I needed to capitalise on.
Nichole: Have I ever had sex in public? Is the pope Catholic? Yes. Yes, I have had sex in public. Several times. My fiancé can attest to that. I guess I don’t get any bonus points, though. Nobody ever saw us. Or if they did, they never said anything. Whatever. Even if they did see, it’s not like we would stop. Now that I think about this, I’m not sure Sam is going to be too happy with me for talking about our sex life in a magazine…
CASSIE 3 - NICHOLE 1 - Chaos Editor not only scores the point for the sex tape, but gets the bonus for the multiple orgies on CBB Season One! Name the most extreme drinking game you've ever been involved in and explain it.Cassie: We used to play a thing when we toured with Big Light Show – and when I say we, I mean me and members of A Girl Called Mary...strange – which was called Edward Fortyhands. It involves sellotaping a 40 ounce bottle of cider to each hand, so that you can't get it off. The rules state that you can't take them off until both are finished, which means no headed to the bathroom of course. There were a lot of wet pants on that tour. I'm just small though, so there weren't all that many times when I actually won. I never pissed myself though, I just screamed at people until they set me free, and when you're as angry as I was back in those days, and you have glass bottles taped to your hands, people are surprisingly helpful.
Nichole: The most extreme drinking games are the ones you don’t remember, darling. I would say that one that I do remember pretty well was the ongoing drinking game we had for the whole duration of Big Brother. I think more people saw me naked for the sake of that game than anybody did during my whole high school career. Looking back on it, it probably wasn’t my smartest decision. But, hey, stupid decisions have the best stories.
CASSIE 3 - NICHOLE 2 - We agree, alcohol amnesia is a lot more extreme than chickening out of a good old game of Edward Fortyhands!What's the longest you've ever gone on tour without changing your underwear?Cassie: Jesus...that's horrible. I'm sorry, I lose again. I'm too much of a girl for that sort of thing. There are one or two times when we've had to go without a laundry facility for a long time when I've been on the road, but never would I wear the same underwear for even two days in a row. This girl took a lot of panties on tour. I did go commando once or twice when we didn't have the chance to wash enough clothes, but no, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm a terrible rockstar on that front – I always did like to be the most hygienic, and I was first to the shower every night.
Nichole: Um, gross. No, darling. I pack enough underwear to get me through an apocalyptic wasteland for each tour. And that’s even if I decide to wear underwear that week. I come home after tour with still clean underwear in my suitcase. My body is a temple. A well defiled temple, but a temple no less. And it deserves a clean entrance.
CASSIE 3 - NICHOLE 2 - No points awarded...maybe this question isn't ideal for girls...they seem to like keeping them tacos clean!Have you ever done anything embarrassing or desperate for food/drink/other while on tour?Cassie: For drink, yes, for food no. I'm not much of an eater, so it was all about getting drinks for me. You might say that's where my bisexuality started. After high school, when we used to hit the bars in San Diego, I would make out with my friends just so guys would buy us drinks...lame I know, but that continued into my life on tour in the early days. We would finish on stage and I'd head to the bar, eye up the first girl I saw who was obviously a fan and start kissing her, which sounds so crass and low as I look back. Drink is one of those anomalies of fame, in that the more you can afford it when you get famous, the more readily available it is for free. It means I don't have to make out with girls for a shot of vodka these days though. I'm glad, I'm not 17 anymore after all. I'm glad my kids are too young to read this though, I'd be very embarrassed.
Nichole: Hahaha, I think Cassie is going to win this question. I can’t think of a single crazy thing I’ve ever done to receive sustenance. I remember after hour first CD came out, we were on tour, and one of the bartenders at a venue we were playing at convinced me to play a Nickleback song in return for a free beer. I’m a sucker for cheap booze, so I did it. The beer tasted better than any beer I had ever drank, however. Well worth it. Well… maybe.
CASSIE 4 - NICHOLE 2 - Lesbianism for alcohol was about to in anyway...why wouldn't it, but the fact it changed her sexuality means Cass definitely scores the point! Who is the craziest partier you have ever experienced in your life?Cassie: Jason was always pretty insane. When we were together, we would hit all manner of parties in the early days, and it could get wild. I'm not sure he was the craziest though, in truth. Being with him meant I used to party a lot with Eric Quillington and Glamazon a lot, even if I didn't get on with them. When you see a guy with so many pills and powders he doesn't know one from the other, and a girl with a cup of tea in one hand and an axe in the other, then you know you are out with some seriously fucking loopy individuals. It was always worth trying to steer clear or head towards one of the trippiest highs ever, followed by one of the world's worst hangovers. I'm almost glad I don't go out to that sort of thing anymore. Life ain't as exciting, but at least I never feel dead.
Nichole: Easy answer: Erich Hess. I’ve been on tour with him twice, and both times he’s managed to be completely wasted the whole time. The best part is that he doesn’t even really have to be at a party to rock out with his cock out. He’s, like, partying in his head all the fucking time. I don’t know how his wife deals with it. I think it would be fun for the first few weeks, and then it would just get tireding. Girl needs a break eventually!
CASSIE 5 - NICHOLE 2 - We have also partied with Glamazon, and anyone who can not only have an axe, but intimidate security to the extent that they don't interfere, gets our vote! Are you banned from anywhere? And why?Cassie: Some venues in California banned me in my early days because I was always causing fights by flirting with guys in the front row who were with their girlfriends. I was yanked off stage by security a few times before I ever got famous, just because my actions were causing people to get so mad. Those bans have largely been lifted now though, thank God. It was just youthful exuberance. And yes, I was an idiot. But to answer the question; no, I am not currently banned from anywhere.
Nichole: Several clubs in Detroit won’t let me in anymore after some of the trouble I’ve caused. To be honest, I’m not a total bitch. I mean, you piss me off, and I’ll fuck you up, but I have to be provoked. There’s a club in Amsterdam that I know I’m banned from for prostituting myself on stage. I thought that was legal in Amsterdam! Apparently you have to have some sort of license or something like that, I don’t know. I was doing it as a joke, anyway. For a city that has legalized pot, the cops there are pretty mean… I’m pretty sure I was banned from my parent’s house for a while, but they lifted that ban after I got pregnant. Because nothing says, “I’m settling down!” like getting knocked up.
CASSIE 5 - NICHOLE 3 - She's catching up again after that one! Amsterdam never knew what hit it...Have you ever smashed something/someone on stage just for the hell of it?Cassie: For the hell of it, no? I bumped that Lauren girl into guitars, amps and microphone stands frequently when we were on stage together, but that was largely because I very much disliked her, and I wanted to take over her band, which I sorta did in the end. But I never just smacked someone for the sake of hitting them. It's no fun that way is it?
Nichole: Oh, hell yeah. I have to say that I get kind of intense when I play. I lose myself in the music, if I can be incredibly cliché for a second. And if the music tells me to knock over my piano, throw Castor’s drums into the crowd, and possibly kick some fans in the face as they try to crowd around the stage, who am I to say no? This has only happened a few times, mind you. The music is generally pretty merciful when it comes to my instruments/fans. Just don’t piss her off. My muse is a fickled bitch sometimes.
CASSIE 5 - NICHOLE 4 - Not only does she get the point for hitting people, but for enjoying it more than anything!You're on stage and over-zealous fan makes it up past security...what do you do?Cassie: That, I have dealt with in the past. Like I said, I used to flirt with people's boyfriends down the front at shows by like staring at them and pretending to suck off the microphone. It was supposed to be just a little joke that wound them up, because it played up to the Cassie Bitch character I made for myself, and make me look like the slut I wanted to come across as. But once a girl got over the barrier when I was giving her man the eye, and just went for me. I just knocked her down with the microphone. It made a cool echoing pop noise; I felt like a WWE hardcore wrestler.
Nichole: Psh, the more the merrier! If they know the words, I’ll let them sing with me! If they know how to play the songs, I’ll let them play! There’s nothing better than having a fan join you on stage, in my own professional opinion. And if they make it past security, they totally deserve it. Those guys are scary and huge.
CASSIE 6 - NICHOLE 4 - In the past, love and peace on stage would have gotten the point for Nichole, but kudos to Cassie for channelling CM Punk and Randy Blythe all at once.What's your average daily menu while you're off on tour?Cassie: You keep asking me questions that I'm going to fail on guys. No points for me here. I expect you want tales of late night pizza and dodgy burgers and kebabs, but you won't get that from me. I'm a vegetarian, and I have been for most of my adult life, so I always have provisions with me on the bus to save me having to go through the crap of trying to find veggie food. I normally stick to just salad and soup when we're on tour. It's hassle free and there's no chance of food poisoning either.
Nichole: Orange juice. For some reason, I crave orange juice like a motherfucker when I’m on tour. Besides that, I eat total shit. A lot of burgers, a lot of bacon, a lot of coffee… Ridiculous stuff that you should never eat on a daily basis. I used to drink from sunrise to sunset, but now that I’m pregnant, not so much… Or at all, really. Having another life grow inside of me as really killed my rockstar-ness…
CASSIE 6 - NICHOLE 5 - Of course you can't get a rockstar point for having salads, Cass. Dear me.....Have you ever trashed a hotel room or dressing room?Cassie: Does a tour bus count? It wasn't for rock and roll reasons, mind you. I wasn't like high or wasted or anything, and I wasn't even trying to show off. It was when I was on tour and I had just split from Kamikaze Kate. There was a picture on the web of her kissing that Josh guy [from Misery Loves Company]. I was pregnant and hormonal and lonely, and I lost it. That bus was a right royal mess by the time I was done with it. There were fridges and instruments everywhere. I felt like a loser after doing it though, and not at all like some sort of cool dude, rocker.
Nichole: I have to say that I’ve never trashed a hotel room to the extent that I should when I’m on tour. Throwing a TV out a window is on my bucket list, but I’ve yet to do it. I know I’ve left hotel rooms complete messes before. One time, Castor and I were throwing an End of Tour party in our hotel room, and somebody left the sink running the whole night. Somehow, nobody noticed, and we ended up flooding the entire hotel room. We had to pay a lot of money to get the carpets fixed, but it’s all for the sake of rock ‘n’ roll, you know?
CASSIE 7 - NICHOLE 5 - A mess is not trashed Nichole....and we saw what Cassie did to that bus on TV. Wow...What's the worst thing/person you have ever woken up next to after a heavy night on the booze?Cassie: Jason Smith? Nah...he was my husband, and as much as he went and done a runner on me, he gave my two of my beautiful kids, so I can never hate him for that, you know? I'm going to say Katie Coyle. That little dyke broke my heart and made me look like an idiot by kissing Suzie on TV, and then magically turning straight. So yeah, every time I think back to that now, I see her as the worst thing I woke up next to. I also woke up next to a fire once though. Like we were on tour and I got wasted on vodka. When I woke up, there was a '74 Cadillac beside me like blazing on fire. I still don't know if I did it.
Nichole: Sam Fischer. No, I’m just kidding. Oooh… My fiancé is going to hate me for that… But really, though, I remember we were playing in Detroit, and I told my mom that she should come see me the next morning after the show. I hadn’t seen my mom since we started touring, and I was starting to miss her, weirdly enough. Anyway, so I completely forgot that she was coming to our hotel room the next morning, and I ended up throwing that huge party, which really ended up becoming this weird orgy. I guess we must have left the door a crack open or something, because the next morning I woke up with my mother standing over me, surrounded by naked and half-naked sleeping people, booze, lines of coke, and condom wrappers. Scariest shit ever.
CASSIE 7 - NICHOLE 6 - Fire or a disappointed parent?? Who can decide? Well, we did, and we think our mother finding us naked with an area of people is worse than the burning car; just. General one; what's the most rock star thing you've ever done?Cassie: I used to do a thing that we nicknamed the atomic kneedrop in CBC. It was like, I would leap in the air just before a big note at the end of a song and I'd land flat on my knees. I saw it on camera a few times and it made me look like a fucking epic rock star. Then when I started waking up in the morning without the ability to bend my legs I thought “Cassie, you're 17...you can't fuck up your knees already.” I also once hitched a ride to a show on the back of a motorbike...cost me a blow job though.
Nichole: I did a whole concert in the nude one time. I know that’s not super rockstar-y, but that was one of my shining moments. My whole thought process was literally, “I’m motherfucking famous, and I don’t give a fuck who sees my cooch.” I can honestly say that I would never do it again, but it was kind of a right of passage for me.
CASSIE 7 - NICHOLE 7 - Nudity! Of course, boobs always win. Fact.Any tattoos/piercings or other body modifications?Cassie: I have quite a few tattoos yeah. I was never brave enough to get myself pierced, apart from my ears, but I have a smiley face tattooed on my hand, then I have my bluebird singing on the inside of my wrist and some sheet music on the outside of the same one. They were all done to represent parts of my musical career so I still love them. It's like memories I can always see by just looking down.
Nichole: Okay, let me start off by saying this: No, my eyebrows are not tattooed on. I shave my eyebrows and draw them on every morning, and they are a pain in my fucking ass, but I love doing it. Now, yes, I do have a tattoo. It’s of the cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” album, on the back of my left shoulder. Neutral Milk Hotel has always been a huge inspiration to me, and I thought the least I could do for them was have them permanently stained on my skin. As for piercings, I have my ears done twice, my belly button done, and my map of Tasmania done.
CASSIE 8 - NICHOLE 7 - Cassie's tattoos are pretty ace, especially the little bird.Everyone argues on tour; what's the worst thing you've ever done to get revenge on someone else?Cassie: Oh God....it's back to Lauren again. When we used to be on that tour, we used to fight a lot, but she never fought back until the thing with the mug. I used to bring a chair and sit right in front of her at group discussions and then like dig the chair into her knees to try to push her out. In CBC I used to call the drummer all manner of awful names on stage as well. We really hated each other, and I had a mic when he didn't..
Nichole: Okay… You all are going to think I’m really cruel for this… Castor had this cat, Sandy, that he loved, and he insisted on taking on tour with us. So the cat would ride along in the tour bus, but it smelled awful because Castor never cleaned it, and it would bite my toes when I was trying to take naps… Honestly, it was awful, and that cause of a lot of fights between Castor and I. So one day, after a quick piss stop, I opened the door and Sandy just happened to run out of the door. It was within distance that I could have run off and gotten it, but… I didn’t. Castor was upset, but we didn’t fight anymore!
CASSIE 8 - NICHOLE 8 - LOL! Yes, lol....we're still laughing now. Poor cat though...We know you're both rockstars....but what are you listening to when you're sitting on the bus during the day?Cassie: Jeez....I haven't played a show in such a long time to be honest. When I was still touring though, it would always be something that inspired me to go out there that night and do my best to be who I wanted to be. I think a lot of people listen to stuff on the bus to zone out, but I was always listening to Misery Loves Company, or Riot! In the Boulevard, you know the sort of bands who I really wanted to be like? It was always the best way to get pumped up.
Nichole: Hahaha, Castor and I never listen to ourselves when we’re on tour. I feel like that’s just stroking your own ego. We listen to a lot of Neutral Milk Hotel, Misery Loves Company, Stephanie Fierce, Lady Gaga… and, to be honest, I’m a huge musical theatre fan. We have a lot of musical soundtracks that I force people to listen to with me. Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis, Cabaret, Avenue Q… You name it, I probably own the Original Broadway Cast recording of it.
CASSIE 9 - NICHOLE 9 - We couldn't call it. Both have awesome taste. Point each.Have you ever received any crazy gifts?Cassie: There have been a few. There was a girl who used to come to any show we did in San Diego. I think I might have gone to school with her, I can't remember. Anyway, she used to knit me clothes, always purple and blue, I think she was a bit obsessed. I used to just throw them away, except an awesome pair of mittens she made me one time that said “Cass” across both knuckles. I still have them. There was also a craze for a while that started on Tumblr, when I was flirting with girls' boyfriends, that the women would bring vibrators to the shows and when they met me they'd be like: “Here you horny little bitch, use this and stop tryin' to steal my man!” I kept them all in a box and took them back to my apartment at the end of the tour. Then I thought, “Shit Cass, if you die....this is what they're going to tell your mother,” so I threw them all out.
Nichole: We got a package once from a girl who decided to send us every pair of underwear she had worn to our shows. There were about eight pairs of underwear in this box. I mean, how do you respond to that? Do you keep the underwear? Do you throw them away? Is that something that Goodwill would take? It stayed in the corner of my apartment for a few months before I decided that the best thing to do would be the burn them. And then I got fined because there was a burn ban going on in Detroit at the time. That whole dilemma was more trouble than it was worth.
CASSIE 10 - NICHOLE 9 - The vibrator story made us laugh just a little more, so the boss edges it.If you could be any other person in music today, who would it be?Cassie: In music itself, Amy Meyer. She's a real star of the industry, and I love her talent and her presence. She really is awesome. Out of music; Gia Rose. She does so much behind the scenes and people should appreciate her. The girl is special, and she deserves praise. I'd love to be as organised, hard working and influential as her, as well as being a great mother. I'd maybe have a go at being Vanity as well..it must be crazy to live in that head., it would be like having constant drugs for free.
Nichole: I don’t believe in trying to be somebody else. You’re who you are for a reason, and if you want to be different, then you’re going to have to work at it. Change doesn’t just come at the snap of the fingers. But if I had to choose to be somebody else, I would totally want to be Stephanie Fierce. That girl is a fucking star. I would love to have that sort of fame and cult following behind me. He who controls Stephanie Fierce controls the world.
CASSIE 11 - NICHOLE 9 - Only because Cassie would kill us for giving a point for anything to do with Stephanie Fierce....for real...And lastly, have you ever risked death just “for the hell of it”?Cassie: Have you ever seen that episode of the office where they yell “parkour parkour” all the time? We did that one time at a show and I climbed out the fire escape of the bus and jumped off the roof. That was a bit dangerous. I also used to risk my life nightly on tour in my early career. None of the guys smoked, and I was after a weed fix, so I used to open the bus door and sit on the bottom step while I smoked. The bus was moving at the time though, and if you fall out of a bus at 80 mph, you ain't getting up again. I used to do that far too often.
Nichole: Okay, this is going to be me up on my soap box for a second: When you go out and party all night, you’re risking death just for the hell of it. Hardcore drugs and alcohol kills. You can’t dispute that. Now… Yes, I have risked death just for the hell of it, and it was fun as fuck. Once, I jumped from my hotel balcony into the hotel pool. Eight floors up. That’s the power of crack cocaine, ladies and gentlemen. Suddenly, everything you feared seems completely stupid.
FINAL SCORE - CASSIE 12 - NICHOLE 9 - We're not sure that hotel's should be used on tours Ms Nichole....buses are king. And you live on a boat...if you had jumped from that though, you'd have won the world! The Vile Hour newbie puts up a stunning fight, and we're sure one day she'll even surpass the little nutcase's rockstar abilities! Good game guys!