CL’s last encounter with Bay area kink-synthpop trio Panamory found its singer, Lauren Lance, being assailed by leather while being chained to St. Andrew’s cross in a NSFW video for “Cara Mia”.
Panamory just released an NSFW video for “Cara Mia” — watch
As Panamory (it means “Love Everyone”) gets ready to play St. Pete Pride on Saturday — the band takes the Wells Fargo Main Stage at 5 p.m. — we caught up with Lance to talk about sexuality, aliens and what it means to be able to perform in celebration of the LGGBTQQIAAPPK community this weekend.
That’s “Lesbian, Gay, Genderqueer, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Allies, Pansexual, Polyamorous, and Kink” if you’re keeping score.
Read our Q&A below, and get more information on St. Pete Pride via local.cltampa.com.
Even with all its eccentricity, Panamory is still kind of a straightforward project with a really clear, almost accessible purpose. LILITH on the other hand, seems a little more out of the box. What’s the distinction between the two for you, and what purpose do they serve for you as far as serving your muse and creative motivations?
Panamory and LILITH are two different sides to myself, what I'm like as an extrovert and introvert. I've never been able to consider myself just one. Some days I want to experience life with everyone and some days I cant bring myself to look at Facebook. For me, Panamory is the joy of feeling emotionally connected to other people; of giving and receiving love. LILITH is the rapture of spiritual discovery; communication between myself and the Goddess. In my heart, both of these projects are necessary, because they provide a way for me to communicate through a more honest means – music.
Last time we caught up were talking about your video for “Cara Mia” and how you wanted to give people a peek into what makes you tick. What is Panamory’s motivation these days?
It remains more or less the same. The music we're currently writing will have sexual themes to it, but we're also looking to portray what's its like to be a "Party Alien," someone who doesn't quite fit in, but makes everything all the more exciting by their presence.
What was the reaction to the video like?
Interesting! It turned into more of a social experiment than I anticipated. Many people receive the unsolicited dick-pic more than they'd like, so I thought that I'd end up receiving more (annoying, but 4 inches was not going to get in the way of creating art.) However, it went a very different direction, my inbox was flooded with messages that started with "Mistress," contained enough compliments to make me blush, and followed with requests to be flogged, tied up, ect. A girl can get used to that.
It’s been just over a year since Uses For Humans came out. How’s the LP grown over the year? You were already on new material when it came out — how’s that going?
Uses For Humans has really grown into a pleasurable live experience for me, especially with the addition of Cara Mia, which I consider more part of UFH than anything else. Currently we're working on a new EP, Party Sex Aliens, and it will have more continuity. We just can't resist a concept album, but hopefully the limitation of an EP will keep us from writing a 3 hour saga.
Do you ever miss the cruise ship lifestyle?
Working on a cruise ship has a lot of ups and downs. The downs were too apparent to me to ever revisit. Certain cruise lines segregate crew member's jobs, pay, treatment, rooms, and freedoms based on the country they hired you out of. A lot of people in better positions like entertainment can look that over easily, but it disgusted me.
Are you still singing with St. Petersburg Opera?
I am! Being a part of SPO's chorus becomes more gratifying with every production I do! Doug and I both studied classical music in college. In particular, I studied opera, so keeping classical music in my ears is very important to me. It's fun for us to nerd out about that stuff together.
You played on a float in October, Pride last year and another festival (SHINE?) back in the summer. What’d you learn about the festival/parade set at those gigs? Do you like them any more or less than club shows?
We haven't had the pleasure of performing at SHINE yet (it really is a great festival,) but maybe you're thinking of Burning Blueberry Brother at The Blueberry Patch, which we really enjoyed! I've definitely learned to drink more water than I think I need for a festival and instead of getting up in faces at a club, festivals require you to preform to the entire theater at once. I don't think I like any type of show more than the next, club shows and festivals are just different.
Children of Orion, Best Day Ever — your bands have always tackled the theme of love. Why is getting to play this Pride significant for you
Pride is always important to me. I am pansexual, gender (cis or trans) doesn't have an effect on how I see a person romantically or sexually. For me romance is a beautiful moment between minds and sex is the mechanical means for pleasure. I don't consider the way I feel to be less than or better than anyone else, but being accepted is important, feeling valid is important. Sometimes it's easy for people of the orientations listed in the larger LGGBTQQIAAPPK community to feel left out of the LGBT community. Putting this kinky pansexual on stage at Pride means the world to me! I'm so honored and proud.
I feel like the word “sexuality” is really loaded. What does it mean to you, especially in the context of Panamory?
"Sexuality" is a loaded word. It's all too common for people to grow up with the idea that sex for the sake of pleasure is undesirable or filthy, that embracing whatever makes you tick makes you less of a person. Even finding what is sexy about yourself is a struggle. None of these things should be. Sexuality is the pursuit of giving and receiving pleasure. If consenting adults are involved, sexuality is a gift. I want that to be one of Panamory's main messages.
Lastly, it seems like you’ve found a nice home sonically with Panamory. Will be band remain together in its current form? Still you David and…?
Panamory remains Lauren Lance, David Day, and Douglas Katez. Changing the lineup would devastate the intimacy we've built in writing songs together, which makes creating this next EP a pleasure.
This article appears in Jun 22-29, 2017.