We interviewed Emilie Autumn to talk about her forthcoming UK tour and album release.

You have been into music pretty much all your life, can you give us a brief history of how you got to where you are now musically?
When I was four years old, I saw a violin in a shop window, and thought it was a pretty thing. I was completely smitten with it. After several years of hardcore training, I simply felt that playing one kind of music my whole life, or one instrument, or one anything, was not enough for me, so I developed a style that combined all the differing elements that I loved, from classical to rock to industrial to metal to Broadway.

You are due to release your new album ‘Fight Like A Girl’ this year what does the title of the album mean to you? And when can we expect it to be released?
“Fight like Girl” is a title that represents the taking back of a phrase that is used all too far and wide and for decades, if not centuries, to insult boys and ridicule girls, driving another nail into the coffin of gender equality for the majority (we are 51%) each time it is said. Since I can’t control the offensive bullshit that comes out of people’s mouths, I’ve decided to simply change what terms like these mean to at least a certain number of thinking individuals. To “fight like a girl” is in fact a very good thing, and every boy would do well to take some tips.

How would you say ‘Fight Like A Girl’ compares to your previous albums?
Where “Opheliac” was very much about laying the foundation for who I was, why I had this unique perspective on life and death, and preparing the listener for entrance into the “Asylum” world, “FLAG” is very literally telling the tale of “The Asylum For Wayward Victorian Girls,” the book, and is a preview of the Broadway musical that the book will soon become. This album is a large part of the actual soundtrack for the musical.

What themes and stories are featured within ‘Fight Like A Girl’?
The album begins with the title track, which is an anthem for taking an insult and transforming it into a source of power, as I described earlier. From there, we join the inmates as they break out of their cells and go on the murderous rampage known in the book as the “Tea Party Massacre.” This leads us to our first flashback, showing us how it all began, how this whole mess started, and by the end of the album, we end up right back where we started, and answer the most important question of all: Where do we go from here?

Over the next couple of months you have a lot of shows booked up and are going to be on the road for a long time, how do you keep yourself busy between shows when on the road for so long?
I wish l had that problem! There isn’t much time at all between shows, and far too little time than I’d like to be able to get to know our surroundings, and the various cities we pass through in our gyspy caravan journey. Between load-in, sound check, VIP sessions, the show itself, load out, press, and a million other details I’m forgetting, we’re lucky to be able to eat and bathe, one or both of which often don’t happen at all.

Your shows are well known for being theatrical, how do you come up with all the ideas for the shows?
Everything I do comes from the story of the Asylum. Therefor, I have a whole bible of stories to tell and worlds to create for my audience, and am in no danger of running out of inspiration.

You are heading to the UK in March and April for some shows, what can someone who has never seen your live show before expect from the shows?
Think about the best rock concert you’ve ever been to, then smash that image into a million pieces. This is Broadway. This is theatre. We are here to tell you a story.

The music industry has always been a hard thing to crack for female artists but over the past couple of years there have been more and more females making a name for themselves in the industry how does it feel to be a part of it?
I’m quite isolated, so I don’t really know. I’m not trying to win a Grammy, or get on the radio, or win a million fans, so I’m not too terribly conscious of the struggle of people within an industry that places all importance on these things. I’m just trying to spread a message of strength and individuality through art. My gender concerns reach far beyond anything so petty and false as the music industry – I’m much more concerned about the one in four reported women in America being raped as we speak, not to mention the rest of the world, much of which is even worse.

Your latest book release ‘The Asylum For Wayward Victorian Girls’ is an extremely personal book, how did you feel about releasing it and what has the response been from your fans that have read it?
There was a brief moment as the book was going to print where I realized that the day after it was released, my life would never be the same. It’s scary, it’s controversial, and it tells more about myself than any of my closest friends have ever known, and more about the reality of life inside of an insane asylum than most people would ever want to know. Then I realized that I had absolutely nothing to lose. Since that time, I’ve been beyond impressed and grateful to see that the backlash has been minimal to non-existent, and that the story is in fact having the best two effects that I could ever hope for it – helping people feel less alone and more understood, and entertaining readers simply by being a good rollercoaster ride. The book wasn’t written for a “fan”, or someone who was already familiar with me or my music in any way. It was always meant to stand on it’s own, and that’s what seems to be happening. This story is absolutely everything to me. Everything.

Where do you hope to see yourself in a year’s time?
Scouting for locations in London’s West End theatre district for the perfect location for the debut of “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls”, the musical.

One last random question we ask every artist, if you could be an animal out of a Zebra or a Giraffe which would you be and why?
Zebra, no contest. Permanent striped stockings.

Thanks for your time is there any message you would like to leave for your fans reading this?
I’d simply like to thank you, first and foremost, for your time and for putting up me! Then, to all of the Plague Rats out there, just know that the power of individualism, beauty, and truth lies within your claws. Raise them, and fight. I’m right beside you.

Interview by Trigger