She’s one of rock’s hottest
female bassists today – not only super hot, but she’s
also got the skills to make her stand out in a mainly “male-dominant”
music scene.
The facts are:
She was born on the 12th of December, 1973,
400 kilometres south of Buenos Aires, in the Argentine
city of Mar del Plata. She was born the
daughter to two professional concert pianists, Mario
Merdirossian and Ana Lia Lenchantin.
At the age of four she moved with her family to Los
Angeles, California. At the age of five she started
playing piano. She started taking up violin lessons when
she was eight and then taught herself to play guitar when
she was twelve years old.
In 1999 Paz Lenchantin
joins up with Billy Howerdel, Troy Van Leeuwen,
Josh Freese, and Maynard James Keenan (Tool)
to become a founding member of one of the most popular and
successful bands of its time! In 2000, A
Perfect Circle releases their smashing debut,
Mer de Noms. And the rest, as they say,
is history.
We were fortunate enough to stumble upon
Paz and were absolutely thrilled when she
agreed to answer some of our questions! Here then, our exclusive
Q&A with Miss Paz Lenchantin:
After the release of A
Perfect Circle’s debut album, Mer de Noms,
everything just snowballed from thereon, to the point where
it became one of the most popular acts of its time. As a
founding member, did you ever expect A Perfect Circle to
reach the level of success it did?
It was the most exciting experience that completely
changed my life! You can never expect anything but when
we played together there was no question in my mind that
it was huge.
You are of Argentine-American decent, with French
and Armenian ancestors; fluent in both English and Spanish…
do you think that your rich cultural background has any
direct influence on your work as a musician?
I know my name last name is French, but I have
yet to find out how…but Spanish is a very strong half
of my life, but music is music and that is what I love about
it. I lived in the USA since I was a very little girl. That
move was the most important move that could have happened
to me. I do believe that your surrounding does influence
you as an artist...as well as your background. My family
is a musical family so music was in the cards...
I read that you did work on the
Miami Vice production with director Michael Mann. Tell us
about your experience.
I am a big fan of Michael Mann, so it was an honor
to work with him. He heard my solo work (SONGS FOR LUCI)
and asked me to play on a couple of scenes.
Who have been your top 5 musical
influences, of all time?
I will name my top 5 Bass players that have influenced
me:
Paul
McCartney
John
Paul Jones
Rick Danko
Eric Avery
…and last but not least, Bill
Wyman.
Can you still remember the first
bass guitar you ever got?
It was an acoustic guitar that my mother had. I
took the high B and E off of it and played along to tapes
mainly. The Bass players I listed above were my teachers.
What do you do for fun, or to relax - besides playing
a musical instrument?
I play soccer with my dog.
Soon after Mer de Noms
you joined up with David Pajo, Jimmy Chamberlin, Matt Sweeney
and Billy Corgan
to form Zwan – what was it like working with
a legend such as Billy Corgan?
Billy pushed me musically in ways that were so
different than what I was use to. When I thought I did my
best, he knew there was still a better in me. He really
let me run free with music. He believed in me, and I will
never forget that.
Even though you ‘officially’ left A
Perfect Circle after the first album’s release,
you were still very much a part of the band through the
recordings of the other albums. What is the significance
of A Perfect Circle to you as person?
I didn't leave APC. I just couldn't do the one
tour with them due to scheduling conflicts finishing the
Zwan album with Billy
Corgan. I loved everything about APC…they
are all family to me.
Apart from A
Perfect Circle and Zwan, you
also played some with Queens
of the Stone Age, co-formed and played for the
all-female group The Chelsea, did appearances with
acts like Silver
Jews and Papa
M, completed two solo albums of your own…you’ve
been a busy lady! What have been your most memorable moments?
Every experience has a memorial moment if you are
awake enough to catch them… I could answer this question
for days!
What inspires you to write music?
I love being in that state of mind.
What music do you currently listen
to?
I have been listening to Lindsey
Buckingham a lot and Fleetwood
Mac. One of my favorite bands is Tinariwen.
Does family play a big role in
your life?
Always
Have you ever felt that you, as
a female musician in the Rock scene, had to work extra hard
to prove yourself?
Never
Do you have any message to your fans and followers
in South Africa and to all the visitors to MazeWorldWide.com?
PUT YOUR MIND TO IT!
***Coming Soon! An exciting
line-up for next year! Paz will be unveiling
her signature bass at the 2008
NAMM Show, USA. Also keep a look out for the
release of the self-titled album of Paz’s new band,
‘The
Entrance Band’!
www.PazWeb.net
www.myspace.com/pazweb
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