Good Vibrations Magazine

Guest Contributor Jiz Lee interviews Jasper James for Good Vibrations Magazine.

Jasper James is making waves. She’s quickly becoming the next gender-bending pop superstar, playing with the likes of Peaches and having her songs up on sheenabeaston.com. Jasper stands apart from the rest in more ways than one… but it’s one way in particular that spurred me to point her out to all you readers of Good Vibrations Magazine: Jasper sings about her sex toys!

Her song “Vibrator” is an ode to her sex toys — which as she sings “fill my every wish.” The lyrics celebrate sex and orgasms, and she’s not too shy to sing it to the mountains:

Plastic, Chrome or Silicone… You always want me to come.
Jade, glass… just shove it up my ass.
A nice pretty pearl necklace.
- from “Vibrator”

Vibrators and Dildos and Anal Toys, oh my! Vibrator is available on iTunes. It doesn’t take much for me to wonder what it’d sound like with one of those OhMiBod iPod musical vibrators. Add that to the playlist, huh.

Having opened for Debbie Harry, and with her song “This House” as part of the sexy soundtrack of John Cameron Mitchell’s film Shortbus, Jasper is a busy artist rocking underground hot-spots in New York and London. Lucky for us, Jasper wasn’t too busy to share with me and all of you about her love of sex toys and her music.

Jiz Lee: Many musicians sing about sex or put their sexuality out there as a means to sell their music, but it’s not often that a singer devotes a song (or entire album) to their sex toy! How do you relate your sexuality to your music? Are there any background stories to your decision to record a song about your vibrator?

Jasper James: Ironically enough, when I began conceptualizing this album I was celibate. I’m a Scorpio, so I was in the space of wanting to understand the power of sex and sexuality — not only a physical but in also a spiritual sense. At the time I was living in San Francisco on Haight Street with all the hippies. On my way home one day, I came across a tarot reader. I figured “Why not?” His parting words were “Pan needs to be your patron saint.” I took his words to heart, went home, masturbated the hell out of my bullet and the song “Vibrator” was formed. From there sex became fun. Exploring the humor and mystery became essential.

I began to experiment with sexuality and gender. In our culture, “boxes” and stereotypes are very important to many people. It started to become very clear that I didn’t fit into any “Box” or category sexually at all, and basically began to toy with my reality that I could do anything I want.

If I want to be a gay boy who’s into leather play and wants to fuck a bio gay boy silly, that’s exactly what I was going to do.

It was that simple. I hold true to my word. My life is an experiment and “Vibrator” is just another extension of me so, it was an experiment as well.

Jiz: In “Vibrator”, you mention chrome and silicone toys. What are your favorite?

Jasper: Aww man, Gotta love the wand…  it just sends you into outer space! Let’s just say, there are a lot of new toys that I would love to try… does Good Vibrations need a tester??

Jiz: Haha, maybe GV could work something out!

Okay, so you’ve been called the “homo love-child of Beck & Mobi, if they were Black, broke, and hungry” and also the “love-child of funk-soul legend James Brown and sexed-up electronic glam rocker Peaches.” Um, how many love-parents do you have?… LOL! Or more specifically, who are your musical influences?

Jasper: I’m into anything that makes me feel! With Michael Jackson’s passing, I realized that he had a HUGE effect on me as a musician and as a person. You see that level of talent like once every 4 or 5 decades. No one did it better, and now he’s gone. So now I see a great opportunity for all performers everywhere to step it up, I believe it’s what he would want us to do: be our greatest and fullest potential. It goes without saying that Grace Jones is also a very important influence as well, she is truly fierce beyond words… something other worldly.

Jiz: You’re putting on a fundraiser to get to Malawi. Can you tell us more about that, and where we can find out more about you and your music?

Jasper: My newest song ROCKET was actually just posted to sheenabeaston.com and is available for free download there. Feel free to check out my facebook for more about Malawi and our fundraisers and of course, if you want to know more about me go to jasperjamesmusic.blogspot.com.

Thank you Jasper and Good Vibrations for keeping the beat!