Joanna and Leonie

Joanna and Leonie

In September, the Deez gang met two cool blonde teenage girls at our Munich concert. We met up with the duo again in Amsterdam, and although I was skeptical about a 9 person van ride to Paris, we brought Joanna and Leonie along with us. Somewhere in the midst of Paris, they endeared their way into my heart. I have never met a more dry-witted pair of teenage girls. They tickle me to no end as they slump in and out of backstage with completely deadpan faces, decked out in leopard print, spouting endless sarcasm in German tinged English. Darwin described them as “a cross between Grey Gardens and Rushmore.”

Outside of our venue, a couple blocks from the Moulin Rouge, we passed a seedy sex store, and Joanna recited to me matter-of-factly, “This is actually an important historical building. It was built in 1851, and the first person who lived there was the King.”

Leonie and I developed a game of playing air guitar and air drums. She declared that we were starting a new band that night, and that it would be called Gay Birds Flowers.  We effortlessly chose suitable stage names. Leonie would be “Crap Bag” and I would be “Shitpagne.”

“We eat meat. If you ever need someone to shoot and kill an animal for you, call us,” they instructed me. “Our number is 911.”

Darwin Deez soundcheck at Le Boule Noire

Darwin in an interview backstage
at Le Boule Noire