Although best known for her involvement in the politically charged feminist musical group Le Tigre, JD Samson has worn many hats throughout her life, working as a filmmaker, gay rights activist, projectionist, curator, and a lesbian calendar model. Nowadays, while Le Tigre are on an indefinite hiatus, Samson, a Brooklyn resident, keeps herself busy DJing in some of New York’s trendiest clubs, working on her side project MEN with Le Tigre band mate Johanna Fateman, and popping up gossip sites over her supposed relationship with British chanteuse Sia.  I recently caught up with Samson who shared her insight on the upcoming election, gay rights, the current state of feminism, and even Lindsay Lohan.



What projects have you been working on lately?
I feel like I’m always doing a bunch of different projects, so that’s kind of my jam right now too. I am working on a music side project right here in New York with a couple of people. I am also DJing a ton, working on putting together an EP for MEN and trying to build a really good live DVD for Le Tigre.

How did you get involved in DJing?
A long, long time ago Lady Fest NYC asked me to DJ at an event. I had no idea what I was doing, but figured it out and that was the beginning of it all. I guess there was a demand for a feminist lesbian DJ at the time and I just went for it.

Can you tell me about your MEN project with Johanna Fateman?
MEN kind of erupted from our DJing together one time in Los Angeles for the Museum of Contemporary Art’s show called WACK. It was the Feminist show there and we played outside under the stars it was amazing. Our agent jumped at the idea of putting together a tour and before we knew it we were stoked to be making original music as well. We were missing the days of swapping hard drives and building tracks so we put together a couple of songs.

How did you meet Sia?
Sia stalked me on Myspace and invited me to DJ at her New York after party. I played it and we met there.

What inspired you to do a DJ set with her?
Well, Sia has a really good sense of party music. She is an everything goes dancer and I’m kind of the same way. My buddy Alex English [a New York club DJ] put us up to it and we thought about it for about five seconds before she said “You mean I just get to dance you get to DJ?” Then she begged me to do it.

Have you considered musically collaborating with her?
We have thought of collaborating, yes, but we have a very different audience and kind of music career. We have fucked around at my home studio and made some funny things, but I think it is more for us to learn from each other and grow as musicians. I hope to be involved with curating the remix record for her upcoming album.



How did you become interested in filmmaking and how did this eventually parlay into your involvement with music?
I grew up in Ohio and decided somehow that I wanted to be a filmmaker. I actually think it had a lot to do with seeing Jennifer Reeves’ work at the art museum in Cleveland.  She is an amazing feminist filmmaker from New York. I was really awestruck by the intensity of her work. This was back in 1995 so I kind of was just developing a sense of what I wanted to do with my life. I went to school for film and really kind of drew a multi media career out of that. I think it led me to a feminist art world full of people doing multimedia work, which is where I am today as far as I’m concerned. Music was just what people knew about me the most.

Are you still working with film and projections?
Sometimes I make imovie clips, but I think my education with film is a little bit obsolete unfortunately. I’m one of those people who loves to cut and splice.

You came out of the closet at the young age of fifteen while a high school student in Cleveland, was this difficult for you?
I was really lucky to grow up in a somewhat liberal part of Cleveland with a very small class size. I think these things made it pretty easy for me to come out. I knew everyone at my [high] school very well as most of us had been attending together since kindergarten, so I was me and no one was really that surprised.
Growing up were there any bands or musicians that enabled you to feel more confident and accepting of your own sexual identity?
Of course there were. I was one of those gay wads who only listened to gay wad music. That was the only way I feel like I had real community in my town. I read Out Magazine and Curve and Girlfriends and I bought whatever music they told me to. And that was it. I was sold. I loved it all. Indigo Girls, Tribe 8, Melissa Etheridge, Pansy Division—all kinds.


Do you think that your music and your public presence have helped young women become more comfortable with their sexual identity?
You know, if Myspace, Facebook, and fan mail did not exist, I would probably say that I have no idea. But I am blessed with the amazing messages people send me everyday that tell me exactly that. I feel proud when I read those stories…it is extremely rewarding to know you have brought peace and hope to someone else.


Your group Le Tigre dealt a lot with feminism and gender roles in society, how do you feel about the inclusion of Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin in this year's election? Do you think that either of them represents female empowerment in any way? How do you feel about gender playing into getting or not getting votes?
Well I feel very excited that feminism was put in the forefront of the election for at least five seconds. Unfortunately, that moment is up. I was a strong believer in Hilary and I thought she could have done an amazing job as president. We are also very lucky to have Obama on our side and hopefully America will choose him to lead out country to new places. The inclusion of Sarah Palin is a mystery to everyone. She is not qualified, she has a horrendous history of bad decisions and antifeminist ideals. In the case of Palin, I think we are in trouble. I think right wing women think that she has their rights in mind, and I think she is a threat to every other woman in this country.

I read that as Le Tigre's music became more and more popular you encountered a lot of fans who seemed to completely miss the political implications of it, was this troubling to you at all?
I love that Le Tigre is a band that was made out of protest and I love that it is a band for smart people to get down with. I also love that many people don’t have a clue and don’t give a shit what we are talking about.  It makes for an amazing cross section of people in the audience and it also helps to educate people about things they may not know about already.



How do you feel about this election's discussion of gay marriage and GLBT rights? Have things improved at all or worsened politically in the past decade?
Well it was a sad day when everyone realized that Obama and Biden are not supporting gay marriage. I think for some reason people wanted to believe that they were going to go to that extreme. They are willing to give civil unions and rights to domestic partners for hospital visits and that is already a huge step in the right direction. I think gay marriage is kind of inevitable; it is just a matter of time before it gets legalized.


Your band Le Tigre was very openly opposed to Bush during the beginning of his term as president; do you have similarly strong feelings towards the upcoming election?
I feel a lot of hope about this election. Of course I feel horrible feelings about McCain’s and Palin’s politics, but at this moment I have to just ‘use the secret’ to try and help Obama win. I can’t even imagine what would and could happen if he doesn’t and I feel scared thinking about it, so I have to just believe that he is going to. If that’s not what happens then I will be on the street, I will see you there I hope.



Do you think all of the media's attention given to Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson has had any effect on the way the mainstream view homosexual relationships?
You know what, I’m not really sure. They both seem really happy and I think that’s great for them and for the world. I don’t read gossip mags or blogs anymore so I’m not really sure what people are saying.

What music are you listening to right now?
I'm listening to a lot of different things.  Because I'm writing I try to really listen to 'good songs'. Like Motown and soul and oldies and funky 70's punk and songs that I wish I had written. It’s time to get inspired. Even though I DJ a fair amount of dance music. I'm actually not a big listener when I'm in my house just hanging around.

Will Le Tigre ever put out another album? Do you keep in touch with Kathleen and Johanna? Are they working on any projects?
I see Kathleen and Jo very often actually. Kathleen is very active in the rock camp for girls here in New York and Jo owns a salon in the west village. Jo and I will probably put out a single or something for MEN and we all hope to finish a live DVD for Le Tigre in the upcoming year. A record though, I'm not sure. But don't worry; we won't stop.

http://www.myspace.com/djjdsamson