TALK about fast cars and fancy women! Or was it fancy cars and fast women? I can never remember. But of course, who cares about such details when you’re face-to-face with four of the hottest babes ever to form a string quartet?
Yes, it’s Escala! (“Yay” to those who guessed right! “Boo” to those who said, “Bond”. Or “Vanessa Mae and three others”.)
Anyway, the foursome popped over to the Subaru showroom in Toa Payoh Lorong 8 and later to Suntec City Mall’s Tropics Atrium to launch the new Subaru Legacy series in Singapore, so of course, your Abang had to get up close and personal with them. (Wouldn’t you?)
As it turned out, we had a fun chat with Tasya Hodges (cellist) and Victoria Lyon (violinist) about all things Subaru (well, kind of). And yes, we ran through all the Es-Car-Lah jokes already.
love
What do you know about the Subaru Legacy?
Tasya Hodges: I know they’re a good rally car, Subaru, and I know there’s the new Legacy range, a premium range for the high-class, sophisticated customer.
Victoria Lyon: Which is why we’re here – because we’re high-class and sophisticated!
TH: I know there’s a 2.0, which I quite like.
VL: I don’t drive, so there’s my excuse. I crash cars! I don’t drive them.
TH: That’s why you need a rally car.
VL: Yeah, maybe I should get one.
love
What’s the naughtiest thing you’ve done in a car?
TH: This was years ago in Brazil, when I drove my friends home because they were all drunk, and I knew how to drive but I didn’t have a licence. It was in the countryside, it was completely safe and… I did a good deed!
VL: Well, I think the naughtiest thing I did was not wear a seatbelt. Not really that wacky, huh? I break seatbelts a lot, because I don’t like that constrained feeling, so I hold the strap out a bit.
love
You know that’s not how seatbelts are supposed to be worn, right?
VL: I know. I broke my boyfriend’s quite recently. That annoyed him a bit.
love
Well, is Escala better looking than the Legacy?
VL: That car is in a different league!
TH: Look at it!
VL: Maybe we’d look better in a Subaru.
TH: Or next to it…
VL: Or on it…
TH: Anyway, it takes hours for us to look good, you wouldn’t look at us walking down the street on normal days.
VL: Yeah!
love
You said that a bit too enthusiastically.
VL: Oh. Well… she’s right!
love
Anyway,lovehave you any new musical ideas brewing?
TH: We did a Lee Hom collaboration recently and that was great, and we worked with Slash on Kashmir, and that worked well.
VL: And we can play any style as well.
love
Who’s on your dream list to collaborate with?
VL: Mine was Michael Jackson.
love
That might be a little difficult to arrange…
VL: Yeah, I know.
TH: Well, a singer would be great to work with. Or maybe someone like Dave Grohl or Mark Ronson.
VL: Or Beyonce. We could have her dancing on stage.
TH: Not singing!
VL: She could be the backing dancer. So that she can’t outshine us.
love
Tell us a dirty little secret about the other two.
TH: The worst thing about travelling with Izzy (Johnston, violinist) is that she gets up and goes to the loo a lot.
VL: If the flight is 13 hours long, she probably goes about 25 times.
TH: If you’re in the aisle seat, you have to keep moving to let her out.
VL: She’s such a fidget; even before she goes to sleep she goes to the loo about 20 times.
TH: I think she should just walk around the plane.
VL: Chantal (Leverton, violist) is scared of flying so someone always has to hold her hand – literally.
TH: We had very bad turbulence on the way here – about three hours – and she was next to me crying!
VL: And I was going, “Woohoo!”
love
Other than your instruments, what’s the most important thing you must have when you travel?
VL: Our sanity.
TH: Our laptops are good. Because it’s got all your photos and you can Skype and…
VL: …and you can Google “Escala”…
TH: …go to escalamusic.com.
VL: Oh, you know, we bring things like books and stuff to pass the time. Anything not to talk to each other basically!
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