Lipstick Conspiracy Page 2 providing them with the finest in alcoholic beverages. As I fumbled getting the recording equipment together, Sarafina did a last check on her makeup and Tori read a clipping exposing my late '80s "performance art" days. CC: What's been your best gig so far? Sarafina M: Our show at El Rio last January was awesome, but we really hit our stride at a benefit show we had there last November. We were all feeling very amped; whereas we used to be very focused, very rehearsed, that November show made a difference because that's when we really loosened up. Tori T: Yeah, it takes some time to find your stage feet. We were a bit rusty when we first started the band; we were mainly focusing on the songs and the music, without paying much attention to anything like stage presence. CC: Do you all switch off singing the songs, so nobody is "the star" or anything? Who sings the most songs? Sarafina M: I do, about 55 percent of the songs. Tori T: We all write the songs, and two of the girls, Marilyn and Shawna switch off on the bass. CC: And you do keyboards, Tori, and you do guitars, Sarafina … so no drummer? Tori T: No drummer, the machine is very reliable. CC: I love drum machines.