Interview With Simone Kross Part I
This entry is brought to you courtesy of Swellco & Swellco’s month-long homage to Women’s History Month, “The Female Power Project.”
R.E. Brown & Uncle Wheat Toast sit down for an intense interview and glue huffing session with the internationally renowned pro dom & BDSM model Simone Kross to discuss her music career, BDSM lifestyle, sexual mores, Jesus Christ and good BBQ. Check out the first of two parts bellow.
Uncle Wheat Toast: Tell us about your childhood. We understand you were raised in a Belgium monastery.
Simone: (laughing) Yes, well, my parents thought I was so rebellious that perhaps sending me off to a Belgium monastery was the thing to do.
I feel I benefited from such a spiritual upbringing and now having a polar opposite lifestyle I feel I have a different perspective but coming from such a diverse background has been beneficial. I had of time and for reflection but feel I missed out on having a fun and playful childhood since I spent most of my time in prayer. LOL
I actually grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s so damn hot there and I miss the desert sky, monsoon season. I think growing up in AZ is what influences me even now looking back at my experiences as a young girl.
Wheat Toast: Great. I’ve got the wrong notes again.
R.E.: You recently relocated to Nashville. The south isn’t always known for it’s open mindedness when it comes to sexual mores. As a very open Pro Dom, how has your reception been?
Simone: Oh well yeah, I moved from California to the heart of the Bible Belt, I feel like Nashville is much more progressive a city than people might think. Certainly, it is not like California, I mean San Francisco is as liberal as it gets especially about sexual culture. San Francisco is very sex positive however it also has a more formal approach to the BDSM lifestyle and this is also something that rings true in the Pro-Domme industry. It is a mixed bag. Kink.com is based there and is the largest video production house. The Pro-Domme community has a new influx of women and also Dominatrixes who have been in the game for quite a while with outstanding well-equipped dungeons. You can find classes or workshops. Mr. S Leather & Fetters is the largest BDSM supply house in town. You just don’t get all of this anywhere else.
LA is just a crazy town there’s the BDSM/Gothic/Industrial nightclub thang and there is more happening in the alternative fetish video production world. Stockroom offers classes and there is more happening in the underground scene in LA but this changes constantly.
I got my start in BDSM in San Francisco so I feel that the bay area is just the best place to learn about the fundamental core of the BDSM lifestyle with all the parades or street fairs and education and fun nightclubs or bars where BDSM is just a part of the culture. It is more accepted overall.
Truth is the response to my being here in Nashville has been great. It seems there is some excitement about my now being based here and some enthusiasm. I like feeling appreciated this has been a big change for me and it has been really good for me on a personal and pro level. I was not sure what to expect really I had spent time here but never “worked” here before but there are sincere fetishists and kinksters with whom I have played with so this makes me incredibly happy. My career has been always been about the live interpersonal session experience. There seems to be some people who are into kink and fetish; it’s here but it is quiet and not so out in the open. It is not in the clubs, it is not about video production. I think it is in some ways it is more about the opportunity to play with people who appreciate that I did not move to another big city to play I moved to Nashville. It is certainly not an over saturated market. I would prefer to be discreet and sincere about my business here and build a clientele who might not have had the opportunity to play with me when I was on the west coast. I am more centrally located. Nashville is location from which I can travel, I spent the past couple years or so as this nomadic dominatrix going from city to city much like a rock band would going from town to town playing shows, I like to travel. Nashville might be considered to be a more conservative a town but Nashville is the one place I actually feel I fit in. There are kinky people everywhere. The thing is my clients more often than not tend be more the conservative business professional. Kink might be more prevalent in a more conservative society in my opinion because it is considered to be taboo.
I also feel like my musical tastes and my style of music jives with Nashville, Music City. LA is not really a music town but a movie town here it is all about the music. I don’t like over produced music but music that comes from the heart and to keep it simple. It’s a slower pace in the south, I can be creative, I am more grounded and honestly I think I can accomplish more here because it is easier for me to get centered and focus on my projects. I really like the south the people are so nice and it is a pleasant place so I am happy to now call Nashville home.
Uncle Wheat Toast: You are known for your yogurt only diet, what made you come up with that idea?
Simone: Yogurt is good for you and well it’s smoooooth and creamy goodness. I was on a McDonalds hamburger diet for a while binge purge binge purge (laughing) Oh but now actually I am on a carb kick hoping to put on a few pounds so all I eat are donuts. (kidding) I actually eat healthy but I can put down the food. I like southern food and I will say the fried chicken and biscuits at the Loveless Barn here in Nashville are the best.
Wheat Toast: Biscuits always give me gas.
Simone: It has been great to go out and the BBQ here is great. There are so many waffle houses I was curious if there were more waffle houses than Churches here. (laughing)
Uncle Wheat Toast: Is it true that you really dated Brigitte Nielson?
Simone: No, no that is just a rumor. Brigitte Nielson is not really my type of gal. I have always had a mad crush on Joan Jett though.
Wheat Toast: Could you pretend you did? I have a lot of Flavor Flav questions.
R.E.: Don’t answer that. As a song writer, you kind of have to wear your heart on your sleeve so to speak, there is a certain level of vulnerability needed for your lyrics to be credible. Do you find this difficult after having worked so long as a Dominatrix? It is a profession that requires you to retain complete control and maintain a stoney disposition.
Simone: Who says that a dominatrix is not a vulnerable woman?
Wheat Toast: The handbook.
Simone: The idea that we must create a strong image and demeanor is true but that does not make us any less human. I have had my fair share of heartbreak and disappointments in love and most of my songs have been about heartbreak. I do wear my heart on my sleeve especially when it comes to the music. You gotta feel it. I have had some people say why not wear the fetish outfits or the boots and sing or perform. I just don’t think the music is about my being a dominatrix; it is different. I am not sure the image of a dominatrix is in line with the music but who knows. The dominatrix me is separate from the music me. I have all these different aspects of my personality. I feel I can be as creative as I want to be and keep reinventing myself. These are my true feelings and I have been challenged by music, I am still learning how to play guitar. I don’t think I am a proficient guitar player. I am a minimalist, I have a vocal focus and learning how to sing and play guitar was difficult. I am still learning. I will say this also I have been a professional dominatrix for over 14 years now and I am still learning in that realm also. We never stop learning new tricks or methods. The art of BDSM is not something I have ever mastered I don’t think it is possible to do. Being a dominatrix is about connecting with people and playing music is also about connecting with people, similar but different.
Wheat Toast: While Romanesque architecture is usually defined in relationship to the Roman and earlier medieval past, Gothic architecture has been described, by contrast, as a revolutionary or modern architecture. Could you assess the validity of these assertions, you know, maybe describe the origins and development of Gothic architecture in the Ile de France, explaining its technical and aesthetic innovations, its theological motivations, as well as its, you know, formal relationship to Romanesque architecture and maybe the earlier mediaeval past.
Simone: While that is all very fascinating, I don’t feel the need to elaborate. I just happen to think Gothic architecture is beautiful. One day I hope to acquire and old Gothic church or castle that would be a dream come true. The Simone Kross dream dungeon
R.E.: What can fans expect next from Simone Kross? When are you going back on tour?
Simone: I am planning to make a trip to Chicago this month March 22nd & 23rd and that is the just the beginning of the Simone Kross Gypsy Tour. I plan to travel once a month once spring hits. I can’t really travel much during the winter months with the cold weather and snow. So spring, summer and fall I should be bouncing from town to town, hoping to visit Boston, NYC, DC, Atlanta, North Carolina, New Orleans, Maybe St. Louis and Philly. Texas might be possible. I will probably more than likely be back to LA and San Francisco also.
Uncle Wheat Toast: Any message you’d like to put out there for other artists?
Simone: You have to be willing to put yourself out there and not care about public scrutiny. Although, I believe you have to care about what you are producing and work at it to be good at it. Being an artist is about self-expression and freedom. Art is not about making money it is about having passion and putting your time into creative projects to see what the outcome might be. Art is about the creative process if it challenges you and you are able to persevere then you might find fulfillment in performing or making art. I say just keep at it, writing down your ideas, drawing, painting, photography, acting, singing, performing, whatever it is keep at it. Come from your heart and soul and be true to yourself.
Come back tomorrow for the second part of the interview. In the meantime check out Simon’s Site
Photos Courtesy of http://simonekross.com
Tags: bdsm, brigitte nielson, joan jett, nashville, r. e. brown, Simone Kross, uncle wheat toast
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