The debut album from Exquisite Gender, an all-trans Atlanta-based group, represents a years-long journey toward both original songmaking and acceptance.
The band formed around remaining original members Mandi MacDonald (drums), Bucky Motter (rhythm guitar and vocals) and JoAnn Pfeiffer (lead and synth guitar) in 2018, playing their first show at a benefit for Georgia Equality. Gigs at Smith’s Olde Bar, the Atlanta Room and at Atlanta Pride followed, as the group expanded upon a list of covers that began with tunes from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. A year later, bass-playing vocalist Shanti took over after both early singer Synndelle McCord and bassist Gina Elizabeth departed.
Time spent away from the stage during pandemic-related quarantine finally provided the spark for original material, beginning with “No Judgement Needed,” and Exquisite Gender started putting together what would become Solve For X. Recording was a painstaking experience, as two band members at a time carefully entered MacDonald’s basement rehearsal space to complete their individual tracks.
The result is a powerful musical statement. Shanti and Pfeiffer joined Preston Frazier for an exclusive Something Else! Sitdown to discuss writing and recording Solve For X, which was mixed by Pfeiffer and co-produced by Bob Bingham and the band:
PRESTON FRAZIER: Explain the writing process for these 11 songs.
SHANTI: I worked from home for over a year, beginning on March 17, 2020. Since I had extra time on my hands, I decided to try writing for the first time in many years. I was bolstered by hearing my album It’s About Time! finished and I realized that, at one time, I had written some decent songs. I told our drummer, Mandi [MacDonald], my plan and asked her to send any drum beats she might have to give me some inspiration. She sent a couple and, upon hearing the first one, I immediately had the bass and melody for “No Judgement Needed”! She also gave me the idea for the lyrics. After that, the songs came fairly quickly and fairly painlessly. We knew that we wanted themes that the LGBTQ+ community could identify with, but I wanted to be careful to write the lyrics so that anyone could relate to them. Take “No Judgement Needed”, for example: Nobody likes being judged by people who don’t know them. That’s kind of a universal theme. The same with “Timeline,” “Sometimes Love Just Isn’t Enough” and “Solve For X.” Though I specifically wrote them from a trans point of view, the lyrics can – and do – apply to everyone.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Is there a common theme or thread running through the songs?
SHANTI: Solve For X is not a themed album, although seven of the 11 songs definitely have LGBTQ+ relatable lyrics. That was our intention. We wanted an album for our community, yet relatable to everyone. That’s not an easy task, but I think we did a damn good job of it.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Jo, you are a multi-instrumentalist. How did you come up with your keyboard and synth arrangements?
JOANN PFEIFFER: I was classically trained, earning a guitar degree from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. This helped with figuring out keyboard and synth parts. I tried to mimic what I thought a keyboard player would do. Bucky and I played the guitar rhythm tracks, and then I would blend in a keyboard or synth patch. I tried to write those parts keeping in mind I would have to play them in a live performance setting, as well. The guitar synth allows me to blend in both the guitar and keyboard sounds via a foot pedal.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Which songs existed before the album was undertaken? Did you have a chance to “road test” the material?
SHANTI: Only one song existed before April of 2020, and that’s “Fine Time to Say.” The lyrics were written in 1985, but Exquisite Gender – along with our producer, Bob Bingham – totally restructured the song and updated the sound. Everything else was written between April and December 2020.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Did Covid-19 impact the musical content?
SHANTI: COVID-19 did not impact any of the lyrical or musical content, but it provided the time to create the lyrical and musical content!
PRESTON FRAZIER: Discuss your recording process with Solve for X.
SHANTI: These songs all started out with me recording the bass and all vocal tracks on my trusty Zoom R8 digital recorder. I would then email those tracks to Mandi, who would lay down the drums. Once everyone agreed that we liked the songs and would finish them, most of the recording took place in Mandi’s basement. She’d have the drums done. I’d re-record the bass, lead vocals, and do a guide vocal for harmonies. After that, Bucky [Motter] would come over to record rhythm guitar and harmonies, as well as the co-lead vocal on “Timeline.” JoAnn would do all of her recording at her home. Once she’d come up with a lead, we’d email everything to our producer, who would make suggestions. Bob and JoAnn would go back and forth tweaking things until Bob was satisfied. So, in this case, everything was recorded separately. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t mind doing live recording, if possible, in the future – but it’s nice to know that we can do it this way, too.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Jo, tell me about what guitars, and keyboards you used on the album.
JOANN PFEIFFER: My guitars are Stratocasters, with a Roland GK-3 hex pickup added. This pickup sends signals to my Roland GR55 synthesizer, which I use as my tone generator for any and all keyboard or synthesized sounds.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Finally, what are your Top 5 favorite albums?
SHANTI: Crowded House’s Together Alone, Andy Qunta’s Legend In a Loungeroom, My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade, Kevin Gilbert’s The Shaming of the True and 10cc’s Deceptive Bends, in no particular order.
BUCKY MOTTER: Massive Attack’s Mezzanine, MC Yogi’s Elephant Power, Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Original Cast Recording, Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s Getz/Gilberto and PJ Harvey’s Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea.
JOANN PFEIFFER: Tommy Emmanuel’s Endless Road, Return to Forever’s Romantic Warrior, Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Texas Flood, Steely Dan’s Aja and Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow.
MANDI MACDONALD: Van Halen II, Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind, Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime, Rush’s Moving Pictures, and Dio’s Holy Diver.
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