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By: Adam Grant Click to listen to: Die Mannequin - Autumn Cannibalist.mp3 Die Mannequin - Donut Kill Self.mp3 
"I'm a slave to myself," quips Care Failure, the leading lady of Toronto punk thrash rock trio Die Mannequin when discussing her life long need to make music. At the ripe young age of 20, Failure is armed with her guitar, loads of songs and a wealth of experience. When thinking about how it all began, Failure instantly remembers the days when she was 2 or 3 years old and would hop upon a piano bench and take a shot at the ivories. But by 10 she had found a guitar and got good at it by her early teen years, which eventually led to a publishing deal with EMI Music when she was only 17 - the same time when girl guitar artists like Avril Lavigne were all the rage. Failure would take a different path though and soon create the 4 song EP How To Kill. At the time Failure didn't have a band to record this effort with, so she played just about everything, and enlisted the production assistance of Toronto production team MSTRKRFT which includes former Death From Above 1979 member Jesse Keeler, who also wound up drumming on the record. To round everything out, she'd soon be joined by Sparkles (bass) and Ghostwolf (drums), to form Die Mannequin in time for the September 2006 street date of How To Kill. With all of these chips in order, Die Mannequin have been touring consistently throughout the club circuit, and recently performed alongside major label acts Buckcherry, and the latest incarnation of Guns N' Roses for the bulk of their fall '06 Canadian tour.
"He would show up 30 seconds before he'd go on, so it would be hard to get an encounter, but we actually did have one - it wasn't funny at the time, but it's really funny now," recalls Failure when asked about if Die Mannequin had any run-ins with GNR temperamental leader Axl Rose. "Our bass player Anthony (Sparkles) ran past security right when Axl was going off stage, so they really didn't do anything because they knew who we are. Then they were like 'he won't touch him or anything,' but (Sparkles) had a couple drinks in him and touched Axl's back and said 'good show.' Axl was all nice and said 'thanks,' but Anthony got thrown up against the wall and strangled by security."
Even though that was an obvious misunderstanding, Failure does her best at keeping such misunderstandings about her at bay. Upon the Die Mannequin Myspace.com page, the vocalist is constantly posting blogs, some of which touches upon her current happenings, as well as past indiscretions like substance abuse. 
As a reformed drug addict, Failure admits that she's "the last person in the world," to tell people to stay away from substances, but at the same time she seems more than willing to spread her knowledge to those who need it, because that not only helps people understand their issues, but also who Failure was and is now.
"I'm not advocating going out and shooting up, that's ridiculous," pans Failure. "But if I was ever at a spot where I could influence people to do something, it would be to be happy and find the sense in things and to work through it, because you can't just be like, 'don't do drugs,' and expect people not to do drugs. You have to teach people and people have to learn about their own sicknesses and diseases. "People who know me like to know a bit about my past because I think sometimes it helps people understand where I'm coming from." For more information on Die Mannequin, please visit www.myspace.com/diemannequin |
