Future Nuns - live at Wex Drive-In!

Our final program for 10th anniversary season of the Wex Drive-In continues on Thursday, August 17th with the concert film, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which brilliantly documents the artist’s final performance as this gender-bending, red-mulleted alter-ego at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in 1973. The evening will begin with a live performance by the Columbus band Future Nuns, a group composed of five music, film and art cognoscenti about town. Below, Future Nuns guitarists Alex Mussawir and Aaron Miller talk about music and movies that inspire them and where they’re headed next.

Band lineup: 

Kyle Bergamo, bass
Danielle Gagliano, drums
Aaron Miller, guitar
Alex Mussawir, guitar
Laura Payne, keyboard

What artists inspire the Future Nuns sound?
Alex: There are five people in the band and we all like different things. Often times somebody will tell me that we remind them of a certain band, but that's not something we do intentionally and a lot of the time I haven't heard the band the person is comparing us to. Some artists I like are Harvey Pekar, Lydia Davis, Steven Wright, and the band Crass.

What music films have had an impact on you?
Alex: I really like Leningrad Cowboys Go America directed by Aki Kaurismäki. I know one of Danielle's favorite movies is McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Leonard Cohen composed the soundtrack, so I think it can be considered a "music film."

What's your favorite Bowie record/period/moment?
Aaron: The Berlin period is probably my favorite, mostly because of Low and the work he did with Iggy Pop, but Ziggy Stardust is still my favorite album because the songs are all good, and it was the soundtrack to a lot of AIM conversations I had in middle school, and it was one of the first records I remember showing my little brother that he liked.

If you had an on-stage alter-ego (like Ziggy Stardust), what attributes would you have?
Aaron: If I had any kind of alter ego, it would either be something along the lines of Chris Gaines or something animatronic that I could control from somewhere backstage.

What is next for Future Nuns in the few months?
Alex: We have been going on short tours every couple of months, and we will continue doing that until I have enough money to buy a van. Once that happens we will go on a long tour.

(Photo: Hillary Jones)