Read all about it: Booby Trap takes on the world

Imagine the luck: a dinner date with three talented, intelligent, and hilarious women. But he could barely get a word in edgewise. For this week's Campus Bands, Rumaan Alam interviewed Oberlin's Teen Queens: Booby Trap. Booby Trap is not your everyday, run-of-the-mill rock band, and no, they're not about girl power. These ladies - sophomores Marisa Kambour, Sonya Satinsky, and Aviva Wishnow - have plenty to say. The entire crew met up in Stevenson, because the Review refuses to house an expense account. Over dinner, including some memorable ice cream, Rumaan got an earful.

Rumaan Alam: To start: what was the last CD you listened to before coming here tonight?

Sonya Satinsky: Sugar. "Copper Blue."

Aviva Wishnow: The soundtrack for Batman and Robin, like an old cartoon from the sixties. Can I get a plug? I wanted inspiration for my sweatpants docu-drama, debuting Sunday night at Student Film Night.

Marisa Kambour: Cub, because Sunny wants to cover them.

RA: So, what are your influences?

SS: Tiger Trap, Sleater Kinney.

AW: I think we kind of sound like Cub.

SS: There's another one.

MK: Go Sailor?

AW: Tuscadero?

MK and S: Tuscadero.

AW: Go-go's!

SS: Go-go's!

RA: So, what do you do? I mean, play? Aviva, you play the drums?

AW: I play drums.

MK: I play guitar and sing.

SS: I play bass and sing backup.

RA: Do you write your own songs?

SS: We all write them.

AW: We do one cover. We do...

SS: Shhhh!

AW: OK.

SS: We write most of our own music...

RA: Ok, so what do you think of the Spice Girls?

AW: Love them. Call me scary.

SS: Hate them!

MK: Love them and hate them.

SS: Hate them!

AW: Love them as camp.

SS: No. They're totally wrong about this whole girl power thing. Oh, God, I'm quoting SPIN.

RA: What's your absolute favorite album of all time?

SS: Kaia. I can't live without my Kaia.

AW: Alfonso Ribero.

MK: I can't pick one.

SS: Pick one!

MK: Right now, the new Sleater-Kinney. Dig Me Out.

RA: What about your least favorite bands?

SS: Dave Matthews Band.

MK: Blues Traveler.

AW: That's the same genre.

MK: I know. I hate that genre.

AW: Alanis Morrissette. That's not a bands though.

SS: Why do you hate Alanis?

AW: She's annoying.

SS: But she's the first woman to get airplay, and she's sings about anger and things and these 14-year-old girls listen to her. That's good.

AW: It's not her music. She's become an icon and she can't.. I don't think she's worthy.

SS: Are you going to ask us anything provocative?

RA: Why are you called Booby Trap?

AW: It's not a good story. We're all well-endowed. Jacob Ciocci inspired it.

SS: He did? I don't remember.

MK: What?

SS: There's also a hair connection. We were going to make Marisa get a perm, because we'd all have black, curly hair.

MK: And the Jew thing.

SS: We're all Jews.

AW: We should talk about our name. I feel like it's empowering and it works as kitsch too.

SS: People might think we're exploiting, like, oooh, Booby Trap, we're going to get you. It's seductive - the whole feminine mystique thing.

AW: We're exploiting it?

SS: Yeah.

MK: I don't think it's a seductive name.

RA: You're Ohio's Teen Queens, right? You had your Ohio debut in my living room, and that's what it said on the posters.

SS: I wanted to call us Dairy Queens, but Aviva wouldn't let me.

RA: So, who's your number one groupie?

SS: Josh Faught.

AW: No, he's not a groupie. He's the president of our fan club.

MK: No.

SS: No, Dan Fortune is the president of our fan club.

RA: You guys don't do a zine or anything, do you?

AW: No, but we should fix up our website.

RA: What do you think of other bands on campus?

AW: We're the best.

SS: No don't say that!

AW: What? We're my favorite band! There's just not a lot of bands playing. Like the same bands play over and over.

SS: There's so many bands in the making, and there's a lot of stuff that doesn't have a venue. We all had side projects.

AW: My side project kind of fell apart.

SS: What's special about us, guys? I've been trying to figure it out. I mean, we're cute and poppy and we dress up.

AW: The thing is, we're a band with both style and substance.

SS: Ooh, that's good.

MK: Yeah.

AW: No, say we're a cute people band.

MK: No, nice and cute.

RA: Does that mean you have to be cute to come and see you?

SS: Yes.

MK: It's an extra dollar at the door if you're not cute.

AW: That's mean! We're nice. We're a nice people's band.

RA: So, what's your message?

AW: How about, "Pain can be fun."

SS: What?

MK: What are you talking about?

AW: How about, "There's a silver lining to every cloud..."

SS: "... and that is Booby Trap."

Be sure to catch Booby Trap; they'll be playing on Saturday night in the 'Sco as part of a big fund-raiser for WOBC, along with Bippy, the Vegan Eaters, the Ailments, the Executives and Kirbstop. They've come a long way from their debut in Rumaan's living room, and they could definitely teach those five girls from the UK a thing or two. Keep your eyes on these ladies.