Happy Birthday Justin!

Happy Birthday Mr. Tranter! 

With all the love in the universe, 

Your Semi Precious World Family

Possibly The Greatest Semi Precious Weapons Tribute to Date!

Check out this AMAZING early birthday video for Justin Tranter made by some amazingly fierce weapons! This is the most well-shot fan video I've seen in some time.  It's full of glaMOUR, alcohol, fierce boots, semi-pornographic champagne scenes, and lots of cutouts of Mr. Tranter's face.  In other words it's perfect! Follow the stars here: @BryanMerica @jrgrimes. @KMB921 @SashaMadsen

Justin Gets a New Tattoo!

Justin added a new tattoo to his collection yesterday.  He tweeted:

 We think it's freakin' AMAZING!

New Song: Mermaid, Liar

Check out this new musical masterpiece created by Semi Precious Weapons' Justin Tranter (in 5 Minutes mind you).  The song is called Mermaid, Liar. Thoughts?

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Justin Talks to PopCandiesTV

Pop Candies TV caught up with Justin Tranter, Mama Tranter and Jimmy Knehans at Voyeur in West Hollywood.  Justin talked about the new weekly party Semi Precious Weapons be hosting in L.A. whilst recording their new album.

The "Rock & Roll - Porn Extravaganza" will likely be hosted at the Roxy, a venue that has housed many memorable SPW shows.  After which he and the rest of the boys will jump back in the groove of the Monster Ball Tour in April with Lady GaGa.

Check out the video above to see the new tattoos as well as some FFGHS (Fierce Fucking Glitter Heel Shots)

Quote of the Day!

Interviewer: Who are you listening to these days?

Greyson: "I always listen to 20 songs before I go to bed. Journey, Mötley Crüe, Kiss, David Bowie, Semi-Precious Weapons [Gaga's foul-mouthed punk opening act]."

Interviewer: So your parents let you listen to Semi-Precious Weapons?

Greyson: Oh, yeah. Most of the time they don't know.

Interviewer: You are growing up fast.

-Star Tribune

Vintage Justin Tranter Interviews

These interviews were added to the semipreciousVEVO channel (thank god).  We understand they might not classify as vintage, but if you want to argue about it make your own site, and suck it.  Enjoy!

Semi Precious Weapons on Bullying

As you can probably guess based on pretty much, well, everything about them, the guys of Semi Precious Weapons weren't exactly your average high school kids. Because of that, they were bullied just like every other teen who dares to stray from the social norm, and it's why, in light of the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi — and a host of other gay teen deaths in recent months — they decided to tell their stories to MTV News.

SPW hope that, much like the message of the "It Gets Better" campaign, they can convince their fellow outcasts that, yes, life does improve once high school is over. Very much so, in fact.


"In every school, there's always the kid who gets it the worst, and I was, for sure, that kid," frontman Justin Tranter said. "Every time you had to get in a line that was boys and girls, it was like my worst nightmare. A lot of kids I know got made fun of for being gay; that was not my issue, I was just called a girl endlessly. I definitely was that kid. And when I went to high school, my first semester in public high school, it actually got very, very violent, to the point where I had to switch schools," he continued. "But luckily, I'm really blessed because my family was so cool that I never really felt bad about it ... [and] I used it as motivation to do something cooler. So instead of just switching schools, I convinced my parents to let me go to the arts high school in the city, and I had to audition and get in, and it was a very nerve-racking experience, because not only did I want to go to an arts school, but I needed to leave the school."

But while Tranter was picked on for his gender issues, SPW bassist Cole Whittle's experience was a bit different. He was both bully and the bullied, which gives him a rather unique perspective on things.
"I went through a period where I realized what a little a--hole I was, and went around my middle school and actually apologized to a bunch of kids. And then, in high school, I wouldn't say I was bullied, but being a musician wasn't cool," he explained. "I went from being a jock and a wrestler to being a musician over a summer. I showed up dressed like Kurt Cobain, and my friends were like, 'What the?' So, it has nothing to do with orientation, it just has to do with 'you don't look exactly like me,' and I think that's terrible.

"And also, bullying is worse now than it's ever been in human history, because now you can be a cowardly bully. ... Making fun of a kid 20 years ago in front of his face was bullying, but now you can sit at home and be an anonymous bully and reach three times the audience with your stupid computer," he continued. "Back in the day, the worst thing you could do was have four people on speakerphone and call some kid a loser, and it's like, 'Aw, that sucks.' But now it's getting to the point where it literally can cripple you. So if anybody has a bully they want to send to me, I'll choke him out, immediately."

And obviously, both men are living proof that life does get better once high school ends. They tour the world with Lady Gaga, party hard (and often) and command a loyal legion of fans. In fact, they consider themselves, as Tranter puts it, "the coolest guys on the planet." So much so that they wrote a song about their experiences — one that has become an anthem for their fellow outcasts.

"We have a song called 'Statues of Ourselves,' and now, when we're playing these headline shows, we look out, and whether it's girls who are overweight, or whether it's teens with gender issues, or whether it's the jock dude at our show who feels slightly out of place in our world, when that song starts, you can see [it] in people's faces," Tranter said. "This song it kind of, for me at least, it's my personal anthem and my friends' anthem, that it doesn't matter that people think we're losers, we think we're cool enough that we're going to build statues of ourselves."

And if all of that isn't enough, Whittle has one last piece of advice for anyone who's being bullied or feels like they just can't go on.

"Just know that the guys picking on you or saying sh--, one day, they'll be sitting in a Cheesecake Factory somewhere staring at their wife," he laughed. "And you'll be doing what we get to do every night. Trust me."

Credit: MTV.COM

Join MTV, Brittany Snow and the Jed Foundation (with support from DoSomething.org, the Trevor Project, Reach Out, Active Minds and the Ad Council) in spreading the word that Love Is Louder. Upload your videos of support to Your.MTV.com and tweet your message with the hashtag #LoveIsLouder.

Semi Precious Weapons Talk 'Born this Way'

Being the opening act on Lady Gaga's never-ending Monster Ball Tour has afforded the gentlemen in Semi Precious Weapons some rather, uh, unique opportunities, the overwhelming majority of which we can't print here.

But there are perks besides the debauchery too — like getting to hear Gaga's ultra-anticipated new album Born This Way, which isn't due until next year. And after some prodding, we got SPW frontman Justin Tranter to give us a few details about the album, which, from the sound of things, is shaping up to be quite an experience.
"It's bold and it's beautiful," Tranter said. "Obviously, none of it's done, so I can't really speak on it, but the stuff she has played me is really, really beautiful and really, really bold."

That echoes what Gaga herself said about the album earlier this year, when she promised that Born This Way would feature "a lot of hit records that will piss people off." And she didn't stop there either.

"This album is my absolute greatest work I've ever done, and I'm so excited about it," she told RWD magazine. "The message, the melodies, the direction, the meaning, what it will mean to my fans and what it will mean in my own life — it's utter liberation."

And that sense of liberation stuck with Tranter too. Because based on what he's heard, Born This Way is definitely going to set some people free.

"Gaga was so excited when she found out the title of our album, You Love You. She couldn't believe it, because it fit so well into the idea of the Monster Ball and the ideas she's exploring on this album," he said. "Everything she says is that she really wants her new album to feel like freedom — that's what she keeps saying over and over."

Credit: Mtv.com

Raw Dogg Interviews Semi Precious Weapons

Not sure how old this interview is, but I've never seen it.

Empire News: MTV 2010 VMA Coverage

Justin and Lady Starlight Looked Glam-Fabulous at Last Night's 2010 VMA's. There in support of fellow Empire member- Lady Gaga and her 8 awards (Yes, 8!)  for Best Collaboration, Best Dance Video, Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, Best Choreography, Best Editing, Best Direction and Video Of The Year. Congratulations to Gaga for the win! Check out some pics!

Looks!

Look at the Camera Mr. Tranter

Honestly Gorgeous!

Blonde's FTW!

Pearl Necklace!

New Garage Glam Facial Song: Details Don't Matter

Guest of a Guest Talks SPW After Party!

What do Semi Precious Weapons and Jamie Foxx have in common? Probably nothing except for that fact they they were both hamming it up last night at SPiN Hollywood. The band held a private after party for night one of their two-day L.A. stint with the Monster Ball Tour at the new, trendy ping pong social club where guests could get in some paddle action over cocktails. Well, that is if Foxx let them take a turn.
He was a total animal at the baseline for most of the night, nearly wetting himself when he walked in t
o find that the party involved ping pong and ran back out to his car to fetch his paddle.

Although it was portrayed as some loft-like space on the roof a big building overlooking the city in an episode of "Entourage" a few weeks ago, the real ping pong club is located off of the lobby in the Mondrian.  Despite the fictionalized aspects of trendy new spot, Soo Yeon Lee, the fierce Asian who played John Stamos' ping pong trainer really is a pro at SPiN, and was there kicking ass and taking names while sporting some fishnets and heels. Yeah, she's hardcore like that.

When the Semi Precious Weapons boys rolled in around 1am with their ever-present pack of wild child ladies with a penchant for flashing, Justin Tranter kind of stole Foxx's spotlight as that hot bitch stomped in wearing silver stiletto boots and more eyeliner than Taylor Momsen. From there it kind of turned into what you might expect from the glam rock brigade. You know, dancing atop furniture in five-inch heels, champagne spraying, dry humping on ping pong tables, and some nip slips.

Justin Talks to US Magazine

We know this is an older video but we hadn't gotten the chance to post it due to Internet Lameness in Kansas City! Enjoy!

"Semi Precious Weapons Are a Hemingway Novel on Ice"

Fabulous, FABULOUS Interview By Leila Brillson of interviewmagazine.com
 
"At least a (peroxided) head taller than the average guy, Justin Tranter, frontman of New York-based trash rock outfit Semi Precious Weapons, stands out. With bandmates equally bedecked in chains and gold, patchwork and hair dye, the group parts the crowd with ease. The Weapons aren't a household name yet, but their comrade-in-arms, Lady Gaga, certainly is (the friends made headlines when Gaga crowd-surfed with Tranter during his act, ending in a sloppy, audience-igniting kiss). The opening act on her Monster Ball tour, the boys are unabashedly loud, bombastic and glamorous. With his modelesque cheekbones and blinding hair, Tranter is the most noticeable, the others fill out his sentences as he speaks, occasionally even one-upping his signature hyperbole. Watching the four of them, there is an unmistakable sense of unity and friendship, even amidst their own personal chaos.


Though they know that the fans who love Gaga for her pop prowess may not get their grit and glam rock, the band doesn't care. As bassist Cole Whittle says, "We love playing in punk rock bars with 20 people just as much as we love as we love playing in an arena. We do the same shit, no matter where we are." Since Tranter and guitarist Stevy Pyne hail from Chicago, there seemed to be no better guides to the Midwest hedonism of Lollapalooza.

LEILA BRILLSON: So I know Justin and Stevy grew up in Chicago. So since we are here, where should we go?


JUSTIN TRANTER: Well, I love Belmont and Clark, which is like the classic punk area. Then Wicker Park is really cool, Bucktown is very exciting. Our favorite rock clubs are Cobra Lounge and Subterranean, and Cobra Lounge because its free.


BRILLSON: So, let's get this out of the way. Once upon a time, Lady Gaga opened for you. How did you become friends.


TRANTER: She was a big fan of ours, and we were looking for someone to open for us. And we heard she was really fun and a great performer. So we had her open for us, because it's difficult to find bands in New York that understand that its OK to have a good time. You can still be really talented and have fun.


DAN CREAN: New York doesn't think you can have sex and like it.


TRANTER: [LAUGHS] We share that same mentality. Gaga the person is much like Gaga the celebrity. She is very sweet, loyal and funny with her fans, and she is very sweet, loyal and funny with her friends. On stage, she is over-the-top, ridiculous, dirty and genuine on stage, and she is very over-the-top, ridiculous, dirty and genuine with her friends.


COLE WHITTLE: She's a rock 'n roll chick at heart. She's not a pop star.


BRILLSON: So what is it like coming from the clubs in New York to major arenas?


WHITTLE: Well, there is less crimes in the arena, less sex in the bathroom. But we like that stuff, but who doesn't. That's where our band was born. That's why we are making music.


BRILLSON: So, tell me about You Love You, which came out a month ago, and the response. It was a long time coming, and what was finally getting an album out like?


TRANTER: The response has been amazing. We hit the top 15 in album sales for every city we've played in. It's a sign that when people actually hear us play, they really like us. So hopefully one day we'll get on the radio and the TV, and then everyone will buy us.


WHITTLE: And then we will be number one at everything, in the world.


TRANTER: [Laughs)]We recorded it in LA with Jack Joseph Puig. It was kind of a dream come true. He's a weirdo like us, who believes in talent and fashion. He looks like Willy Wonka–not facially, but "fashionally." That's a word now, I say. We have this weird thing called a "rock band," where you actually play instruments at the same time, which doesn't happen anymore.


WHITTLE: We use real drums–which is unheard of–and no keyboards...who's ever heard of that? And a guitar that solos. There are no tropical robots on robots.


BRILLSON: What's a record without tropical robots?


WHITTLE: [Sarcastic] What's this fresh new sound?


BRILLSON: Well, while you are on the road with this fresh new sound, how do you guys and Gaga stay grounded to your New York roots?


CREAN: We party as much as possible. Literally, our occupation is acting like a bunch of 16-year-olds.


TRANTER: And we still hang out with Gaga, which we've always done in New York.


WHITTLE: If both of us had failed, we'd still be doing shows together to a hundred people in New York City right now.


TRANTER: Now that she has Lady Starlight DJ-ing the first hour of our show, it really is our whole posse. It really is the new New York, which is funny, because New York really didn't like us. Venues didn't want to book us, so we created this little world with about a thousand people coming to every show, but everyone else hated us. Now, we are playing all over the world and 10,000 people come to our show... and New York still hates us.


WHITTLE: And 12-year-olds come to the show, and Lady Starlight plays Black Flag and Pantera, and they are like, "What the fuck?" And then we play, and hurt ourselves and hurt everyone else, and they are like, "What the fuck?" And then Gaga comes on and the kids see an epic, futuristic show...basically a Hemingway novel, on ice, and they say, "What the fuck?"


BRILLSON: A Hemingway novel on ice? Thanks, you just gave me the name for this piece. Speaking of crazy styles and mashups, can you boys tell me about your look?


TRANTER: My fashion is inspired by Tina Turner and Sharon Stone. I'm wearing a nude leather jacket with gold grommets by Kimmy Him, and fishnets, and Fetty Jewelry, my line that is now sold in Barney's. Also, Stuart Weitzman heels, which he makes for me, because I'm a 12.5 women's wide.


WHITTLE: I'm inspired by LL Cool J, Turbo from Breaking, Don Knotts, Elvis, James Dean and common street trash.


CREAN: I'm Marc Jacobs on the bottom, NWA on top.


STEVY PYNE: I take my inspiration from a methadone clinic...and Weekend at Bernie's.


TRANTER: All of my clothes can fit into a Ziploc bag. But I wear less than my bandmates.


BRILLSON: So after Chicago, where to?


TRANTER: LA. We really like LA because it really likes rock and roll. The tourist attractions in LA are rock clubs. Even though LA can be kind of tacky, when a city's big draws are The Roxy and the Viper Room, you know its pretty amazing. Anywhere where rock and roll is number one, we are at home."

Justin Talks SPW, The Tour, & The Fans

He's tall, blond and pretty, and can rock high heels and smoky eye makeup. Justin Tranter, the frontman for New York City's Semi Precious Weapons, knows how to put his personality into well-crafted rock 'n' roll songs - like those on the band's brash, sexy, dark and humorous new album, You Love You. Tranter, however, didn't necessarily hone his style and sound while studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

"I did a singer-songwriter thing in college and I was boring myself to tears, let alone everyone else, but I didn't really understand why. I didn't really get it yet,'' says Tranter.

He and some friends from music school - bassist Cole Whittle and drummer Dan Crean (guitarist Stevy Pyne joined in 2008) - moved to New York City and formed Semi Precious Weapons in 2006.

"We got in a room and the first thing we wrote together was the `I can't pay my rent but I'm f---in' gorgeous' song (a.k.a., the eponymous track Semi Precious Weapons).Oh my god, this makes so much more sense,'' Tranter remembers thinking.

The raucous glam rock song Semi Precious Weapons leads off You Love You with swagger. Even the slower tunes are full of glam-rock attitude; the stunning piano ballad, Leave Your Pretty To Me, includes lyrics such as "with bottles and her mamma's cigarettes'' and ``gorgeous and passed out on the cement.''

"A little much? Not if you're a rock 'n' roller", says Tranter.

"These ridiculous, amazing, absurd things I say in real life, if I'm fronting a rock band and I'm not sitting at a piano, it actually makes sense and it's allowed to be humorous and over the top because there's a bad-ass rock band to back it up,'' Tranter says, and that discovery allowed Semi Precious Weapons to take off.
Funded by Tranter's equally rock 'n' roll jewelry line, Fetty, Semi Precious Weapons self-released its debut album, We Love You, in 2008, then re-released it on the Razor & Tie label. The band signed a deal with Interscope in November 2009, the same time they launched a yearlong tour as special guests of their friend Lady Gaga on her worldwide Monster Ball tour.

"It's interesting, because a lot of the kids have no clue who the f--- we are,'' Tranter laughs. ``But Interscope did have a three-song EP up, but that didn't even go up until we were about halfway through this tour. So it's been a slow but sure build.

But rock 'n' roll is allowed to take a little bit more time than pop music is. Can't complain. There were even a couple of people who said, `Oh, you shouldn't do a tour without an album out,' but if Lady Gaga wants us to open for her, we're not going to say no!'' he says.

And when they're not on stage, opening for Gaga, Tranter says he and his bandmates can often be found hanging around the merchandise table, talking with people.

"Until we got on this tour, we were the type of band that was also selling our own merchandise, driving ourselves to every single show, blah blah blah. And now that we're on this tour, you're not even allowed to (personally) sell your own merch, so we just go stand near the merch and sign things and take pictures and talk and chat and do that whole thing.''

So what kind of comments are they getting from the audience?

"My two favourite things that happen are: I love the 35-year-old drunk woman who's desperate to just have sex with one of us. They're always hysterical and can barely stand up,'' Tranter laughs. ``And then there's always amazing kids that, whether they're having some sort of gender confusion or whether they think that they're a loser, or whatever it is, the kids really, really get it.

They're like, `If you can be a man in heels and stand onstage and tell everyone that you're f---in' gorgeous, then I can be f---in' gorgeous, too.' So the two are very different fan responses, but they're both awesome.''

By Karen Bliss, Canwest News Service

Patrick Dear + Danni Davies Interview Justin Tranter

 Written by Danni Davies

Justin Talks About Papa Tranter

 

Buzznet: What is your physical feature that most resembles your Dad?
Justin Tranter: My legs. However he doesn't wear heels or pantyhose.


BN: What is your personality trait that most resembles your Dad?

JT: Extreme determination.

BN: What song makes you think of your Dad?
JT: WAY too many songs to just list one. Let's just say any song I hear that was recorded and released before 1973.

 
BN: Who is your favorite fictional Dad (tv character/movie)?

JT: King Triton from "The Little Mermaid."



BN: How has your Dad influenced your musical career in anyway?

JT: My dad loves live rockNroll more than anyone I have ever met, which has made me always want to put on the best live rockNroll show in the world.

 
BN: If you could sing/play your Dad any song for Father’s Day this year – what would you play?
JT: High Heel Sneakers by Jose Felicianond

Source: Buzznet.com

GayCalgary Interviews Justin Tranter of Semi Precious Weapons

Semi Precious Weapons miss when sex – the dirty come-ons, reckless rebellion and, of course, groin grabbing – was as important to rock as the music itself. So they’re bringing it back.

As those who’ve beheld Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball spectacular know, they’re taking this mission seriously – in pantyhose or whatever other girly garb singer Justin Tranter’s feeling, the New York foursome make every glam-rock song, like the brazen, buzzed-about “Magnetic Baby,” a climax.

As the modern priestess of pop rolls out another leg of the tour this summer, Semi Precious Weapons – who’s dropping their proper debut You Love You on June 22 – will wield their sex shenanigans across the world. Before heading out again, we caught up with Tranter to talk about being on tour with Gaga, how he sees himself sexually and his own precious weapon (or lack thereof).

GayCalgary: Why is sex an important part of rock ‘n’ roll?

Justin: Because the whole reason rock ‘n’ roll became something different than pop music – and why rock ‘n’ roll became something different than every other genre out there – was that it was dangerous and rebellious and extremely sexual. Sex needs to exist in rock ‘n’ roll always, or it shouldn’t be called... Read More Here

Justin and Cole Polaroided

Source: http://thesingular.blogspot.com/