September 1998: Vol. 77, No. 4September 1998: Vol. 77, No. 4 |
Two local cable access starlets field questions about handling fame, fans, and fashion from R.E.M.'s Mike Mills |
Two years ago, the first episode of "Spy Girls" aired on Athens' local cable access TV. Since then, the off-the-beaten-path travel and comedy show, best described as Laverne and Shirley meet Charles Kuralt, has featured hole-in-the-wall barbecue joints and junk stores, folk artists and beauty shop gurus. During a recent night in Athens, Spy Girls Maybonne and Starlene were accosted by a particularly enthusiastic fan--former UGA student Mike Mills, bassist for the Athens-based rock group R.E.M. After they stopped jumping up and down and yelling, "Oh my God! Mike Mills! Oh my God!" the Spy Girls settled down with Mills for a little chat.
MM: How did you come up with the idea for "Spy Girls"?
Starlene: Maybonne and I had both hit our late 20s like a brick wall--I hadn't written The Great American Novel and she hadn't won a Tony Award. While we were trying to figure out how to be the artists we've always wanted to be, "Spy Girls" came up. We made the first show with Maybonne's mini-camera, and things started happening from there.
MM: How do you decide what to do in each episode?
Maybonne: Sometimes we start with a theme, like in our "Cool Dudes" episode. Other times we start with places we want to go and build our performance bits and interviews around them. We also keep a running list of all the things we eventually want to do on film. I've always wanted to throw myself across the top of a car like Starsky--or was it Hutch?
MM: What have been your favorite on-screen moments?
Starlene: I did a dramatic reading of "This Land is Your Land" while Maybonne did an interpretive dance.
Maybonne: Getting my hair poofed-up in Madison. The beautician told us, "The Lord don't like ugly." Amen, sista.
MM: Why do you think people like "Spy Girls"?
Maybonne: Because they know the show expands ideas about what is considered art and who gets to be creative.
Starlene: Everybody is trying to figure out how to have a little color in their lives in spite of working and paying bills and all that.
MM: Who are your artistic influences?
Starlene: We're both pretty steeped in 70s and 80s TV. Mostly though, I'm inspired by people I know who make things, like my friend Margaret who's a painter. And, of course, Maybonne.
Maybonne: After Harriet the Spy and Charles Kuralt, the cartoonist Lynda Barry is one of my biggest influences. Then there's Janeane Garofalo.
MM: What's it like to deal with so many adoring fans?
Maybonne: Fans rock! One day at the post office, a woman told me her two-year-old daughter dances in front of the TV and shouts "Spy Girls, Spy Girls!" when the show comes on.
Starlene: My favorite fan is an Athens woman who made her daughters a couple of "Spy Girls" Kits instead of Christmas stockings last year.
MM: Do you have a style consultant? You always have the coolest
Starlene: No, Mike, it just comes naturally. I love thrift store shopping, and I'll wear just about anything that costs less than $3.
Maybonne: You think I have cool clothes?
MM: How close are your on-screen personalities to your real selves?
Starlene: Too close. She invades my personal space.
Maybonne: My spy character is named in honor of one of my favorite Lynda Barry cartoon characters. Maybonne is the one who alternates quickly between moments of "digging on the magic of life" to "riding a low down bummer," just like me.
MM: Any crazy off-screen moments?
Starlene: Once Maybonne and I had a margarita with lunch and got real sleepy.
MM: What's next in the plan for "Spy Girls" world domination?
Starlene: We want to find an agent to pitch the show to big-time television. But, really, making "Spy Girls" has already paid off more than we could have imagined. We've had an incredibly good time. It's all about self-trust, good friends, and, oh yeah, cool spying gadgets.