Have you found yourself missing the days of raw, hard, true glam rock? Well time to stop reminiscing about the bands of the 1970’s — filthy, gorgeous New York City rockers Semi Precious Weapons are here!

With one eponymous EP, the full-length album We Love You, and another on the way this summer, the guys behind SPW plunge a high, pointy, sparkly stiletto heel deep into the heart of New York’s anemic, bearded indie rock scene. Fronted by the ever-glamorous Justin Tranter and supported by members Cole Whittle, Dan Crean and Stevy Pyne, the band is known for giving superstar Lady Gaga her start — she opened for them back in 2007 as they played gigs all over the city’s Lower East Side and even appeared in their original video for “Magnetic Baby.”

Now that Gaga has skyrocketed up the charts, she’s bringing along the men who first gave her a chance — Semi Precious Weapons is opening for her sold-out worldwide tour. Never a band to rest easy, SPW is using a short, scheduled break on the yearlong Gaga tour to embark on a four-city mini tour across the US, giving fans a chance to see them up close. The mini tour is with a rare assortment of true rock and roll openers including Lady Gaga’s partner in crime Lady Starlight, New York up-and-comer Breedlove, and LA favorite Nico Vega.

I caught up with SPW backstage at New York’s Bowery Ballroom before a show. Brimming with pre-show energy, they laughed and chatted away while I kept fighting the urge to stare at Justin’s eye-popping gold stiletto boots.

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Check out this beautiful song called ‘Super Hero Dream’ performed by Justin Tranter on the piano above. The song is completely different from what we have heard previously the band, it shows a softer side to the band and we are loving it

I wonder if this song will be on the bands new album ‘You Love You’ which is released next month?

CLICK HERE to download the MP3

Semi Precious Weapons definitely brought the filthy glaMOUR to Japan in April. Check out part one of the Japan video diary (above)

Keep checking back to the site for Part Two

UPDATE: YOU ONLY HAVE ONE DAY LEFT TO SUBMIT SOMETHING FOR SEMI PRECIOUS WEAPONS

Semi Precious Weapons through their music, style, fashion, and fierceness inspire us so much. Now is your chance to tell the band how they have inspired you by showing them,  We are doing a fan project were you will be able to submit videos, images, letters and artwork to the band.

Videos

Send us a video of yourself doing something Semi Precious. It can be a message to the band,  a cover of one of their songs, a dance routine, a make-up tutorial, it can be anything you like as long as it is Semi Precious Weapons inspired.

All of which will be put on a DVD

Photos

Submit a Semi Precious Weapons inspired by photo, this can be anything from a picture of yourself, artwork, a picture with the band or anything you would like the band to see.

All of which will be presented in a photo album ‘The Book of Weapons’

Letters

You can submit a letter to the band, all of which will be printed and placed in a folder.

To submit any or all of the above please email us your submissions to semipreciousnews@gmail.com

The deadline for this project is the 26^th of May 2010. You have 13 days to submit something so get filthy and get creative. We look forward to seeing your submissions.

Ryan and Laura

xoxo

Justin Tranter and Lady Gaga were spotted bringing the filthy glaMOUR at the Laboratory club in Berlin earlier this week

-Source: TotallyGaga

I first saw Semi Precious Weapons (SPW) live a few weeks ago at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. Taking a brief hiatus from their world tour with Lady Gaga, SPW used their downtime to headline their own 4 city American mini-tour (traveling with my friends, Nico Vega). Comprised of Justin Tranter (vocals), Stevy Pyne (guitar), Cole Whittle (bass) and Dan Crean (drums) – it didn’t even take 10 seconds before these boys kicked, roared, twirled, gyrated, serenaded, freaked and rocked their ways into my heart. And I wasn’t alone. Tranter commands a crowd like Jesus commands a church service on Easter Sunday… like Oprah commands suburban housewives. It’s hypnotic and dazzling and loud and glamorous.

Not to be discounted as a member of the SPW team is visual director, Jimmy Knehans – and since this is an installment in the When Style Meets Music series, I find Knehan’s contribution to be pretty damn relevant. The visual aesthetics are half the presentation with SPW. They say what they mean and mean what they say, and look how they sound and sound how they look… and mean what they look and sound how they mean and say how they sound. Yeah, it’s true. Between the sound and the look and the intention behind it all, this band truly is the perfect marriage of style and music. Here we go – the incomparable – Justin Tranter of Semi Precious Weapons.

Mihal Freinquel: So tell me, who is Justin Tranter?
Justin Tranter: I am a genderless sea creature who has been writing and studying music since I was 12. I love songs, Patty Larkin, Sharon Stone, Mae West and Marilyn Monroe. My choice of shoe upsets people a lot more than my filthy mouth.

MF: Who are the Semi Precious Weapons?
JT: We met in music school. We are music school geeks who found sex, NYC and fashion. Thank God! We play rock ‘n’ roll – and we think rock ‘n’ roll should be dangerous, amazing, and attractive.

MF: One cannot talk about SPW without the mention of style, so I must bring up Jimmy Knehans. How does Jimmy fit into the equation?
JT: Most of my friends are my friends because they inspire me. Breedlove, Darian, Tommy, Starlight, GaGa, my mom, my band members and so on. Jimmy Knehans is also one of those friends. But he also stepped up to the plate to be a roadie/hypeman/visual director. All of the visual and fashion ideas that The Precious Empire and SPW has, Jimmy is the one to actually take the time to make it happen. Whether it’s a nude leather jacket covered in grommets, or 12 foot champagne bottles with my face on it, Jimmy makes it happen.

MF: And thank the loooord he does! You’re visual presentation is insane. How do your music and performance elements fit into the way you dress/your style aesthetic?
JT: I dress the way I feel: Beautiful. I write music that makes me feel amazing. I guess my music and fashion make sense together because it’s all just me. Luckily people view a man wearing heels as dangerous. Ha! So that makes the essence of my fashion choices dangerous.

MF: Where do you/the band/Jimmy shop? For stage? For regular life? Oooor are they one in the same?
JT: We dress exactly the same on stage as we do in real life. Cole, Dan and Stevy buy clothes in thrift stores and small shops all over the world as we travel. Jimmy makes all of Stevy’s signature “half jackets“. And my clothes come from designer friends – Tommy Cole, LaQuan Smith – and then Jimmy Knehans creates all my custom signature pieces. Stuart Wietzman makes all of my custom heels, and my pantyhose come from dance stores and Wolford. Phew…that was a lot.

MF: Worst mainstream style trends of the last decade? Best?
JT: Flats and ironic t-shirts give me my period. Best? I’m really into the early 90′s stuff that is coming back.

MF: Word association time! Respond with the first word/phrases that come to mind:
Hot pants//Love
Hipster//Abercrombie kid who found a thrift store
Turtlenecks//I prefer a Dickie
Midnight Snack//Champagne
Astrology//Creepy
Tube Tops//Always
Prince Albert//Serious
TV//I look great on it

MF: Ha! Abercrombie kid who found a thrift store..there’s about to be a widespread tantrum in Billyburg. Anyway…so obviously I have to mention GAGA. Lady, that is. What are 3 things that nobody knows about that tour?
JT: 1) SPW is a crazy rock band, GaGa is a crazy pop star, but we all take music REALLY seriously. 2) Whenever we have free time, which isn’t often, we always find the nearest dive bar with the Lady. 3) Glamour is contagious.

MF: It most certainly is! After seeing SPW live, I just kept thinking – you guys are soquintessentially New York City. How has this fair city of ours influenced your style – musically and aesthetically?
JT: Well thank you much. We like to think that we are very NYC. What’s very odd is that NYC really doesn’t want to claim us. The Brooklyn “intellectual” indie pop craze is owning at the moment. But we actually started the band hoping to bring back the NYC we were obsessed with as kids. Max’s Kansas City, The Factory, and so on. But at the moment NYC is convinced that if you have fun, you can be taken seriously. We will change that, but its a hard battle to fight.

MF: It definitely is – but I can think of some musical NYC kids on the come-up who are on that war path with you. So when you’re not fighting the battle what do you guys do in your time off? Does time off even exist anymore?
JT: There is sooo much touring – and promo and all of these amazing things…there really isn’t time off. And when we do have time off I spend it hanging out with my friends talking about ridiculous artistic ideas, so it ends up not being time off. But when you’re literally living your dream, fuck time off.

MF: If you had to wear the same outfit every day for the rest of your life what would it be?
JT: I would wear pantyhose, nude fishnets, 5 inch sparkle heels, and nude leather jacket covered in gromets. Boom! Actually, Jimmy Knehans does wear the same outfit every day – an army green pant/skirt and a tshirt.

MF: Ah yes I saw him running around at the Bowery. If anybody can pull off the pant/skirt it’s him. What’s your intention when you head on stage?
JT: To make everyone have a really really good time. Including myself.

MF: What’s worse…
Too much makeup or not enough?//Not enough.
No sex ever again or no music?//No music.
Uggs or kitten heels?//Uggs.
Fox News or…wait, maybe there’s nothing worse than Fox News?//I love Fox News. Its so ridic, its like performance art.

MF: You’re interviewing a celeb. What’s the first question you ask him/her? Who would you want to interview most?
JT: Mae West – Where you this intelligently dangerous as a teenager?

MF: Final words from the Justin Tranter?
JT: You love You.

Photos by Roger Kisby & Jimmy Knehans

Source: Huffington Post

Justin Tranter probably knows it by now. How could he not? All signs continue to point toward rock and roll domination, and the lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons is just days away from another sweet taste in that direction. So, yeah he probably knows what’s on the verge of happening.

As he plucked his glossed lips, and subtly-clicked his high heels together (yeah, you read that right), the Chicago native discussed going on tour next week with pop’s reigning queen, Lady Gaga. For Tranter and SPW, it’s their second “Monster Ball” tour of duty with Ms. G, but the first time they’ll be doing it while in the midst of promoting their new album “You Love You” – which, of course, is fully supported by da Gaga.

While the band has a long, loving history with the artist formerly known as Stefani Germanotta (she used to open up for SPW back in the day), SPW have actually been building a loyal fanbase of their own…on their own for years. Rigorous touring and buzzworthy songs like “Magnetic Baby” (You know you downloaded it for RockBand2) have made for a legion of followers who haul ass to each show wearing little, dancing a lot, and making for likely some of the finest moments in androgynous rock music scene history.

From a swanky Queens hotel, I spoke with Tranter on everything I just wrote about, his burgeoning jewelry line (Fetty), and what the future holds for SPW.

Semi Precious Weapons were co-hosting with Lady Starlight at The Royalton on Tuesday night with The Precious Empire. It was a special night from the offset and it got even better when no other than friend of the band Lady Gaga turned up to celebrate with her friends at The Royalton.

The DJ for the evening was Lady Gaga’s own DJ Lady Starlight. It-girl/model Becka Diamond also co-hosted the evening. The crowd was as eclectic as Lady Gaga herself, with many sporting Gaga-like accessories such as masks and elaborate headpieces.

Check out all of the amazing photos of the star studded event below;

BreedLove, The Jocelyn, Justin Tranter and Darian Darling

Lady Starlight and Darian Darling

Becka Diamond

Media outlets have been raving about the epicness that was Tuesday night, several sites have been running stories about one of the hottest nights to grace the streets of New York this year.

Check out this article from PaperMag;

“Are we really still in Midtown?” was the only thing I could think upon stepping into the lobby last night at West 44th Street’s Royalton Hotel. Lady Starlight‘s weekly Tuesday party in the uber chic Roman and Williams designed lobby (the same duo responsible for the Standard’s Boom Boom Room) brought out a host of markedly downtown types, ranging from couture-clad fashionistas to face-painted glam rockers, and just about everyone in between. Guest-hosted by Justin Tranter of Semi-Precious Weapons, last night’s fete additionally featured the likes of  designer Richie Rich, it-girl Becka Diamond, and the one and only Lady Gaga. Donning black lace lingerie, a leather jacket, and an oversized pair of Wayfarers, the Lady held court at an intimate corner table while Starlight kept the tunes coming like it was 1984. Gaga and her guests rocked out to tunes by Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, and Black Sabbath, and everyone, myself included, joined in for a slightly-drunken but nonetheless harmonious midnight rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Damn! We wished we lived in New York City! x

Check out this amazing promo created by Darian Darling featuring Justin Tranter, Breedlove and The Jocelyn, not only is the video amazing it is highly addictive. It was Shot in NYC with The Precious Empire during a Monster Ball Tour hiatus, May 2010.

Be sure to check out Darian Darlings blog here

Source: Darian Darling : A Guide To Life For Modern Blondes