musician Elijah Scarpati: trans slut rock w/ Um, Jennifer?
“i think centering something around transness,” says 25-year-old Eli, “and trans in a deep way, we're creating from a perspective of transformation,growth,change, and of looking at things from a perspective ur not used to.”
35 mm by Matías Alvial
we had the luvly pleasure chatting with Elijah (Eli) Scarpati, member of tr@ns slut rock band Um, Jennifer? Eli + his bandmate Fig have their new album Um Comma Jennifer Question Mark coming out Friday 4/25 and they’re having a show at NYC’s newest spot Nightclub 101. so we wanted to learn more about one of the brains behind indie rock bops like “Girl Class” and “Went on T” enjoy ;)
Q+A with Um, Jennifer?’s Elijah Scarpati
★ dream joink rotation:
Eli: Aubrey Plaza, Laverne Cox, and the Girl dog from Lady and the tramp…what’s her name [literally her name is Lady lol].
★ what does it mean to be a flamer?
Eli: i feel like to me being a flamer, it's the kind of gay person that everybody else starts copying. it's like ur really out there doing it, and everyone else wants to be cool like that.
★ what are ur music inspirations?
Eli: i would say one of my favorite artists of all time is Dina Washington. she's a jazz singer, and my music doesn't sound like her, but i think her kind of performance spirit, Louis Armstrong also, and the way that he performs, the way that he views performance. two of my favorite living artists are Mitski and Earl Sweatshirt. i love Earl Sweatshirt. i love Earl Sweatshirt. i think he's the best lyricist. i think both of them are the best lyricists alive.
35 mm by Matías Alvial
★ how does ur identity influence ur work?
Eli: i feel like it's interesting because (especially in this project with Um Jennifer?) i think a lot about women and about femininity. and i have my entire life, even though i never…i don't know if i ever totally resonated with being woman, but i just am obsessed with them and i like everything that they do and the feminine energy.
in this band, Fig and i are having very opposite experiences, but obviously so much in common.
“looking at women from a perspective that isn’t a woman, but trying to understand and feel like a lot of parts of it resonate with me. and it’s a lot of bridging a gap, i guess, and finding connection in unexpected ways. and i think that transness lends itself to that. ”
★ how do u use cannabis in ur creative process?
Eli: i use cannabis mostly for social smoking. a lot of times in songwriting sessions, i've smoked—there's something about burning something. just like if ur lighting incense or writing around a fire. there's something just very ritualistic about it. so i like it. i like the ritual of smoking a lot for that reason of having a moment with somebody and having a conversation, having a point of connection and having a thing that u do together to get into a zone.
35 mm by Matías Alvial
★ how did u meet Fig + come to work together?
Eli: we met at a party.
Fig was with a couple of her friends, and i just thought that they were so funny and just all, everything they were saying, they were just cracking me up. and i basically was just like, i'm in with u guys, wherever u guys are, i'm involved. i want to be there.
we didn't even get each other’s numbers or anything. and then i kept seeing, the next time i saw her was at another friend of Mine's party. my friends Marissa and Vic were throwing this party at Stonewall called Sweat. and i went out in drag for the first time and i saw Fig and i was like, Hey, it's me. and she did not recognize me… obviously.
i was in a wig and whatever. then we just kept bumping into each other. i had her work as an actor on this project i was doing for a show. and then, we were like, let's start playing music together and wrote “Girl Class.” and the rest was history.
35 mm by Matías Alvial
★ what makes ur music different from other NYC indie rock bands?
Eli: i had studied music my whole life. i did jazz and classical and played, i toured professionally in bands and done music in a really professional capacity and in a very technical capacity.
i wanted to make a band that just didn't have anything to do with that. i wanted to have things come from a place of more of just expression and of storytelling and of fun, rather than trying to make something that was good. and so i think that what sets us apart is that we have a really unique way of approaching music where Fig has a theater background, and i had the technical aspect.
we just approach things from a different perspective. also i think centering something around transness, and trans in a deep way, not just, we're a trans band, but really creating from a perspective of transformation,growth,change, and of looking at things from a perspective ur not used to.
★ which Um Jennifer? song is best to play at the joink sesh?
Eli: i’ve thought about this so much. i think it would have to be “Delancey,” which just came out on 2/27. it has a little bit of dream pop, slacker rock thing that i think is awesome for smoking weed.
“Delancy to me just has a sort of optimistic malaise that is my favorite kind of energy to smoke to—when ur in the sun, but ur so tired from being in the sun, but u love it. that song is that feeling for me.”
35 mm by Matías Alvial
★ what’s next for Um, Jennifer?
Eli: we are famously releasing our first album on 4/25!
we're doing a release show that night at nightclub 101. we are going to release a visual album with it as well. Sick. it's the introduction to what we call “the Jennifer.” and we meet Jennifer, the physical embodiment of her. we meet a lot of different characters that are referenced in the songs.
35 mm by Matías Alvial
★ who is Jennifer?
Eli: she is a lot of different things. what comes to mind immediately is ur best friend who is mean to u, but in a way that turns u on. she's both the feeling of jubilance at a childhood sleepover, and also when it's the middle of the night and u know that u need to go home but u don’t want to. she's the threat of that feeling. she is the best and the worst, and she lives to torment us, and we do nothing but worship her.
35 mm by Matías Alvial
