Photos are courtesy of Sheila B.

     When one has a passion for their interest in a certain hobby, some take that passion to incredible lengths. 

     For the last two years, Sheila Burgel of New York has taken her interest in 60's music girl groups and Japanese music to great lengths by creating a magazine titled "Cha Cha Charming" which is dedicated to her two passions.

     In the last few years, I have enjoyed Sheila's articles on the different genres because reading her magazine is like reading a public diary.  You get to read what's going on Sheila's life and her perspective on her favorite types of music and her unique style has garnered readers all over the world thanks to her magazine being distributed at Tower Records and other outlets.

     May it be her talking about her passion or playing a guitar solo on cable shows like Atomic TV or throwing a major Japanese music party in New York, you can sense her enthusiasm in everything that she does.

     Recently I had the opportunity to interview Sheila B. her about music, the magazine and life.

DENNIS:  Where were you born and raised?
SHEILA: I was born in Teheran, Iran in 1977. My mother, who is Iranian, and my father, who is German, were living together in Iran until the Revolution in 1979. Before the Revolution, Iran was very much like America, so when the religious extremists came to power, my family, like many other Iranians, had to flee the country. Since my grandparents already owned a house in the suburbs of New York, it was decided that we would all move there. So I grew up in a small suburban town of New York up until I graduated high school.

DENNIS:  You currently live in New York but you lived in London for several years.  What do you miss the most about living in London?
SHEILA: Hmm... What do I miss most about London? Not much actually! To make a very long story short- after I graduated high school I moved to London with very high expectations. And I ended up being really disappointed in the city, the people, the lifestyle, etc. Although I made a few close friends, and obviously learned a lot, it just wasn't the place for me. You would expect that it would be easy to move to a place where everybody speaks English- but I soon learned that although we might speak the same language, the American and British cultures are really very different. So it was difficult for me to adapt to the British culture, and find my place in England.

DENNIS:  If you were going to show me around London or New York, which places do you recommend?
SHEILA: Well, I probably wouldn't be the best London tour guide, since I haven't been back there in ages. So let's just do New York.  I would take you to Tomoe Sushi, because it's the best sushi restaurant in the world (it's even better than most of the sushi I had in Japan!). Chinatown is also quite amazing- you wouldn't know you're in New York. New York is really the place for bars, like Decibel (an underground Japanese bar), Idlewild (shaped like an airplane), Cafe Noir (Cuban and summery), and Corner Bistro (old time New York bar with $2 beers and the best hamburgers).

DENNIS: What does New York have that California doesn't?
SHEILA: I find that New York has more of an edge compared to California. Because so many millions of people, restaurants, cultures, jobs, etc. are jammed into such a small space.  Manhattan really isn't that large and there's a crazy vibe that keeps people excited and on their toes and 55% more likely to have a heart attack compared to the rest of the world! I didn't really get that same feeling from California- it seems that all the good weather out there keeps people more relaxed and chilled-out and probably more healthy!

DENNIS:  How did your passion for 60's girl groups begin? SHEILA: While I was living in London, a friend of mine, with an extremely large record collection, made me a mix tape of British sixties girl singers. Whatever genre I've been obsessed with -metal, indie pop, Japanese pop, I've just been more partial to the female voice. So once I grew accustomed to the "oldies" sound, I came to really love the sixties girl groups- American, French, British, etc. Once the passion began, I became a record-collecting junkie! I think I spent most of my time in London digging through dusty record bins at record fairs. DENNIS:  Let’s learn a little about you outside of the music.  If there was one word to describe you as a person.  What would that word be and why? SHEILA:  Enthusiastic. Because I consider myself a very positive and upbeat person. And I'm always pretty enthusiastic about something.

DENNIS:  You were the creator of the fanzine titled "Plume" dedicated to the American and British Indie scene.  How was the experience of publishing your own fanzine?
SHEILA: I remember starting "Plume" with my best friend Jen, when I was 15 years old. Jen and I were both huge fans of a lot of the British and American indie pop bands coming out at the time such as My Bloody Valentine, Blake Babies, Hole, Lush, etc. Since we were bored with school and hated our suburban town, we channeled all our angst and creative energy into Plume, which was a cheap, photocopied fanzine filled with articles that raved about our favorite bands. Eventually Jen and I had a falling out, and I continued producing "Plume" on my own. It was a fairly unknown fanzine until Sassy magazine which was the ultra hip teen magazine at the time, got a copy of issue #2 and featured it in their "Cool Alert" pages. For the next year, I received over 10,000 letters from all over the world requesting copies of Plume. It was the most exciting time in the world, but it was extremely overwhelming. It was an amazing feeling to produce such a successful fanzine at sixteen years old, but I certainly wasn't ready for all the work that resulted from its success.

DENNIS:  You seem to be very in tune with a variety of musical styles may it be English or Japanese.  I know you play the guitar.  Were you ever in a band?
SHEILA:  In sophomore year of high school, Jen and I started a band called Wednesday, where we played lots of Bikini Kill and Babes in Toyland covers. And then towards the end of high school I formed a band called Raggedy Ann. We played all originals, and got to record with a guy out in Washington who featured our song "Orange Juice Star" on a compilation called Yo-Yo. That's my claim to fame because Beck was also on that compilation!

DENNIS:  How long have you been playing?
SHEILA: I've been playing guitar for about ten years, but I don't consider myself a professional or anything. I have a weird relationship with my guitar- I go through phases of playing non-stop for two years, and then not even touching it for another couple years. I'm in the "haven't touched it:" phase right now.

DENNIS: Are there any guitarists that you love listening to? SHEILA: I actually really dislike "guitar music." When I was taking guitar lessons, my teacher kept forcing me to listen to famous guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc, etc, but it all sounded like too much testosterone to me. I listen to music as a whole- I don't really pay serious attention to any particular instruments, unless I hear a brilliant solo or something really unique in one of the instruments. But when Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman were playing together in Megadeth, I really dug all their guitar work. DENNIS:  Are you still a big fan of Megadeth? SHEILA: I haven't listened to Megadeth in ages, but I am still deeply in love with their past records. They were my favorite band for a long long time, so they mean a lot to me. But I'm not so big on their latest material.

DENNIS:  What kind of music are you listening to a lot now?
SHEILA: Because I've been really disappointed with most of the Top 40 stuff coming out of Japan right now, I've been discovering a lot of older Japanese pop music. I've been on a huge Tsutsumi Kyohei kick lately- everything he writes is just amazing! He was probably Japan's most famous songwriter in the late 60's early 70's. He wrote Ayumi Ishida's "Blue Light Yokohama," Iwasaki Hiromi's "Romance," and plenty more mega Japanese hits from way back when.  I've also been listening to random Swedish and Icelandic artists like Emiliana Torrini.  Anyone who likes Bjork will certainly LOVE this artist.  Sahara Hotnights, the Cardigans. Oh, and Bonnie Pink who is my favorite Japanese artist at the moment. And Chara's latest record "Madrigal" has been in my CD player for quite awhile.

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