Marilyn Manson are a band of raving lunatics, which doesn't mean they have a pea-sized brain� Besides, Twiggy Ramirez doesn't like peas, he prefers dresses, girls and Manson's mike stand blows. Since we didn't want Brian Warner to be the only recipient of Marilyn Manson's huge success, we decided to have a chat with this perfect cross between Lemmy Kilminster and Tabatha Cash, in glam rock's temple, the Rainbow Bar and Grill, Sunset Blv, LA. And look what the cat dragged in�

There are 4 ways to go to the Bar and Grill without looking like an utter jerk: one, pretend you play Ratt, Poison or Sleeze Beeze. Two, say you were kicked out of LA's other clubs. Three, you date a bleached, silicone-breasted fourty-something who listens to Still loving you and Little runaway non stop while making passes at younger dudes. Four, you have to interview Lemmy, who's an honorary member of the Rainbow.

The latter being on tour, Twiggy takes over in this temple of kitsch, which becomes him particularly well On our arrival in this den of vice, we are led to the table where sits this hybrid of merry widow and Rocky Horror Picture Show actor, a straw between the teeth and a huge Coca-Cola glass in the hands.

Blowing on his new Sophie Marceau-like fringe, the smiling bass player invites us to have a seat and treat ourselves to a plate of mozzarella sticks.

"It's great here, isn't it? It's incredibly kitsch, the guy who made Ratt and Quiet Riot photo session even asked me to pose for him. I said I agreed as long as I could use erotic gadgets. I don't think he really appreciated, that's a pity..."

"I love this record, it's the closest to what we are as a band and this time we could really take the time to write, whereas for "Antechrist Superstar", we had to record all the tracks in a hurry and paid more attention to the production than the relevance of songs. When we were thinking about the way we would make the album, we said: 'Let's go to LA to make a Hollywood record, somthing pompous and glamourous.' LA is a place that gives you different images, its inhabitants never really live in the real world, everybody looks like a star, well, generally like a wannabe-star or a dead star!"

"Whenever I listen to the new songs, I'm taken back to certain moments of my childhood, certain musical eras which had an influence on me, but if "Mechanical Animals" is the opposite of "Antechrist Superstar", it's just because we wanted to reinvent ourselves and be more creative. We wanted to show that, now that we are on top, we won't just repeat a formula."

Twiggy is living success to the max.

"It's a nice victory, because, even if you know, deep down inside, that you're right and your music is good, you can't help being affected by those who say you're shit and think you're not capable of writing a song." He leans closer to the mike. "We told you we would go far... Now it's gonna be hard to get rid of us."

Phantom of the opera

"It's no big deal. I feel good, the journalists know I write much of the music, I'm always available for those who want to talk to me and I've never had to complain about the way Brian handles his image and ours. Even if we're called Marilyn Manson, I think the audience sees us as a band. To me, there's always been Mick AND Keith, Bowie AND Mick Ronson, so I get the feeling that my work is acknowledged."

"Everyone wants to know what I think about Brian says, I don't necessarily want to talk about it, because we've already talked about everything he tells the press or he wrote in his book and it's our own business. I know what Brian went through over the last 3 years, because I was there with him. He's my friend, we've always helped each other and we're closer than ever. We've just started living together..."

Humanimal

"Marilyn Manson's story has always been linked to change, by making records, we learn who we are. "Antechrist Superstar" was the expression of the frustrations associated with this difficulty to be integrated and we transformed it into rage. There's a kind of viciousness transpiring of that record, whereas "Mechanical Animals" is more quiet, just because, between these two albums, we could get our message through and be listened to. Once in LA, after the end of the tour, we weren't in such a frenzy anymore and we had time to think." He sucks on his straw. "I've always been used to travel and I'm getting bored of LA."

"What I like about Manson's photo is that you wonder if it's a machine or a kind of human being and it's adapted to the feeling that everything is empty, fake, superficial. Where is the truth? Photography, TV, reality is distorted. Our evolution is similar to the cover: we represented something false, inhuman and we almost became it... then we discarded the costume and tried to rediscover the essence of man, even if it's a different-looking man."

After we told him about the column, he cries out: "Can we do that?"