Semi Precious Weapons on Bullying

As you can probably guess based on pretty much, well, everything about them, the guys of Semi Precious Weapons weren't exactly your average high school kids. Because of that, they were bullied just like every other teen who dares to stray from the social norm, and it's why, in light of the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi — and a host of other gay teen deaths in recent months — they decided to tell their stories to MTV News.

SPW hope that, much like the message of the "It Gets Better" campaign, they can convince their fellow outcasts that, yes, life does improve once high school is over. Very much so, in fact.


"In every school, there's always the kid who gets it the worst, and I was, for sure, that kid," frontman Justin Tranter said. "Every time you had to get in a line that was boys and girls, it was like my worst nightmare. A lot of kids I know got made fun of for being gay; that was not my issue, I was just called a girl endlessly. I definitely was that kid. And when I went to high school, my first semester in public high school, it actually got very, very violent, to the point where I had to switch schools," he continued. "But luckily, I'm really blessed because my family was so cool that I never really felt bad about it ... [and] I used it as motivation to do something cooler. So instead of just switching schools, I convinced my parents to let me go to the arts high school in the city, and I had to audition and get in, and it was a very nerve-racking experience, because not only did I want to go to an arts school, but I needed to leave the school."

But while Tranter was picked on for his gender issues, SPW bassist Cole Whittle's experience was a bit different. He was both bully and the bullied, which gives him a rather unique perspective on things.
"I went through a period where I realized what a little a--hole I was, and went around my middle school and actually apologized to a bunch of kids. And then, in high school, I wouldn't say I was bullied, but being a musician wasn't cool," he explained. "I went from being a jock and a wrestler to being a musician over a summer. I showed up dressed like Kurt Cobain, and my friends were like, 'What the?' So, it has nothing to do with orientation, it just has to do with 'you don't look exactly like me,' and I think that's terrible.

"And also, bullying is worse now than it's ever been in human history, because now you can be a cowardly bully. ... Making fun of a kid 20 years ago in front of his face was bullying, but now you can sit at home and be an anonymous bully and reach three times the audience with your stupid computer," he continued. "Back in the day, the worst thing you could do was have four people on speakerphone and call some kid a loser, and it's like, 'Aw, that sucks.' But now it's getting to the point where it literally can cripple you. So if anybody has a bully they want to send to me, I'll choke him out, immediately."

And obviously, both men are living proof that life does get better once high school ends. They tour the world with Lady Gaga, party hard (and often) and command a loyal legion of fans. In fact, they consider themselves, as Tranter puts it, "the coolest guys on the planet." So much so that they wrote a song about their experiences — one that has become an anthem for their fellow outcasts.

"We have a song called 'Statues of Ourselves,' and now, when we're playing these headline shows, we look out, and whether it's girls who are overweight, or whether it's teens with gender issues, or whether it's the jock dude at our show who feels slightly out of place in our world, when that song starts, you can see [it] in people's faces," Tranter said. "This song it kind of, for me at least, it's my personal anthem and my friends' anthem, that it doesn't matter that people think we're losers, we think we're cool enough that we're going to build statues of ourselves."

And if all of that isn't enough, Whittle has one last piece of advice for anyone who's being bullied or feels like they just can't go on.

"Just know that the guys picking on you or saying sh--, one day, they'll be sitting in a Cheesecake Factory somewhere staring at their wife," he laughed. "And you'll be doing what we get to do every night. Trust me."

Credit: MTV.COM

Join MTV, Brittany Snow and the Jed Foundation (with support from DoSomething.org, the Trevor Project, Reach Out, Active Minds and the Ad Council) in spreading the word that Love Is Louder. Upload your videos of support to Your.MTV.com and tweet your message with the hashtag #LoveIsLouder.

Semi Precious Weapons Talk 'Born this Way'

Being the opening act on Lady Gaga's never-ending Monster Ball Tour has afforded the gentlemen in Semi Precious Weapons some rather, uh, unique opportunities, the overwhelming majority of which we can't print here.

But there are perks besides the debauchery too — like getting to hear Gaga's ultra-anticipated new album Born This Way, which isn't due until next year. And after some prodding, we got SPW frontman Justin Tranter to give us a few details about the album, which, from the sound of things, is shaping up to be quite an experience.
"It's bold and it's beautiful," Tranter said. "Obviously, none of it's done, so I can't really speak on it, but the stuff she has played me is really, really beautiful and really, really bold."

That echoes what Gaga herself said about the album earlier this year, when she promised that Born This Way would feature "a lot of hit records that will piss people off." And she didn't stop there either.

"This album is my absolute greatest work I've ever done, and I'm so excited about it," she told RWD magazine. "The message, the melodies, the direction, the meaning, what it will mean to my fans and what it will mean in my own life — it's utter liberation."

And that sense of liberation stuck with Tranter too. Because based on what he's heard, Born This Way is definitely going to set some people free.

"Gaga was so excited when she found out the title of our album, You Love You. She couldn't believe it, because it fit so well into the idea of the Monster Ball and the ideas she's exploring on this album," he said. "Everything she says is that she really wants her new album to feel like freedom — that's what she keeps saying over and over."

Credit: Mtv.com

"Semi Precious Weapons Tweet-N-Greet"

By Matt Elias of MTV

Semi Precious Weapons are known for their unabashed stage presence, flamboyant wardrobe and, maybe most of all, undying love for their fans. So when Lady Gaga's opening act hit Los Angeles for the Monster Ball Tour, the band invited MTV News along to witness firsthand a pre-show tweet-n-greet, with a very precious prize at the end.

SPW frontman Justin Tranter explained how it all goes down: "Every single day, we announce where we're going to have our Semi Precious Street Corner. So we show up somewhere every day to give away two tickets, free tickets, to the Monster Ball."

By the time the band tweeted their location from backstage and walked across the street from the Staples Center, 30 die-hard fans were already lined up. What followed was an energetic, impromptu trivia game to award tickets to the Weapons' biggest fan.Once they arrived, Tranter took command of the crowd to narrow down three finalists.

"What is the fourth song on our album?" Tranter asked.

" 'Statues of Ourselves,' " finalist #1 answered.

Tranter continued: "Finish the sentence: 'Rock and roll never looked so ... ' "

"Beautiful!" screamed finalist #2.

"Last question: What is his name?" Tranter asked, while pointing at the band's bassist.

"Cole!" finalist #3 shouted.

With the lightning round over, Tranter had one more declaration before he picked the lucky fan. "Now, listen, you can't hate me if you don't win tickets, because I love you all, I love you all — but one of you is going to get two tickets," Tranter said. "OK, this last part gets really fancy. Are you ready?"

He then broke into the playground-worthy selection method "eeny, meeny, miny, moe," landing on a tearful super-fan who traveled all the way from Australia.

MTV Iggy Interviews Semi Precious Weapons

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.”

More After the Jump.....

MTV: Semi Precious Weapons Marvel At Gaga's Impact On Their Success

MTV Shows

"Back in the dark ages — you know, like, 2006 — when Lady Gaga was just a girl named Stefani, she used to open for Semi Precious Weapons at gigs all around New York City. Of course, things have changed slightly since then, but Gaga has never forgotten that the Weapons helped her out when no one else would, and she's returned the favor by taking them with her on the globe-trotting Monster Ball Tour.


It's a pretty nice gig for the glam guys of Semi Precious Weapons, who've already admitted that they "owe their lives" to Gaga. They're taking full advantage of all the perks that come with being the Lady's hand-picked openers — and we do mean full advantage.


"It's been crazy," SPW frontman Justin Tranter laughed. "We showed up at the airport in New Zealand, and there were literally, like, 40 kids with huge signs that said, 'Justin, I Want Your Baby.' Because we have a song called "Put a Diamond in It," where I sing, 'Who, who, who wants my baby?' And there were all these 15-year-old boys at the airport dressed like us. ... We had some pretty legendary hotel parties, where, like, [bassist Cole Whittle] got a black eye, and [drummer] Dan [Crean] had sex multiple times. Things worked out really well."


While that kind of action was fairly common overseas, SPW are still working on graduating to that level of debauchery Stateside. Though, thanks to Gaga, it appears the goal is certainly within reach. In June, the guys will release their second full-length, You Love You, through Geffen Records, and they've started selling out venues outside of NYC. They still have a ways to go, though, before SPW fans in America can match the, uh, dedication of their supporters across the pond.


"In other countries that we go to, because we're on this massive tour, and they're hearing our songs on the radio already, they view us as superstars," Tranter explained. "And here in America, they view us as a band that's been harassing everyone for three years, desperately trying to break through," he said. "[But] the difference [from when] we used to play in America three months ago to now is insane. We're selling out shows on our own, and kids know every single word. It's really amazing.


"Another difference [between] the rest of the world to America is, here, when we say, 'You should have sex to our music,' people chuckle, like, 'Oh, that's quirky,' " Whittle added. "Over there, they just do it." -- Credit: James Montgomery/MTV

Rene Cervantes of Mtv Writes:

"New York City neo-glam rockers Semi Precious Weapons have to been seen to be believed. Listening to SPW tracks like "Magnetic Baby," from their self-titled EP (released this January), is only part of the experience. True, you get to hear the snarling, bratty, punky glam rock, full of nods to David Bowie, T. Rex and The Stooges, but inhaling the entire sensory splendor of Semi Precious Weapons? The glam Gestalt, if you will? Therein likes the true power. Impossibly fit, head-to-toe glam front man Justin Tranter is a born rock star. And true rock stars all know how to do one thing: work it. Check out the shots from this exclusive MTV photo shoot, and stare in wonder at the various flirty and fangs-out poses Tranter rocks.

It's a sense of extreme, eye-catching style that the band share with one of their closest musical colleagues, Lady Gaga. Truth be told, Semi Precious Weapons gave Gaga one of her earliest breaks when they had her open for them years back. On her way to the top of the charts/world, Gaga's returned the favor by having Semi Precious Weapons open for her and putting them in her "Telephone" video — even if she did kill them off. As Justin Tranter told MTV News, "We pretty much owe our lives to Lady Gaga!" That's friendship for ya.

Anyway, enough about Gaga; more about checking out photos of these dangerously stylish dudes."

Check out more fabulous pictures!

Vintage Shet! MTV Made: Feat. Justin Tranter

We know it's old, but we loovvvve watching it.. Damn it Michelle! You lucky tramp.

MADE - MTV Shows

And we can't forget the "Deleted Scenes" Lolz @ the 1 Minute Mark when Mtv says "Do you best impression of eachother." Michelle is lucky, If I was her coach I would've given her a Keyshia Cole weave and she wouldve been shwerkin that leotard 24/7.

MADE - MTV Shows

MTV Interviews Semi Precious Weapons

Lady Gaga may be busy prepping the release of her eagerly anticipated new video "Telephone," but it seems she still has time to help out a band of fellow New Yorkers — the fashionista superstar has been quietly working to introduce the world to Semi Precious Weapons.

However, these dirty rockers are not new to the game — Semi Precious Weapons have been a staple of the New York party scene for a few years now, bringing their unique formula of rock music, high fashion and "good old-fashioned filth."

Now the guys find themselves playing to different sort of crowd. "The last four months for us have been insane," lead singer Justin Tranter told MTV News recently. "We've gone from a band that plays in bars, driving ourselves to every show, selling our own merch ... to opening for [Lady Gaga] all over the world."
It doesn't stop at opening for Lady Gaga — the current first lady of pop also helped the boys get signed to a major label and is providing an assist on their upcoming album as an executive producer. So why all the goodwill from Gaga? Well, not too long ago the roles were reversed.

"We've been playing shows with Gaga since 2006," Justin recalled. "Her first couple of shows as Lady Gaga in NYC were opening for us."

Although the tables have now clearly turned, the boys from Semi Precious Weapons couldn't be more appreciative of the opportunity that they've been given. "We pretty much owe our lives to Lady Gaga!"
But just because SPW are opening for Gaga and now have a major label deal, don't expect their raw rock sound to be tempered — they promise to keep their edge plenty sharp. "People don't really know what rock and roll is anymore," the band stated plainly. "You can't call it rock and roll unless it's dangerous, unless it's offensive."