Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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Even though they imagine themselves to be unqualified for proper jobs, Amanda Palmer ("They wouldn't hire me as a temp at Goldman Sachs") and Neil Gaiman ("I have no market- able skills") have made quite a splash. Palmer, a Lexington native, is a former street artist (she used to pose as an eight-foot bride statue in Harvard Square), who shot to fame as the lead singer, pia- nist, and composer of the "Brechtian punk" band The Dresden Dolls before launching a solo career. British-born Gaiman is a New York Times best- selling author and graphic novelist who has won the Newbury and Carnegie awards. The duo met in 2008 through a mutual friend. "He sent me her CD," Gaiman says. "I said something nice about it on my blog, and Amanda wrote to say thank you." These days, Gaiman is appearing as both hus- band and musical partner on Palmer's new CD, appropriately titled An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer. What are you wearing tonight? AP: A black coat I bought at a thrift shop in New York. The black pants came from Dizingof in Melbourne. The boots are from Fluevog in Boston. I own five pairs and have been rotating them onstage for six years. The shirt I stole from Neil. All of his black shirts come from a specialty shop in the far reaches of the galaxy where druids and unicorns run free. NG: An Isaia suit that I bought for the Dark Knight Falls premiere. Describe your style. AP: Extremely low-maintenance without looking average. NG: Ramshackle, awkward, easygoing, and very black. I tend to wear a Kambriel jacket, based on the one she made for me for the 2010 Oscars [for the animated feature based on his novel Coraline]. Describe each other's style. AP: Black. NG: It's a car crash between high fashion and low. What do you love about each other? AP: How committed he is to communicating even when I go silent. NG: She's fearless, and when she isn't fearless she's brave. Sometimes we live in a real-life drama about two people who have to figure out how to be together enough to keep happy—and apart enough to get work done and be happy. What's your philosophy on life? AP: Be here now. NG: It's infinitely preferable to the alternative. THE NEW BOHEMIANS Singer Amanda Palmer and author Neil Gaiman's personal style is as brash and bold as their art. 104 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 100-107_BC_F_Couplesr2_Spring14.indd 104 2/7/14 5:55 PM