To pick an artist to interview for SXSW is pretty hard. Amongst so many talented individuals, you have to listen to a lot of records and read a lot of reviews before choosing who to profile. When I read that the Já cheiro o samádhi blog had called Alison Clancy, front woman for New York’s up-and-coming electro-punk-disco band Electric Child, “Iggy Pop in a skirt,” I knew I had to talk to her.

Although Iggy Pop in a skirt sounded like a ton of fun, I need more. When I read her press kit, I was convinced: “Alison’s wild physical and vocal abandon ricochets off the walls in a sanity consuming vortex. Conventions are shattered. Club owners and authorities are alerted. She makes people nervous. Electric Child has already been banned from a few NYC venues due to Alison’s habit of jumping off pianos and knocking shit over. The music is sonically smashed by producer/bass player extraordinaire Roger Greenawalt (The Pierces/Ben Kweller) and drummer Ethan Eubanks.”

As if all of that wasn’t enough, when she’s not mesmerizing audiences and wrecking stages, Clancy works as a dancer with The Metropolitan Opera, Zvi Dance, and The Brain Factory and has appeared at the Guggennheim Museum, Robert Wilson's Watermill Center, Lincoln Center Theater and the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

As a dancer, body language, movement and performance are a forte for Clancy. She spoke about the role of performance art in her music and stage presence.

“I have a wild physical and vocal presence,” explained Clancy, “I like to stretch myself energetically as far as I can go: to open up the chambers inside of myself and move shit around. I take a trip. Sometimes it translates into me jumping like a crazy person, throwing my body around in disorienting ways, or knocking shit over. It is a stress-relief component of my life that is crucial to my survival and my ability to not eat and destroy my friends and loved ones. That said, I am also a professional dancer, so I also play with body design and theatrical aesthetics. I love Bob Fosse and his use of minimal gesture and the feminine sculpture. So I guess I swing back and forth between an animal with rabies and a composed showgirl.”

Now you can catch her wild stage antics and great music at two SXSW Shows. The first one is the All Together Now showcase, which will hit the stage tonight, March 16 (technically tomorrow morning), at 1 a.m. at The Bayou Lounge (500 6th Street). The second is the SPIN Magazine Party on Friday, March 18th, at 1:00 p.m. at Stubbs’s BBQ. Electric Child will play the indoor stage.

“This is my first Electric Child tour and my first time at SXSW, so it's exciting,” said Clancy, “I’m grateful to my producer/bass player Roger Greenawalt and SPIN Magazine for hooking it up. I needed to get out of NYC and see some trees and feel some sunshine. It’s also special to me that my brother Erinn Clancy is down here to share the experience, and hoping to meet up with lots of other friends as well.”

Also, if you have fashion design inclinations, look Clancy up and give her a hand with her wardrobe for the shows. “I love performing, but I do always stress about what to wear, especially when I'm playing shows like the SPIN Magazine Party where I know that 100 times more people are going to see the pictures than the performance. I want someone to help me design an awesome uniform so I don't have to think about it.”

As soon as she leaves Austin, Clancy and the gang will be putting the finishing touches on Electric Child’s debut EP. Then, in Clancy’s words, “hopefully some rad band will invite us to go on tour with them.” In the meantime, don’t miss her two shows in Austin. Come on, you know you want to know what Electric Child is all about.