|
with TERI BYRNE
Interview
by: Russ
Ray
Photo courtesy of TeriByrne.com |
Teri Byrne
is one of the busiest women in media today and one of the
few to work in many different forms of entertainment. A former
fitness and bodybuilding competitor, she was hired as one
of the original five WCW Nitro Girls (nicknamed "Fyre").
Before wrestling, Teri worked in mortgage banking. She also
appeared in the WCW-inspired film "Ready to Rumble" with
David Arquette, Scott Caan, and Oliver Platt. Since leaving
WCW, Teri has worked with numerous independent pro wrestling
organizations and managed the likes of WWF/UFC superstar Dan
"The Beast" Severn, as well as the legendary Jimmy Valiant.
Teri has an official website at: www.teribyrne.com.
Teri and
the other four Nitro Girls recently formed the group Diversity5
and have cut and released a two song CD. The first Diversity5
CD single is available at their website at www.diversity5.com.
The CD includes 2 songs: "I Promise" (a pop ballad) and "Shake
Me Up" (a dance track). Diversity5 recently completed their
third song--the more edgy, rock-driven "Black Magic."
Earlier
this year, Teri formally signed with Gypsy Press Comics to
portray the lead character (a "bad ass" female bounty hunter)
for the comic book Stiletto. Issue #1 of Stiletto
formally debuted at the Wizard World 2001 Convention in Chicago
on August 17. You can also see an exclusive preview of her
new comic at www.gypsypresscomics.com.
I got to speak with Teri at Wizard World this past weekend
about the comic book, about her budding music career, and
about WCW.
THE BIG Q&A
Q1.
What's Stiletto about?
A1.
Stiletto is about a bounty hunter who kicks butt, yet
dresses sexy and acts very feminine. There's a lot of physical
action with hand-to-hand fighting and martial arts.
Q2.
How did the project start? Did Gypsy Press approach you first
or were you looking to get into comics?
A2.
Gypsy Press contacted me first about the idea they had for
the comic book, but it became a collaboration after that.
Matt Hughes and Deacon Black did the artwork, and the writing
is done by Gypsy Press. A collaboration of people come up
with the stories. I
like to call it VIP set in Gotham City.
Q3.
What level of creative input do you have?
A3.
The concepts and ideas that go into this are from brainstorming
sessions we have, so everybody gets a chance. But, the artwork
is great, and we never have anything to say about it except
how good it is.
Courtesy of GypsyPressComics.com |
Q4.
Today you have a preview version of Stiletto for sale. When
will the book be in comic shops for sale?
A4.
We'll be at the Dragon Con at the end of the month, and we'll
be selling issue #1 there, and by then it will be available
everywhere.
Q5.
How's Diversity 5 coming along?
A5.
Well, we just finished recording our third single. In fact,
the girls were up until 5 this morning in Atlanta working
on demos. We're working with Sony right now to get a record
deal.
Q6.
Do you hear from or run into any of the old WCW people anymore?
A6.
I still see a lot of people at the gym and around town.
I see Disco a lot and Raven a lot when he's not on the road
with the WWF.
Q7.
You've got a lot of art on your web site sent in by fans.
Does it sometimes scare you what guys are thinking when they're
drawing half-naked pictures of you?
A7.
No, actually I think it's pretty cool. We've got a lot of
the art for sale on my web site. We also take submissions
at fanclub@teribyrne.com.
We'd like
to thank Ms. Byrne for taking the time out of her busy convention
schedule this past weekend to be our guest here in the Big
Question! Keep an eye out for Teri's new comic Stiletto
coming out soon, as well as Gypsy Press Comics' other title
Pharaoh. Also, check out the Diversity5 web site at
the link above for information on ordering their CD. We'd
also like to thank *RADIO EDIT* of the Teri Byrne Fan Club
for arranging the interview. As always, if you have a suggestion
for a Big Question guest, or if you're a pro yourself and
would like to drop by, contact Troy Brownfield at psikotyk@aol.com.
|
