We recently told you about a handful of intimate dates that MICA PARIS will be doing across the UK in February, paying homage to ELLA FITZGERALD. We wanted more information from Mica on why she decided to do the tour and just what Ella means to her. What started out as a few questions turned into a mammoth session so please grab yourself a drink, get comfy and enjoy reading the following interview with MICA PARIS....
‘You’ve been singing for a long time now. Why do you still love it?
Mica: Singing I love because it frees me from this planet. It's the only way I could describe it. You literally have, well I literally have an out of body experience when I sing. So I'm probably there on the first line of the song but once that's gone that's it, it’s lift off. So it's an escape, singing. It's a gift. I've never known how it got there. My grandparents found out I had the gift when I was five years old. I was singing Rupert the Bear and my grandmother started running around the house telling everybody that I had this amazing voice and that's where it all started. Then I started singing in church and started winning awards. My first award I won at Wembley and I was 11. At a Pentecostal Convention, which is a church body and it all kind of started from there.
Do you remember the first time you performed live in front of an audience?
Mica: The very first time I performed live in front of an audience was when I was nine and it was in front of 100 people and what it was, they were visiting my grandparent’s church. They had visitors that weekend so there were about 100 people there and my grandmother and grandfather asked me to learn a song so that they could impress the visitors that they had that weekend. And I learnt this song by the Hawkins family which was an American gospel family who were just amazing, and I learned everything from them. I learnt the song “God Will Open Doors”, and I remember walking through the pew at church and there were all these people and I had white socks on. You know you remember certain things, and I was about nine and I remember I had to not look at them because I was so frightened. When they called me up to sing, I had to walk through this whole audience of people and I was terrified and I remember I could feel my knees shaking once I was stood in front of the audience and then I didn't look at them, I looked at the ceiling because I was frightened and then I sang. And something just said to me, hold the note for a really long time. So I held the note really long like a Bill Withers thing, really held it long and everyone went mental. So I just thought, that's my trick, and then I started doing that all the time and then everyone was just hiring me all over. My grandmother was like my first agent. I mean from the age of nine I was singing in every church around the UK, Scotland, I was everywhere!
How do you think your family influenced your career?
Well, the influence has come really from father because he is the one that I get my voice from. My dad sounds a bit like Marvin Gaye when he sings and he plays the trumpet and the flute and I was brought up in the church with my grandparents but when my father would pick me up at weekends and take us out, he would educate us on every artist you could think of. So my dad taught me about Jazz, he taught me about Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, even Brazilian Jazz which is one of my favourite Jazz mediums and Airto, Flora Purim as well as Curtis Mayfield and Gil Scott Heron because growing up in the church house we weren't allowed to play those records. So when my dad would come over and play them, I was just mesmerised and I just kept saying, I want to do this when I get older.
What made you decide to undertake Mica Paris Sings Ella Fitzgerald?
Mica: The Ella Fitzgerald thing is interesting because, the thing was she had her centenary this year and my very first memory of Ella Fitzgerald was when she had this advert on TV. I was so young then, I must have been about seven or eight, but I remember it coming on because she broke the glass and I was like, wow how did she do that? And back then, there weren't many black people on TV so it was just like, there's a black woman, she's got an amazing voice and she broke a glass. The advert was for Memorex which were a company that used to make cassette tapes. So they would say, it's not something, it's Memorex. Don't ask what it was because I can't remember what they said, but it said, it's Memorex, that's all I remember. And then they'd show Ella Fitzgerald hitting this high note going (makes a really high sound) really high and then the glass just went, phew! That was the advert. So that was my first look at this woman who could hit a note and break glass, this made me think, I need to do that, do you know what I mean? And I remember asking my dad, who's this Ella Fitzgerald, who is it, and then he started to tell me everything about her, played all her stuff and that's where it all began.
So what's so special about her as an artist?
Mica: Everything's special about Ella Fitzgerald as an artist. She's an unsung hero really. She's the music behind everything really. You've heard her your whole life, but you don't realise it's her, this is what's interesting. So many adverts use her songs, and what's unique about Ella is the way she sang. She had a very universal sound. Her voice wasn't necessarily what you would call a ‘black voice’ but she could turn it on if she wanted to. She had this kind of sound very similar to how Nat King Cole had the sound that wasn't necessarily termed as a black voice. It transcended colour. That's why she was so unique and then she would be able to interpret all different types of music. She was very outside the box, I mean she would sing The Beatles, she'd sing Rock ‘n Roll, she'd sing Gershwin, Cole Porter. This woman was insane, in terms of the body of work that she did. She also created what they called scat (demonstrates scat) that kind of thing. She did that too. Sick. No-one was doing it at that time, and if they were, it was very very sort of underground but it was her that brought it to the fore. The reason why people don't really speak a lot about Ella is because she wasn't a drug addict. And unfortunately, she was good. So it was one of those things where people always sensationalise drama and tragedy, so at that time when she was really on the scene, it was her and Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday got all the press really because she was, number one, she was better looking, and number two, there was a lot of drug abuse and stuff like that. Ella outlived all of them, all the way to the end, she lived a really long life and was the consummate worker. But I wanted to celebrate her, also to educate the young about her contribution to music and how she still influences us today, and how many singers have been influenced by her voice. Doris Day, I mean we could go on. There's so many people that emulated her style, she was incredible.
So tell us about the tour, what's happening in February?
Mica: So in 2017 in March, I decided to go in the studio with the Guy Barker orchestra. Guy Barker's an old friend of mine, he's amazing and he has this fantastic orchestra and I thought let’s go in and record these two tracks of Ella’s and see what the reaction is. And I mean, who told me to do that? It went mental. Everyone's just gone crazy so we did Cheltenham Jazz Festival, we did “Love Supreme”. In my tent I had 7.5 thousand people just there, just to watch me sing Ella Fitzgerald with a quartet. It wasn't even a full band and it's just been building up to this, it's just been brilliant, 2017 with regards to Mica singing Ella Fitzgerald, it's been amazing. So we decided to carry on. Now we're going to do a proper tour instead of spot dates in 2018 because the album comes out in 2018, Mica sings Ella and we decided we're going to do a mini tour in February, it's from the 11th the 16th February, around the country and I can't even put it into words. I didn't really expect to get the demographic that we're getting, which is young, middle and old that are coming to the shows and literally losing it. It's just amazing and you would think, because I think what it is, we've made it contemporary. I'm not trying to copy Ella Fitzgerald. What I'm doing is interpreting Ella in my own way because it would be useless, pointless infact to just copy, you have to interpretate in your way. So this is why, it doesn't sound exactly like Ella, but it IS Ella, but it's Mica's version of Ella. And I think somehow that's making the younger people want to come in and get down, everyone's boogying. Believe it or not they're all dancing and it's all going off, it's great!
So what else can people expect from you on stage on the day when they come to see you at one of these shows?
Mica: Well when you come to a Mica Paris show anyway, everyone knows that you have to get down. It doesn't matter what genre I'm doing, you HAVE to get down, so even though we'll be swinging with Ella Fitzgerald, in a Duke Ellington style of swing, people really get down with it. For me, going home to Jazz is where I sort of started. I started with Gospel, Jazz and then Pop. That's how it started for me and it feels like I've gone back now to Jazz, and so for me it feels great. Something about Jazz when you're older, you really have an appreciation for it. I think that you have to have lived to enjoy Jazz. If you haven't lived you can't do Jazz, forget it. Because you need to have that sentiment, you need to have that experience, you need to just have lived. For me it's a fantastic feeling that you get when you come to the show. I know I get the same feeling, I come off stage and I feel, my gosh why have I taken so long to do Jazz. Because Jazz is like a feeling, it's not syncopated, it's different every show because Jazz is all about timing. You have to be in a zone to sing it. Do you understand? And every audience is different so you get a different inflexion in every show. Every show's different from the last one because it's all about what you're feeling at that time, and every audience has a different vibe which changes the show. So to answer the question, what can you expect from a Mica Paris show? I don't even know what to tell you. It's just going to be awesome, it really is. We just have an amazing time up there. It's wicked. We did three encores last week, three, I mean I couldn't come off the stage, I was like, OK guys, got to go home now. It was like, I really like this but a girl gotta sleep you know.
In terms of the band, tell me about the band you're going to be playing with.
Mica: Yeah, we've got a stand-up bass, we've got keys, and, oh, an amazing drummer. He's bad, he's really good. Me, I'm a drum and bass girl, so basically the rhythm section is really important for me. It's a quartet but they're funking. It's on point, it's great.
What's the Jazz scene like in the UK at the moment?
Mica: I would say that the UK Jazz scene is alight again. Very much like how it was when I first came to the industry 30 years ago. When I got signed at 17 to Island Records, it was Courtney Pine that was blowing up at that time with the Jazz Warriors. England was Jazz when I first got signed in 1987. That's when it all kicked off, and I feel like we've done a rewind and we're gone right back to that time again. We're getting all these brand new Jazz artists coming through. I think there's a resurgence with Jazz, not just in the UK but it's a universal thing and I think this is happening because of this movie, La La Land. Something ignited something in people with this film. Hollywood usually always dictates culture anyway and that definitely did something. It made Jazz, in people’s minds, cool again. I always believe that there's a longing, I think for people to go back to a time when times were a little bit simpler and you just went to a show in a supper club and you just hung out and heard some great tunes and there wasn't all this faff, pyrotechnics and that. Sometimes you just want to go and sit down and just listen to some good music, eat a little meal and just hang, just like you did back in the day with a Jazz club. These things are coming back in again and that's what happening, I think that pop kind of ate itself and we're having a resurgence of raw Jazz again for that reason.
You talked about being signed at 17. Do you think as an artist you need to be signed or need to be on a label today?
Mica: I think that it's a lot easier to be signed in terms of support with getting your music to be heard everywhere. You don't have to do that but it helps in a way, put it this way, let me say that all again. I think it's still important to be signed to a major record label, unfortunately, only because you need to have that machine behind you so that everyone can hear your song everywhere in the world. For that reason we still need the majors but is it imperative? No, not anymore. What's imperative is that you make a good enough product that they come to you and want to take you on. So you still have to do it all yourself, whereas before, you didn't. I would say that there are ways you can still do it by yourself, but let's not kid ourselves. I still think that they have a monopoly on people in the world hearing your stuff. Does that make sense? Do you understand what I mean? I'm not saying that we should all sign to a record label but they still have the monopoly. You can't front with that. Yeah just do it yourself and put it on YouTube. No, you still need that machine. They run it man. Don't matter how you hate them, they do run it.
Talking about artists that were coming out when you were first starting, are there any artists at the moment that you think, oh my god, these are amazing or I'd love to work with them or you're just looking at them and saying, you're an amazing talent?
Mica: There's so many great artists that are coming out at the moment, to even mention any would be mental. There's too many! The thing for me that's exciting is that. Let me say that again. There's a lot of artists that are coming out that are new that I think are really exciting. A lot of interesting and quirky, unusual acts. But personally for me, I want to see more people of colour in the music industry. I want them in the business. That's what I want. We know we can do this with our eyes closed. What we need is executives who are black within the music industry, especially in the UK, we're desperate for it. It's not so much like that in the States but in the UK we need more, and I would say to all the young people, stop trying to be in front of the camera. Go behind the camera now. That's what we need to do. We know we can do this, you know if I came to the industry now I wouldn't even bother being an artist, I'd just go straight to working within the industry to bring people in.
Amazing. So what's happening in Mica's world besides the tour?
Mica: In 2018 the other projects I have going on are a show, a theatrical show about Ella's life which would be really interesting. It's going really well and it will be coming out in 2018, that's all I can tell you, and I'll be playing Ella Fitzgerald as well. And then the other project is the album Mica sings Ella will be coming out in 2018 as well. So that's a theatre project, the album and then a TV show that will be aired on the BBC with me talking about Ella's life and singing and all that stuff and having guests. That's really exciting as well. And my second book is coming out towards the summer. This book is really about all females in the music industry and why they are so tortured. And I think I have the experience to tell you why and that's quite exciting, that's going quite well, I'm nearly done. I'll be finished with the book in March.
So give us a snippet. Why are women in the music industry tortured?
Mica: It's because, unfortunately there is no equality when it comes to the sexes yet. We're still behind. I'm not a feminist, I love men. Trust me, you can see my track record! But it's more to do with the way that society is set up. We still haven't really moved forward with equality, so women are still expected to be in the home or having a job but coming home every night. The industry and being a singer in the music industry, you can't really be that 9-5 type of wife or girlfriend, and so what happens is we have to take on the role of being sort of male because we're out working all the time. So this dynamic hasn't quite sat well with society, women being like the man and running off and I've really had to juggle hard with my two children. I mean, one is an adult now but the little one is 11. I've had to juggle and I had a 15 year gap between my children. I could never have had them together, I had to do it that way because I'm constantly on the road touring and working and stuff like that. And thank god I have a great team of people around me. Mum, sister, nannies, I've got everybody helping me out. But it's very hard for a woman to hold the children and the career up, and be famous, and all the other, and look good and do all that stuff, and it's tough for a guy to deal with. Most of the women that I research in this book, it's always been the partner who is the problem because the men have not quite gotten used to women being more in front than they are. Unfortunately.
Is it an ego thing?
Mica: It's more than an ego thing. It's a thing where society hasn't moved on. Society is still portraying the men as being the breadwinners of the family. So this is causing stress on relationships so the men can't identify themselves as being with a woman that makes more money or is more famous than them. This dynamic is killing the relationship because the men can't cope with it, because mostly they're not used to it because society is telling them that's not what's supposed to be the case. See, so until women and men make the same money, sorry to go there but it really is, when we have the same wage then things change when that happens. People only think about money so until you change the money, people don't really pay it any mind. The money dictates the decisions.
Do you think that's affected you personally in your personal relationships?
Mica: All of the singers I know, every female singer I know, will sit down and tell you what I just told you. All the time. Many times, the women singers, what we try to do and what they try to do as well is, they try to have the partner manage or get involved with their work or, just to appease them. But it still goes back to the man feeling emasculated. So then it goes wrong again. So you can't really get it right until society changes or you stay single. That's an option, just have visitors, that's always an option. Just make sure the children are with the grandparents, not saying I do that by the way. Just kidding.
Has this caused you issues, low points?
Mica: I believe that there are many instances, basically if you ask me a question like that, that's crazy because there's too many episodes of that, do you know what I mean? If you ask me how many times have I had low points in my career, it's 30 years. I've lost count. It's been so many times it's been not very good, but you just keep going. The whole thing about life is you just keep going because you have a dream, you love what you do, you're passionate about it. I'm grateful that I've never had a job. This is the only job I've ever had. I came from college straight into this. I never had a job so I'm very grateful. I thank god that I've had a 30 year career that has sustained me and my children and my family, and I've never had to do anything else. So what the hell could I complain about? Not much.
How do you measure the success you've had in your 30 year career?
Mica: I don't measure my success at all. I just thank god that people still like what I do, they still find me interesting, they still book me! I think the reason why I love my career and I don't complain about anything even when it's been not so great, is because I've done so many things and continue to do so many things. I remember meeting a lot of my heroes when I first started, who helped me a lot, and a lot of them were jaded 20 years in and I remember I met them at that point when I was 18, and when I lived in the States and stuff and I remember thinking, I never want to get like that. I never want to get upset about singing my same hits, I don't want to go there. And I kept saying, how do I do that? Then I started to think, you know what, there must be a point where you just get really sick of it. And then I started, I didn't think about it again after that, I just carried on doing what I was doing or whatever, but then on my second album, this is when I knew something was different about me. The first album was a million seller, platinum craziness, it just went mental and then when I called in to do the second album they all said, you've got to do the first album again. And I just went “what? No, I don't want to do that”. I want to go to New York and I want to work with Mantronik, and I want to work with Rakim, and I want to work with….. and I just flew out there and made this album called Contribution and got roasted for it. I even got a song from Prince. Prince put a song on there do you know, and who could get a song from Prince?
This is when I knew that I was definitely not a normal artist because I really gave the industry a hard time. Because I just don't believe in being one thing. I think as an artist you want to explore yourself in different mediums. That's more important to me than having a massive pay cheque. The freedom to be able to create with different people, for me it's just been great but for a company it's a nightmare. So I've given them nothing but hell, but to give you the case of why I haven't gotten jaded or sad about anything, or hate doing this or whatever is because I was experimental with different things, other things came. It's almost like the universe said, well she's open to it, give her that, that's what happened. So when Dionne Warwick, who's like one of my dearest friends, was sick on Radio 2 for her show, they called me up and they said, Mica, Dionne said you could fill in for her because she's not well. And I was like, yeah of course I'll do it for Dionne, and I went, I've never done radio before, ah, what do I do now? So I went on and I did the show and my sister called me up and said, you sounded so silly, and I said, what do you mean? She said, you sound like you're trying to speak posh and I said, oh, that's because when I was younger and I used to listen to Radio 2, everyone was posh on Radio 2, do you know what I mean? So I thought, she goes, just be yourself. So I went and did it again, and she said, yeah that's good. And they loved it. And then they gave me the show for five years. So I ended up getting this Radio 2 show called Soul Solutions for five years and then that led on to What Not to Wear, I took over from Trinny and Susannah. Did that for two years. Trumped their figures, that was great, god is good. Then I came out of that then I made another record.
What's happened with my career is, I've made an album and then I've gone and done something else, like radio, TV and now theatre. I've been doing a lot of theatre, Chicago. I was in Chicago, I was in Mum I Want to Sing. I've done loads of theatre as well, so what I'm saying is when you jazz it up like that and move around and do different things, you can't get depressed about it all, there's too many different things happening which is exciting. So when I come back to making a record, it's like ‘woo’, I'm making a record now, ‘wahay’, this is great you know? Because I've been away from it doing all these other things. I think if you just make the record every time, do the interviews, do the tour, and then do it all again. If you do that, you just get depressed. For me I never get like that, I'm just like, wow, this is really exciting, now I'm with the orchestra, now I'm doing Jazz, I'm not doing soul now, I'm doing Jazz now and there's 80 guys in the room. It's just like, yeah man, it's wicked, this is great. So that when I go back to do another record, maybe it will be country. Might be country and western it could be Rock ‘n Roll, it could be anything. But this is what stops you, I think, from becoming jaded about the music.
So you've had a lot of variety over the years?
Mica: You've got to have variety and it builds you as a human being as well and it makes you very seasoned because every time I work with somebody, I'm connecting with them. They're giving me something as well as I'm giving them something which creates growth, and if you're not growing as an artist you're definitely dying.
If you could go back and tell you're teenage self any kind of advice or guidance, is there anything that you know now that you wish you knew then, or any advice you'd just say to yourself?
Mica: Is there any advice I would give myself as a teenager? If I could give my younger self advice, it would be handle your business better. It took me a long time to get my head around business. I was terrible. I was such a creative, let the accountants deal with it, lawyers, that's the only thing I would have done different. I would have been more on top of my game with business because it's so important. The problem I had was, not to make an excuse, but the problem I had, I was the first in my family to be in the music industry, and I was 17 and everyone was just so happy that I was in it. She got out, it was more like that, so woohoo, everyone was just so busy having a good time, I didn't have any protection as a teenager in the music industry. It's like throwing a baby into a shark infested water, and that's basically, I had to literally come out of there and swim for my life and sort all that out, and I did thank god. But that would have been my only thing, I wish I'd gone and gotten a business degree before I got into the music business but it happened so fast. I got out of college, the contract was there and it was just like the figures, it was like the six figures. OK I'll take it. Lovely. But you know that was the 80's. The 80's was all about excess, it really was. No-one really cared where it came from we were just glad we had it. You got that big fat pay check and you were just down at Carnaby Street and then you went to the shop and bought your car. Range Rover or BMW or whatever it was, and that was what you did in the 80's. The 80's was excessive and that was when I got signed.
A lot of people talk about the 80's, being an artist, and people not signing the right kind of contract. Did you ever have that kind of experience?
Mica: No, my contracts were great. I mean I was with Island records for eight years that was my first contract. The only thing I can't believe that we did was, we were spending £200,000 on a video. That's what we were spending on videos back then, and that was normal. And my stuff was cheap. I mean Janet and all those guys, they were spending 2 million on videos. That's what I look back and I go, wow, we were really rinsing cash back then. I mean now you make a video for what, £30,000, nothing. But back then it was just like, didn't even blink.
Is there anything else that's noticeable in the industry that's changed since then to now, that have changed for the better or has changed for the worst?
Mica: I think the beautiful thing about what's changed about the industry now is that, as I said, I think artists have a lot more control about their music. Especially females. Females have a lot more input and a lot more control, that's nice. And that you know where your money is going, there's more clarity now. You just know what's going on. In my time you just didn't know what was going on, but you didn't think about it because there was just so much happening. It was all private jets and flying here, flying there, hotels, but now it's nice to see a lot of the younger artists, I find them to be quite on top of their game. They know who's getting what, what percentage is what and stuff. I'm starting to see that quite a lot and it's good. And I just say to them, carry on, because that's something I just didn't know. You didn't have any guidance in the beginning when I started. Someone was saying to me, did you get any lessons on how to be interviewed. You didn't. You got thrown in the deep end. My first interview at 18 was with The Face. Do you remember the magazine? And they literally came round to my flat and I was not even told how to speak, and thank god it worked, it was alright, but literally, you were just walking around in the dark. But somehow we got it done.
I was even saying to someone the other day about MTV. I remember going to MTV for the first time, it was absolute chaos in there. I still didn't understand how they got a show out, but every day they got a show out. But it was chaos, it was like, how did they get the show out? This is the days when Davina McCall was presenting and Lisa I'Anson. Remember those girls back in the day? Chaos. Guys walk in with cameras hanging all over place, but you watch the show and it looks perfect. So there's something in that as well. That's what I kind of miss a little bit about the industry in every way. Film, music, and all of it. I miss that it's become a little bit too anal. I quite liked that kind of loose madness. I think we got incredible things because of that. Now I think everything's a little bit too politically correct I think.
In Hollywood, it's been hit hard by the sexual harassment and abuse, we’ve had the ‘me too’ campaign, with all the female stars within Hollywood. What’s your experience been like when it comes to this in music?
Mica: I'm a 5'10" black woman. I dare anybody to mess with me. I never got touched in the industry. No-one messed with me mate, seriously, never and basically I can only remember one incident where someone tried to even remotely suggest, I'm going to put it there, suggest that we get busy and I turned round and I sacked him. One time. That was it, he was sacked, yeah. I’m Jamaican. That's how we do it, we don't play around, and the only way you could deal with me and take me, is if you had a few. There's four or five of them or something, what can you do with that? But it wasn't like that. I didn't get any of that at all. And Harvey Weinstein, I'm like, come on….. Do you know what I mean? As long as he's on his own I'll tear that man up, I'll break him in two.
You've always been very classy in how you dress and how you come across and things where a lot of girls today.
Mica: Well I try, it's not easy. It's coming from church. My grandparents are ministers so we were always having to dress up properly. We couldn't wear our Sunday clothes in the week. My Sunday shoes were for Sundays only. I'm the same with my children, and I drive them potty. Mum, I just want to be casual. No, no casualness in my house, you must always look good. It's true. My grandparents, man, my grandad, he wore a tie every day, suit every day, my whole life he had a tie on. My dad, don't even get started. Killer mum, Yves Saint Laurent. I come from a serious family of dressers, they dress good. So I couldn't let the side down, I'd get roasted, but I'm of the belief, to get back to your point, that it's important to always look your best and respectable. You're saying to everyone that I command that respect when you look respectable.
Skin wise you look like you’re aging backwards, so what are your beauty secrets and your beauty must-haves?
Mica: Thank God for my mum. My mother is shocking as she looks amazing, so I'm very blessed with her skin, but I work out, I train hard, I mean I run 5k every day and I steam four times a week and I use, I have my own cream now that I've just put out. Feed your Skin, and it's an exfoliation thing. But I say to women all the time, steam at least twice a week. I don't care if it's walking whatever, 30 minutes a day, get that in and you will never look bad. You will never look bad. Twice a week steam. Five days a week, 30 minutes of walking, power walking, running whatever it is, and two days of steam and you're going to look flawless. That's the secret.
And are there any beauty products that you use that think are must-haves?
Mica: Well my skin care is called ‘Feed your Skin’ and you can just go on my Instagram, it's there you'll see it and you can get it. It's there, it's literally coming out in January. I also drink cod liver oil. That sounds disgusting but I drink it and I drink wheatgrass every day as well, with Vitamin C.
It’s all about what you put in as well. Every day I drink that. It's all in my first book you know, my regime. It's there, the first book which actually is seven years old now!
Tell me about the first book.
Mica: The first book I wrote was published on Simon & Schuster and it was called “Beautiful Within”, it's on Amazon, you can get it, and I talk about all the stuff that I went through with my life, with the industry, and how women can get through terrible times in their life by keeping fit and looking after themselves. It's all there. It's really good. I would say that because it's me, but I'm just saying it really is. It's got 5 out of 5 stars so I don't know what else to say, just buy it!
