By Erik Cavagnuolo

Playboy.com: Is Bond like the classical version of the Spice Girls?

Haylie Ecker: Not really. People misunderstand...it's written on our website that our manager Mel Bush put us together, but Tania [Davis, viola] and I have known each other since we were 15, and Gay-Yee [Westerhoff, cello] and Eos [second violin] did session work together. So it was two sets of friends. Gay-Yee knew Mel because she's worked with Vanassae Mae who Mel also managed. So, he basically had the money, which makes things a lot easier when you have someone supporting you.

PB: What's the biggest misconception about classical musicians?

HE: That everyone wears black and that we're all uptight and that it's the kind of music reserved for an elite group of people. But it's amazing music that should be accessible to everyone. Most of the classical musicians I hang out with are outrageous.

PB: Do today's teens care about classical music, and will they help sustain it?

HE: Well, it's been around for so long -- I think people just need to be aware it's out there. For young kids it's viewed as not cool, plus your friends are listening to something else. I think the classical world needs to embrace a different way of marketing. People like Nigel Kennedy are doing that -- he did a concert for BBC, a Beethoven violin concerto, and he comes out in dreadlocks! So it's kind of loosening up a bit.

PB: Are there any rock musicians that are successfully using classical music?

HE: Björk. I just saw her movie Dancer in the Dark, and she wrote all the music, and it was so powerful.

PB: Bond uses sex appeal to sell its music. Have you received much heat because of it?

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