麻豆社

Dum Dum Girls are a four piece garage rock outfit from L.A. Their debut 'I Will Be' is indebted to feral rock bands like Iggy Pop & The Stooges and Jesus & The Mary Chain, but also the classic pop of 60's girl bands like The Ronettes. Blending these together the band create a sound which is much more than mere pastiche. Dee Dee, lead singer and songwriter, spoke to me about writing pop music in the 21st century and the lo-fi scene before their support slot for MGMT at Manchester Apollo.

Q: You get a lot of praise for the mix of scuzzy guitars and strong melody in your songs 芒聙聯 as a songwriter do you see yourself as primarilly writing pop songs with an edge, or garage rock songs with a hook?

A: Pop songs with the darker edge definitely. I write everything with an acoustic guitar and the melody comes first. It was a decision I made when I finally made enough songs to warrant recording them that I was like OK, this could sound like the Mama芒聙聶s and Papa芒聙聶s or it could sound like what I want to do now, which was something loud (laughs).

Q:Do you think people are too dismissive of pop nowadays, in terms of the old-fashioned 3 minute pop songs that you grew up listening to? Is there a place in music now for bands trying to recreate those kind of songs?

A: I think we have a comfortable spot within a small scene that is very appreciative and enthusiastic about what we do. I always go back to the classic songs, like today we were listening to Tom Petty芒聙聶s greatest hits and his songs are perfect pop songs. So I芒聙聶m coming from that school of thought in terms of writing. He was hugely successful and massively popular so I think there芒聙聶s still a big part of music that is based on the principles of a good pop song. But I芒聙聶m never going to have a pop song that芒聙聶s as insanely produced as someone like Lady Gaga.

Q: The lo-fi sound is getting a lot of press on the web at the moment, are you wary of the pitfalls that exist for bands who get labeled in with a certain scene?

A: I don芒聙聶t want to be connected to a scene in the sense that it芒聙聶s a finite sound that芒聙聶s going to go out of favour, if it hasn芒聙聶t already. For me I could never turn my back on the kids and the labels that were the first ones to hear me and who put out the 7芒聙聺 and the EPs, which were super noisy- partially intentional and partially because of my limited recording capabilities.

Q: How did your sound change from your early demos to the songs on the album?

A: My concern when I recorded the first album was that I had all these demos that I芒聙聶d done myself and I didn芒聙聶t want to take too big a leap, I mean, switching from Captured Tracks (Brooklyn-based indie label) to Sub-Pop is almost offensive to some people (laughs). So what I decided was appropriate was to bring in a producer for some mixing and post-production help. I recently recorded an EP which is supposed to come out in the spring and that was yet another step forward. I芒聙聶m hoping that I can carry those original supporters with me; we芒聙聶ll have to see.

Q: Your synchronized wardrobe echoes bands like The Ramones, giving a kind of gang look, as a band how much do you feel like a gang?

A: Completely. If anything it works as a self-confidence booster. That was something that I wanted. It芒聙聶s definitely a weird thing to go up there and share something that I started just as a personal home recording project. So when we took it to this band level I wanted to have a unified look, not only to show to the people watching but to feel like we were a team.

Q: The band name is a Vaselines and Iggy Pop reference, but is it also a statement about how you think women in bands tend to get portrayed in the music media, literally as dumb girls with nothing to say?

A: The name Dum Dum Girls is in no way serious- it芒聙聶s sarcastic if anything. These are three of the smartest girls I know. I don芒聙聶t know if the band name has helped or hurt us, but I芒聙聶ve played and toured for many years prior to this band and I芒聙聶ve definitely had the experience of being treated differently than to my male band mates. It is pretty strange to know that there芒聙聶s a difference- like my sound guy, I have to ask him to ask for things which we need because we won芒聙聶t get them. It芒聙聶s most likely unintentional but it芒聙聶s definitely weird.

Q: How important is it to you that Dum Dum Girls remain an all-female band?

A: It was intentional to have the band be all women, because I wanted to experience what it was like playing with women and because I was so extremely inspired by-all female bands. It was strange to learn about a songwriter like Ellie Grenich who was one of only a few female songwriters at a time when there were all these male songwriters and producers that were putting these girl-groups together. So it芒聙聶s always been an interest of mine to have complete control and have nobody else telling us what to do. It芒聙聶s really strange because we instantly get pitted against other girl-bands, it芒聙聶s like 芒聙聹Dude we芒聙聶re all friends芒聙聺- you芒聙聶d never compare MGMT and a band just because they were guys.

Q: You channel a lot of bands from the past, but add your own original slant. How important do you think it is for a band to acknowledge their influences yet still be able to create something fresh and new?

A: I think it芒聙聶s silly if bands don芒聙聶t acknowledge their influences and it芒聙聶s almost smarter to acknowledge them because people will always draw their own comparisons which won芒聙聶t necessarily be true. I have no desire to be a retro or a throwback band and so I芒聙聶m hypersensitive to that criticism. I just want to continue a tradition of rock 芒聙聵n芒聙聶 roll that has been updated since its inception.