The Dollyrots performed at The Viper Room in West Hollywood earlier this year.
[Image from http://farm8.staticflickr.com]
Partners in crime since eighth grade, Kelly Ogden (vocals, bass) and Luis Cabezas (guitar) formed The Dollyrots with former drummer Frank Beasley while they were attending New College of Florida. Before long, the group decided to go after their musical dreams full-force. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2002, The Dollyrots self-recorded the EP Feed Me, Pet Me, which was self- released the following year.
In 2004, the band inked a deal with Lookout Records, subsequently releasing their first studio album, Eat My Heart Out.
Not long after the band started working on their second album, The Dollyrots were forced to find a new label. Lookout Records went under, and the band was back where they started.
Ambitious tendencies and a stroke of luck landed The Dollyrots on famed label, Blackheart Records. A part of Warped Tour, The Dollyrots played the Kevin Says and Shira stages for six weeks during the summer of 2006. Joan Jett happened to be on the same tour, presenting the band with an opportunity to network.
Jett liked what she heard and signed the band to her label. The Dollyrots released two albums on Blackheart Records: 2007’s Because I’m Awesome and 2010’s A Little Messed Up.
The band later moved on to its own record label, Arrested Youth. In 2011, the band released a three-song EP by the same name. Self-titled album, The Dollyrots, was released on Arrested Youth Records earlier this week.
A decade of stage presence and multiple drummers later, the band is still finding new ways to connect with fans and even broaden their fanbase.
In a recent interview with Candor, Cabezas took a look back at when the band started touring – close to a decade ago. There were no avenues to directly engage fans, but that’s changed with the rise of social media.
“There shouldn’t be a barrier between musicians and fans,” said Cabezas.
Cabezas went on to say that without social networking, The Dollyrots wouldn’t have been able to make their current album.
The band set up a Kickstarter project earlier this month, intending to raise $7,500 – the bare minimum necessary to simply record an album. Thanks to the overwhelming devotion of Dollyrots fans, a total of $33,124 was raised.
“We didn’t expect the level of support we got,” said Cabezas.
“We made the record for the fans,” said Ogden. “We worked that much harder. “
All backers on Kickstarter received a reward package as a thank-you for funding part of the album. Enlisting the help of some of their friends, Cabezas and Ogden sent out over 500 packages containing everything from a lock of Ogden’s hair, to home-baked cookies, to Cabezas’s bloody fingerprint stamped on a sheet of handwritten lyrics.
You can catch The Dollyrots on tour this fall as they promote the new album. Be sure to stop by the merch table and say ‘hello’.
“We give great hugs,” said Ogden with a laugh.
“We love talking to our fans- they allow us to do what we do,” said Cabezas.
Be sure to pick up the new album, and be on the lookout for the band’s split EP, One Big Happy. Working alongside Bowling For Soup and Patent Pending, One Big Happy provides a raw, pop punk- the perfect contrast to The Dollyrots powerpop sound. The EP drops next Tuesday.
You can check out the video for their latest single, “Hyperactive,” below.
