US four piece band Dorothy talk to us about doing justice to rock and roll, passion and Bram Stocker’s Dracula

With a smattering of heavy drums, guitar and bass coupled with some supremely power-house vocals from lead singer Dorothy (after which the band are named), this four piece collective are finding unlikely fans in everyone with their perfect modern rock concoction. The supremely accessible ‘After Midnight’, the debut single from the LA hailing rockers was recently unveiled to an ambush of attention the world over, and is currently luxuriating in its 100,000 views. Now, with their debut EP set for release next month, if you haven’t heard of Dorothy, then get ready to.

Hey Dorothy! How are you? We’re loving the new music!

Oh awesome, we’re so glad. We’re trying to do justice to Rock and Roll…

A lot of people say Rock and Roll is dead. What are your thoughts on that?

You know, I don’t disagree with them. In my opinion, the last cool era of rock was the grunge era; the 90’s rock… Nirvana, Sound Garden, all that kind of stuff. Everything goes through waves.

What do you think it is about you or your sound that’s proving so likeable?

I honestly don’t really know… I feel the energy is contagious and everyone in the band has so much fun doing it that you can just tell that it’s coming from the heart; it’s not something that was put together by a label, it’s not something that was contrived or trying to be something, it just happened… it just is.

How did you and the other members in your band meet?

Shortly after I lost my father I needed some kind of an outlet for everything I was going through at that moment in time. I met up with [my manager] in LA, I brought my mother with me and my acoustic guitar and sat in the studio and played him some songs I had written. He put me in the studio with some producers and it just clicked… it just feels all very serendipitous.

Have you found writing quite cathartic?

Absolutely. I tried therapy and it just made me angrier. The only thing that really seems to feel right is Jack Daniels and singing.

It varies… I’m very lyrical, I wrote poetry when I was younger, I read a lot, I didn’t have much of a social life so I was reading a lot of books because I was so shy. I think that contributed a lot to the lyrical aspect of everything. [The band] kind of do more of the production aspect and then we all kind of write as a team. We’ll sit on the ground with acoustic guitars and just throw ideas back and forth.

What were your favourite books growing up?

Bram Stokers ‘Dracula’ is a good one. I really liked horror and anything Halloween. I think I owned the entire ‘Goosebumps’ collection. Now I read more business books and things like that but back then it was just any fiction I could get my hands on. [Fiction] takes you to a different place, it’s like a vacation from your problems. But now I have music and it’s sort of the same thing for me.

When did you first realize you could sing?

I’ve always wanted to be a singer. I would challenge myself when I was younger to be able to sing as good as I possibly can. I would listen to the oldies station on the radio like Diana Ross and Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, the big female voices. I also listened to rock but when I was challenging my voice it was like, ‘who is the best of the best and can I do what they’re doing?’ I guess it’s an Aries thing; I like a challenge.

Other than great songs what do you think is one thing that all great artists must have?

Their passion. I think you can be technically perfect but if you don’t make people cry or get the goosebumps or feel something then it’s pointless to me. When [people] stop loving what they do you can kind of tell. I really want to keep my integrity intact so, if it ever becomes contrived you can just push me off a bridge.

What’s your favourite part of the process?

Playing with my band. Absolutely the funnest part. They are just amazing and they have so much energy and they have so much fun doing it. It’s like having four big brothers.

What are your favourite places to hang out in LA?

I’ll go to Saddle Ranch, they have karaoke and a bull. You see a lot of tourists getting drunk and trying to hold on to the bull. There’s a couple little bars I like; the Roger Room is cool. I’ll go have marguerites with my band and drink some tequila and have some tacos.

What’s your definition of success?

Using your life and the gifts you’re given to better the world and make a difference. Leave the world a better place than when you came. If you get to be happy doing that then that’s a blessing.