Dum Dum Girls' Dee Dee Opens Up About Her Mother's Death -- NXNE

Despite her rock 'n' roll guise, Dee Dee is all business when it comes to fronting L.A. fuzz-pop outfit Dum Dum Girls. After the release of DDG's critically acclaimed 2010 Sub Pop debut, 'I Will Be,' the 28-year-old wrote their 'He Gets Me High' EP, released this spring, then bagged their yet-to-be-named sophomore album (set for release in September). The new album is decidedly darker-themed. As it turns out, Dee Dee had no shortage of songwriting inspiration as her band rose to fame just as her mother was dying of cancer. The typically introverted Dee Dee spoke to Spinner about this, resisting the rock star lifestyle and how her parents were just too cool to rebel against.

What does your forthcoming album sound like?

It falls nicely in line after the EP, sonically. The production value's even higher. The main difference is that the full band played on it, so it was a much more traditional recording experience ... It's 10 songs, and it's definitely a darker record. It's a pop record but thematically it's dream-oriented, themes that exist only in dreams.

Dark themes that occur in dreams -- wouldn't that be nightmares?

[Laughs]. Kind of, yeah. It also deals a lot with what you want versus what you have, and what you can't get back. It deals a lot with death. Whether that's the death of an actual person or the death of a time gone by, or the change in where you thought you'd be versus not really being there. It's kind of conceptual, but i think it will make sense one you hear it.

Is this coming from a personal place?

I tend to write semi-autobiographical. It's not such a direct narrative of my life but I have to know a little bit about something in order to write about it.

You've mentioned you've had some experience with stage fright. After the last year of touring, is that getting any better?

I'd say, within the context of this band, I'm pretty comfortable with what it is we do. Now I have 'life fright' more than stage fright. I've always been a pretty introverted person ... I had more books than friends as a kid and then I was a weirdo teenager. Performing is my one time to really get it all out, so I actually enjoy it now. To me, a lot of performing is emotional based, so having this anxiety and sort of spinning that into a positive energy, like excitement, it's more of a challenge, and that's how I get off.

What do you mean by 'life fright'?

I lead a more sedated life than you might assume based on what it is I do for a living. There's a big part of me that enjoys performing ... but the majority of me is offstage and just doing more normal things.

So you aren't into the typical rock band lifestyle?

I've met a lot of different people in bands. Some people who are completely different on-and-off-stage. I was just talking with someone about David Bowie and they brought up the fact that during the Ziggy Stardust period he was apparently consumed by this alter ego so much so that he ended up heavy into drugs. And basically his real life fell apart, and all he had left was this character he'd created for his music. It's a tough balance, but I think it's in my best interest to keep the two separate.

Watch Dum Dum Girls' Video for "Jail La La'
You seem pretty level-headed, not the type to have rebelled against your parents. I guess your feelings are clear from you putting your mom on the cover of 'I Will Be.'

I'm indebted to both my parents because they had an intense love of music and their record collections were my first exposure music I still identify as my favourites. They had really good taste. It's hard to find a reason to rebel against the Stones or the Beatles or the Beach Boys or the Supremes, Elvis, Buddy Holly. Truthfully, having my mom on the cover of the first record was kind of a happy accident. I still think of it as a striking iconic image and it was very much appropriate. And now it being that my mother past away a few months ago [of cancer)], to me it's this strange twist of unintentional homage. Now for the rest of my life ... I'm just happy people all over have that in their collection.

What did your mom think of your music?

She never saw Dum Dum Girls play. I wish she had, because it's the first time I'm really doing exactly what I've wanted to do. By the time we were starting to put the band together and starting to tour, it was kind of too late. She was ill at that time, but she'd get reports on how we were doing and was always proud and supportive.

And your father?

He's taken on a much more active roll now; he just toured with us in Europe as our merch guy which is kind of atypical. But he's kind of an atypical guy. It was a cool opportunity for me to give him a close look at what it is I do. I've been trying to do this for ten years now so the fact I can do this for real it was cool to have him see what that's like.

Seems like you've been through a lot with personal ups and downs lately.

Yeah, it's definitely been a strange brew.

Dum Dum Girls play Lee's Palace on Friday, June 17 @ 11PM
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