In House With Dum Dum Girls' Dee Dee: A Brief Respite From Life on the Run

In House is AOL Music's series in which we welcome artists into our offices to play some music, chat with our staffers and, generally, just hang out. For our latest visit, we brought in Dum Dum Girls singer, guitarist and songwriter Dee Dee to discuss the throwback garage band's excellent second album, 'Only in Dreams,' life on the road and the difficulties of a rock 'n' roll marriage.

When Dum Dum Girls' Dee Dee arrived at Spinner's New York office on a Friday in late October, she was barely 12 hours removed from playing a 1AM set as part of Sub Pop's CMJ showcase. That performance was the band's third of the day, and Dee Dee's visit comes just a few hours before soundcheck for their headlining set at Bowery Ballroom later that night.

Having had a late night ourselves, we couldn't blame her for seeming like she'd rather be home in bed (and we were a bit jealous of her ability to wear sunglasses inside and make it look natural). When we asked how she manages through a three-show day, Dee Dee, in her quiet, reserved way, said, "Usually, it's not that hard for me. I have a pretty good willpower. Yesterday, I wasn't so good about that. At about 7PM I felt like I was dying but generally, a lot of coffee. I try to relax when I can."

Videography by Elizabeth Bruneau & Kelly Mahan, Production by Elizabeth Bruneau

Her husband, Crocodiles singer Brandon Welchez, played the role of support that afternoon, dutifully handing over his sunglasses to Dee Dee for our interview, and later that evening, as his band performed right before hers. The couple clearly enjoyed the closeness that tour afforded them -- in between the interview, photos and small talk, they were constantly embracing, with Welchez making sure she had everything she needed. But their chosen profession means that they eventually have to go their separate ways, a topic Dee Dee sang about on several tracks from Dum Dum Girls' excellent second album, 'Only in Dreams.' Though sometimes it sounds like she's writing about heartbreak, Dee Dee assures us that's not the case.

"They're not about breakups," she said. "They're just, we both tour a lot so I think that even if you're in love you can still be kept apart for all sorts of different reasons. That's genuinely what they're about."

They're now making their home in New York City, though they have yet to get settled. "I haven't adjusted too much because I haven't been home too much," Dee Dee said. "I spent a lot of the summer in Berlin but I love it. We live pretty far out, so it's a pretty anonymous neighborhood, pretty close to the park. We're looking forward to being home in the winter and kind of hibernating, figuring out where our spots are. I still haven't found a coffee shop where I'm supposed to go hang out every day."

That hibernation will take place after Dee Dee and Welchez do an acoustic tour of Italy, which is pretty much an awesome vacation where they get paid to do what they love (again, we're very, very jealous). In the meantime, Dee Dee is working hard to keep up her spirits on the road with the other three Dum Dum Girls.

"We're pretty health conscious so for us it's important that we get good food and a little exercise," she said. "A couple of the girls in the band find whatever Bikram yoga place is in town and we force our tour manager to swing by Whole Foods before a six-hour drive. Just little things like that that make you comfortable and are important because you can definitely easily get frustrated when you're constantly traveling."

We also wonder how she and her bandmates can manage to rock out so hard while wearing their trademark heels without taking the occasional digger. "I would never wear something that I couldn't play in," Dee Dee informed us. "That said, I'm pretty good at running in heels. Maybe it's just practice. I'm always chasing a bus or a taxi -- or my husband."

And that look -- and her husband's -- isn't just something they don when they're in rocker mode. As they told us between photos, they agreed to take family portraits for Christmas last year but they only had offered up two options: Wearing their leather jackets or showing off their tattoos (they went with the jackets).

After wrapping up our In House session, Dee Dee, Brandon and their entourage headed off for another press opp and then to soundcheck at Bowery, where Dum Dum Girls would hit the stage at midnight. By then, as you can see in the photo gallery below, Dee Dee and the band were well past any CMJ or tour fatigue. For more on the album and Dee Dee's life on the road, check out our In House video interview above.

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