A Quick Chat with Dolly Dagger

What does putting out your music under your own name mean to you?

 Dolly Dagger represents all sides of myself, having always grappled with my gentle soft side and the more visceral raw elements, my name represents each of those things and everything in-between. People that are 'even keel' are favored in this life, the representation of stability in a world that's unpredictable is unrealistic so I feel that Dolly Dagger best honors a true state of being for myself that's rolling with the punches and honoring the changes that I go through as I grow as a person. 

Where are you from? A little about your musical history?

Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, now a proud valley dweller! Looking forward to visiting Melbourne again soon and playing shows, it's been too long and I am missing our beautiful city so I can't wait to take my American pals to all my favourite places for a vacation meets tour! 

What was it formed around? How does it operate?

This project came about after deciding what I want for myself as a band or artist. I've spent plenty of time trying too hard and taking myself too seriously, letting people get in my head about the "right way" to do something and worrying about which path is the "best" path. The most fun I've had has been when I'm rolling with the punches. Sure, there needs to be some forethought and understating of what you stand for or represent, but this project came from letting go of control and not micromanaging myself so that I can just stick true to my personal needs and wants from within. It's freeing to honor that and let my work resonate naturally instead of trying so hard to cultivate what I think people want from me. We are all guilty of falling into that trap from time to time and through many areas of life. Wanting to fit in somewhere or be accepted isn't a bad thing, but personally it's been a process of learning how to get out of my own way and be confident with myself. This project feels like I'm really honoring that. It works at a slower pace than I used to put myself through but I get more enjoyment out of the process. 

How do you work together with your collaborators?

This project really just started out as a fun experiment, as the general nature of Los Angeles is to collaborate with friends and learn or expand yourself. Jesse McInturff stepped in to play guitar for me for a live show. I had been wanting to expand my writing and sound at that time and Jesse was looking for a fresh creative outlet so we started writing together and now he's sucked into the Dollyverse! Ha. It was very casual and easy so we kept going with it, with no major rush or expectations and now we're at a place with the material and sound that we truly enjoy and have had positive feedback on so that's what we're putting out. 

Talk a little about the track, writing it, recording it, lyrics, visuals?

Writing “Nightmare” started out with a riff from Jesse, which is always a great start point for the barrage of lyrics stowed in my notes app. It came very easily, conceptually, because I was feeling frustrated with life, and the tensions of the guitars on the verse really helped me lean into that. A phrase I had saved in my phone, "too old, not old enough," - which I think a lot of people can relate to at some point - kicked it all off. I was feeling frustrated with life not being where I wanted it to be personally and that pressure we self-inflict to achieve certain milestones by certain ages was looming. Ultimately, “Nightmare” is about not giving up on your dreams, or at least trying really hard to not allow that for yourself. Sometimes it feels like the world is against you or the cards aren't in your favor, but the best thing I did was decide that I don't want my life to be the "nightmare" I had been living. The track is a representation of taking ownership of that and doing what you need to do in order to change life into the dream you want it to be–if that's within your power. "Burn myself before I ever even get there," is a really driving force of a lyric as well because you try, try, try and keep trying and sometimes you're burned out before you get where you were trying to go, but then, "you know what they say/ life is cruel, life is unfair," comes in to play. Because yeah, sometimes life is just cruel for no reason and you have to either adjust to the changes or roll with the punches. It's hard keeping your spark alive sometimes, but “Nightmare” is me saying well, that's not good enough and I won't settle for it; I'm going for it regardless of the roadblocks in my way–and if I'm the one that put them there, then I need to recognize and make the changes to get where I'm trying to go.

The music video is really a result of watching way too much X-Files and my current social feeds being flooded with alien/UFO content, but I've been really enjoying that! I grew up watching reruns of X-Files with my dad back in Australia, and his love of space and the possibility of extraterrestrial life really rubbed off on me. I used to go outside as a kid to watch the stars and satellites in the summer skies, and I’d run around the yard with a torch to get that real X-Files beam of light, looking up and saying, "Come and get me!" or, "Take me with you!" in a fanciful wish to find myself an Alien buddy. And I'm not going to lie, I still do that! Ha. The lyric, "Get me out of here," is the through-point as I'm trying to get this Alien star creature out from the clutches of the evil agents! We filmed around Burbank and really leaned into the DIY vibe, completely abused the Ken Burns effect and just had fun with it. 

Also, the thought of us being so tiny in the multiverse really puts that nightmare of life into perspective sometimes. When life seems chaotic, just looking up can be grounding or existential for some, and I do personally find it grounding.