Meg catches up with House of Dolls lead singer and bassist Stephen ‘Staf’ White ahead of their live show in Twisted Pepper (July 22nd).
So last time meg.ie spoke with you in November you were getting ready to launch a single and there was talk of a possible move to London, what’s been happening with the band since?
We released our single, the double A-side of Gimme Some Glory and Before She Wakes in December which got us quite a bit of radio which really helped boost our profile in time for our headline show in Crawdaddy in January. It was great to see a lot of unknown faces at that show, that’s always a good sign and thankfully the gig was a stomper!
Then in February we went back to Berlin for another few days of recording and a show. We did our first UK jaunt last month and it was great. We played in Camden and Brighton. None of us had ever been to Brighton before and loved it!
Looking forward to getting over to the UK again in the near future. We will be releasing an EP in September, it’s currently at the mixing stage and is sounding really cool so we’re excited about that one. We’ve also boosted our sound with a new recruit, Neil, he’s singing and playing guitar.
You played in the IMRO showcase tour previously, do you believe the likes of IMRO are doing enough to help bands establish themselves? Is there enough support out there or is it up to an act to help themselves?
IMRO are great for looking after artists, and it’s really good for a band’s profile to be involved with IMRO Showcase Tour. But ultimately I think it’s up to the artist to promote themselves and get their music out there. Anyone sitting around waiting for something to happen is fooling themselves.
Is it difficult to lead a double life of holding down a job and keeping a band going?
It can be difficult as heavy weekends and being in this band tend to go hand in hand! Also it makes for a long day when you have to rehearse after work. But until you can make a living out of music working is a necessary evil and the money you earn from your job is vital for helping the band along.
Everyone seems to have a different theory on how to get their music heard and to actually make a living from playing, do you guys have any particular strategy on how to approach it?
We want to start putting out releases every 3 -4 months. Albums, EPs, singles, whatever. The Bradford Cox, Jay Reatard (RIP) work ethic….it just keeps it interesting if there’s always a release to work towards. I don’t think it’s a good thing to go off the radar and sweat over this “big” release and pin all your hopes and dreams on it. Putting all your eggs in one basket. That approach creates too much unnecessary pressure. If that goes wrong then where do you find yourself? Up shit creek without a paddle!!
The Mandatory Influences Question. So MBV, Spiritualized, Jesus and Mary Chain? Who’s influenced your music?
Yeah we’re all into My Bloody Valentine, Spiritualized and The Jesus and Mary Chain, but there is no fixed influence or template for our music, the dynamic within the band is changing all the time. We’re always looking for new music and turning each other on to stuff we’d never heard before. I was listening to the new MGMT album this morning, this afternoon I might listen to The Cramps and maybe tonight I’ll have a slice of Sigur Ros!
I think it’s impossible not be influenced by what you’re buzzing off at the time really. It’s pretty strange to base your band on certain influences from the start and dismiss any other influences that creep in afterwards. The whole point of making your own music is to make your own music. We all get to put ourselves into the tunes, the process is quite democratic like that, and that can make for a wide range of influences in the one tune.
What are you guys listening to at the moment? Any recommendations for meg readers?
The new releases from Darker My Love and Asteroid 4 along with the first Public Image album are on heavy rotation. Jah Wobble’s basslines on that first album are unreal. Actually everything on that album is unreal! I reckon it’s the best thing they ever put out. I’m really looking forward to seeing how their new live set up works at Electric Picnic.
The name House of Dolls, did it come from the book or the film or is it a nod to Joy Division or something completely different?
We just noticed a connection between dolls and the darkside really. From the subject matter dealt with in the books Valley of the Dolls and The House of Dolls, which is obviously where the name was taken from, to the punk connection with The Stooges’ Little Doll & The New York Dolls. There’s a Jesus and Mary Chain lyric that uses a doll in a pretty bleak way too. We like Joy Division but it’s not a nod to them. We just think it suits our sound.
There was a picture in my parents friends house that used to freak me out. It was a little girl crying in fear of a big Alstation I think. There was a doll lying on the floor that I guess she had dropped or something. That doll used to completely unsettle me as a kid! They used to have to remove the picture from the room before I’d get there. It was a pretty strange picture to have hanging up in a family sitting room now that I think of it.
