Fronting your very own all-girl rock n’ roll band would have been a dream for many young girls at some point or another in their childhood or adolescence. But for DollSquad front-woman, vocalist and founding member Joey, that dream has become a ripsnorting reality.
Fronting your very own all-girl rock n’ roll band would have been a dream for many young girls at some point or another in their childhood or adolescence. But for DollSquad front-woman, vocalist and founding member Joey, that dream has become a ripsnorting reality. Forming the group back in 2004, it’s been a long journey to this point, but one thing that has remained throughout is Joey’s original vision: to create an all-girl rock n’ roll band with integrity. “Well, I think I always wanted to have a girl band,” explains Joey on the inception of DollSquad. “But I didn’t want to do what had been done before. Well I guess the stereotype is that in all-girl bands, really, there’s not a lot of substance.”
But DollSquad are all about substance. Despite the six members all wearing leather cat suits and crazy hairdos as part of their onstage personas; at the end of the day they’re all about the music. Joey stresses that the main reason for wanting to start an all-girl group was to simply prove that they could. It was about creating an all-girl group that wrote and performed all their own songs, were more than competent on their instruments and one that toured extensively; everything you’d come to expect from a professional band. It was a chance to dispel the outdated and ignorant social view of some that girls are better off as groupies as opposed to actually playing in bands. DollSquad, it seems, have been on a mission to erase this view entirely from the very beginning.
“I think the issue is social conditioning. ‘Oh girls hang off guys in bands or girls on TV with their hot bums and cute boobs but they’re not in bands; girls don’t play in bands’,” Joey argues. “And I think that social conditioning is the kind of thing that we have in our society.”
Over the years DollSquad, like most bands, have gone through their fair share of line-up changes. So at any point over the years did it ever cross her mind to hire a guy? “Well no, absolutely not!” she laughs. “I mean I’ve done bands that were ‘co-ed’ so to speak, but my passion was to have an all-girl band from the start. You know, just a really, really good band; strong musicianship, strong playing, strong stage presence.” So when it came to the selection process, Joey was vigilant in her search for members that not only fit the part but –more importantly – were talented musicians.
This dedication to her vision has, in recent times, seen DollSquad go from strength to strength; a strong indication of which is just how well they have been received in Europe. The group have just recently returned from an extensive tour that took in the likes of Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a headlining spot at the Cosmic Trip festival in France. Europeans are well known for going crazy for rock ‘n’ roll bands, and being much more willing to embrace a band that they may not have seen or heard before. According to Joey this was definitely the case for DollSquad. The reaction they received was extremely positive in just about every place they visited.
“Well I mean it’s what every band says when they go over there: they do go wild. I mean they just go nuts; they’re right at the front of the stage… you’ve got to keep the microphone stand close to you because it will just get swept away by the crowd,” she laughs. And despite the members of the group all having to take time off from their full time jobs, it was a move that has definitely paid off. “That (tour) was absolutely sensational. And yeah, the audience reaction, as soon as we got over there was amazing. It’s beginning to get a ground swell here too.”
Despite a relatively slower rise here in Australia when compared to Europe, DollSquad are quite rightly, slowly started to turn heads. And with the success of their recent jaunt overseas under their belts, the group are now gearing up for a huge show back in Melbourne at one of their favourite venues, Red Bennies. And Joey for one can’t wait to hit the stage again.
“Yeah we’ve played a couple of shows there that have done really, really well. So this is our second or third one there I think. It’s a great venue, it’s so lush and beautiful and gorgeous.”
So for the local punter who may not have seen the DollSquad girls in action as yet, what can they expect from a DollSquad show? “Well it’s definitely something you’ve never seen before,” insists Joey.
“I know a lot of people that come for the first time are just dumbfounded. They don’t go off for a beer, they don’t move, they’re just kind of standing because they don’t really know what they’re seeing up there. It takes a while to process, I think.
“The imagery is kind of strong, co-ordinated dance moves and all sorts of stuff going on all the time. So I guess if you were seeing it for the first time you would kinda be blown away.”
DOLLSQUAD play Red Bennies this Friday January 21 – along with The ReChords, Go Girl Gadget Go Go and DJs Electric Mudcat, Vince Peach and Knave Knixx.
