Doll Skin at the Cleveland Agora

Cleveland, Ohio
May 1, 2016

What would it have been like to interview the members of a legendary rock band like Led Zeppelin or Tool, before they were famous? I believe I had such an interview at the Cleveland Agora with the up-and-coming band, Doll Skin. Oh, the places they will go.

Meghan, Alex, Sydney, and Nicole of Doll Skin

A Talented Troupe
I had the absolute pleasure to see Doll Skin, an all-girl, killer new band, in concert at the Cleveland Agora, and to meet with the band beforehand. This band outperformed any expectation that I, or anyone in the audience, might have had, as we were all completely captivated by the performance. To say that Doll Skin played an amazingly fantastic show is an incredible understatement. The band was that good. Strong recommendation: add Doll Skin to your must-see concert list. Now.

Doll Skin at the Cleveland Agora

Brilliant Beauties
Don’t let the name or their ages fool you. The members of Doll Skin are intelligent and independent ladies who seem to have decades of knowledge and experience packed within their talented teenage frames. Vocalist Sydney Dolezal belted out the lyrics with fire and passion, Guitarist Alex Snowden stunned the audience when she “Jimmy Paged” the guitar, Bassist Nicole Rich played with fervor and fury, and Drummer Meghan Herring entranced the crowd with her hypnotizing beats. Playing truly rockin’ tunes from their album, In Your Face (Again), the band ended the show with a truly awesome rendition of Alanis Morissette’s Uninvited.

Age Has No Boundaries
Let’s talk about age, and its complete irrelevance to Doll Skin (or to life). When you see this band play, one thing you will not think is: the band is good for a “high school band.” The talent of Doll Skin blows away the limits. Think about it: age does not equate to ability, drive, respect, or where a person should be in his or her life. The parents of Doll Skin did not halt the progress of this fearless foursome due to their youth. And, that as a reminder to ourselves: We should stop letting age confine us, too. If you’re 16 and want to learn to rock or explore forensic science, do it. If you’re 65 and want to join a band or write a book, do it. We only live once that we know of, so let’s live a little! No, let’s live a lot!

The talented ladies of Doll Skin

Doll Talk
I caught up with the Doll Skin in the band’s RV prior to their mind-blowing gig. These well-spoken gals were as excited to be interviewed by a female as I was to be interviewing females. (No offense, guys. Just nice for a change.) The communication was easy all around. Oftentimes, they finished each other’s sentences or were talking as a group to complete a unified thought. Although each gal is very individual, they make a great team. My hope is to see Doll Skin emerge on the music scene and rock us all for decades. Check out the interview below!

I’m dying to know, how did you get started as a band?
Meghan: When I was a junior in high school, I met these girls through School of Rock. We became really quick friends because we all knew how to play really fun instruments, and we grew as musicians together. At my school, there was a “Battle of the Bands,” and I wanted to just do it for fun. We didn’t think anything would come of it until we won first place. Then, we met David Ellefson [Megadeth bassist and co-founder], who was a celebrity judge. After that, we started playing gigs around Arizona. And, the rest is history.

All: After we did “Battle of the Bands” for the second year, David set up a meeting with us and suggested managing the band.

You’re from Phoenix and you met through School of Rock. Explain a little more about that program.
All: It’s an after-school program. There are three in Arizona, and we went to the one in Scottsdale. It’s a “lessons in performance” program, so basically, you get mixed in with a bunch of kids and you do shows. You do a bunch of covers with a bunch of kids, so it teaches you music theory, how to play your instrument, how to work with others, stage production, and how to manage if something goes wrong on stage. We’ve learned how to deal with bad sound, bad stages, and how to maneuver “the ins and the outs, the goods and the bads.” It teaches you how to be a musician. It’s awesome. And, it’s for all age ranges, from little kid drummers to a big group of teenagers, and they even have an adult performance program.

I love it. I want to join!

The School of Rock is an after-school program, so what about real school?
All: We were all in regular school before, but made a transition to on-line school. Nicole is a high school senior, Alex is a high school junior, and Meghan is a college freshman, but is taking a break this second semester [while on tour]. We all plan on going to college, probably starting with on-line school.

Sydney: I was in an art school and really liked it, but took my GED [because she preferred the hands-on learning approach versus online]. I plan on going to college eventually for forensic science. [Nici Note: Sound familiar? Kelci from Kevlar is in a similar study.)

Forensic scientist by day; rocker by night. Crazy! 🙂 

At this stage in the game, you are touring all over the country, what do your peers think?
All: This has shown our friends’ true colors. The people that you are actually close with will come through. When people actually keep up and are excited for you, those are your true friends. But, we really have so much support!!

What about your parents?
All: They’re the best. All of our parents rotate on and off tour. When we found out we were going on tour, they sat down and worked out a schedule of who would come on tour and for how long. They each tour with us for about a week and help with the “merch.”

I saw references to “glitter punk.” Is that how you describe your music/genre?
We used to go by that a little bit. Now, we identify as hard rock with punk and metal influences.

In looking up glitter punk, I found a website called glitterpunks.com. They send glitter and/or sand to “people you hate” for under $10.
All: [Lots of laughing.] Oh wow! That’s such a good idea!

Who are some of your influences?
Meghan: Number one: My Chemical Romance. Number two: Led Zeppelin. Number three: Refused. I love Paramore, Tool, Underoath, Radiohead, Elton John…

Nicole: I also really love My Chemical Romance; they’re my favorite band in the entire world. I love the passion and art that they put into their music. Dead Sara is cool. Bikini Kill is very inspirational because they have such a great political message, and I don’t write lyrics. I always say, “Meghan and Sydney can you put my fire and passion into some lyrics?”

Syndey: I have to agree with Meghan on Refused; they are so good. Avenged Sevenfold! And, I will forever love Pierce the Veil. They’re my favorite, ever.

Alex: I’m a huge Avenged Sevenfold fan. Led Zeppelin, of course. I have a new-found love for The Struts and Violent Soho.

How do you write songs?
Alex: It’s never really a set process, but usually Meghan and Sydney will bring lyrics to the table, and then we all collaborate on everything. Sometimes we build off of a riff or drums.

Nicole: But, it’s never really one way. Sometimes we could write a song in a couple of hours, and other times it takes three weeks.

You’ve been on tour pretty solidly since January. How exciting is that?
All: Very exciting. So much fun.

Nicole: You get to see all these cool, new places, and meet so many cool people, and then you get to play music!

Alex: And, then there’s a whole new place the next day. You wake up and there’s always something to do, always people to talk to.

Sydney: The one thing that sucks is that you can’t do a lot of exploring because you have to be somewhere. But, it’s still fun. It’s cool to be able to say that I’ve been to so many different places.

Meghan: Yeah, like this morning, I woke up to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in my face!

What are your plans for the rest of 2016 and beyond?
All: World domination! 🙂 By the end of this year, we plan to have a full, new album out. We’re touring now, we’ll take the summer off to write music, and then in the fall, we want to get back in the studio. We can’t wait to keep writing because we have so many ideas.

What do you like to do outside of music?
All: Sleep and eat!

Alex: I have to do a lot of school work, so I drink a lot of coffee. I’m very passionate about coffee. I also like dogs, and I play classical guitar outside of Doll Skin.

Sydney: I read a lot. I love reading. I’ve tried to start drawing again. And, I want to get back into sports, too.

Nicole: I draw a lot and I work. I make juice at a juice bar. I love my job!

Meghan: I do a lot… I work, and I love photography. My camera is my baby. I’m going to school for photography, when I get back into college. And, I love to write stories and write lyrics. I just write, write, write, and hang out with people.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with me or readers of Adventure Music Life?
All: Check out our new album In Your Face (Again) (link to iTunes), released on April 15. It’s available to buy online, and you can pre-order colored vinyl.

My last, most important question: If I would dye my hair…..
All: Purple!! Yes, purple!!!

And, so it was.

Left to Right: Alex and Sydney from Doll Skin ● Nici ● Nicole and Meghan from Doll Skin

Many, many thanks to the awesome ladies of Doll Skin. I look forward to seeing them in concert again!!