By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa
Interview: Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas of The Dollyrots
One of Rock At Night’s favs is pop punk band The Dollyrots. We’ve been following them in both the US and UK for the last five years. We spoke with musician/songwriters Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas today via Zoom about their latest album, current projects, and plans for 2022. On January 21st, the band is releasing a two-CD package called “Down the Rabbit Hole”. The album is chockful of covers, B-sides, and never-released songs—and you can see our review HERE.
Cabezas explains, “It is a retrospective of a ton of stuff that never ended up on an album, for some reason. It doesn’t fit the feel for the rest of them. It just doesn’t fit the album for some reason. Some of the songs haven’t been heard.”
The newest song on the album “Too Fun for My Health” was coincidentally written pre-COVID. There are punk versions of classics that span several decades, including “Earth Angel”, “Da Doo Ron Ron”, and “Do You Love Me”. Ogden explained she grew up listening to her parent’s music and has an appreciation for 60s bands like The Chiffons and Shangri–Las. She notes, “We try to do covers that bring a song to people that they haven’t heard in awhile. There’s a lot of younger fans that might not know some of these covers.” She finds it important to introduce songs to a new generation, in the vein of Nirvana introducing bands like Bikini Kill or Black Flag.
A pleasant surprise on the album is Lisa Loeb’s song “Stay”. Apparently, both Jaret Reddick of Bowling for Soup and Drew Carey suggested the song. Ogden says, “It’s weird when you do a cover. It’s harder than doing original songs in a lot of ways. We like to do a cover in a way that people know what it is but we don’t want to change it completely—we want to put our own spin on it.”
Listen to the audio interview for the full story. The Dollyrots discuss their touring experience in the UK; Kelly’s voicing of Stevie Van Zandt’s new station “Coolest Songs in the World” (Channel 721); the manufacturing shortage of vinyl pressed albums in the U.S.; new music that is in the works for 2022; and their August 2022 Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Sea Cruise with the Buzzcocks, The Dictators, The Stranglers, and more!
Rock At Night’s Podcast Channels–Listen to the iTunes Audio Interview Here or Google Podcast or PodBay.FM or PODCHASER
FOR MORE ON THE DOLLYROTS & UPCOMING EVENTS.
- Little Steven’s Underground Garage very first GREAT ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SEA CRUISE, along with Graham Parker, The Dictators, The Stranglers, Buzzcocks and more. The cruise departs from Athens, Greece and will visit the ports of Mykonos, Greece and Izmir, Turkey from August 18th through August 23rd, 2022. Pre-sale going on now and get more information by going to Underground Garage.
- Check out Kelly’s Sunrise Surprise radio show weekday mornings from 4 a.m. EST to 8 a.m. EST on Sirius XM’s Underground Garage (Ch. 21).
- Also, check out Kelly voicing Stevie Van Zandt’s “Coolest Songs in the World”, a brand new station on Sirius XM (Ch. 721). www.siriusxm.com/streaming
The Dollyrots 2021 Christmas Party on Wednesday, December 22nd!
5:00 PM PST – 8 PM EST – 1 AM GBT – 30 Min Show – Pay What You Can
TOUR DATES 2022
w/ The Von Tramps
Thursday, March 10 Reggie’s Music Joint Chicago, IL
Friday, March 11 Uptown VFW Minneapolis, MN
Saturday, March 12 X-Ray Arcade Cudahy, WI
Sunday, March 13 Beachland Ballroom & Tavern Cleveland, OH
Monday, March 14 Rumba Cafe Columbus, OH
Tuesday, March 15 Melody Inn Indianapolis, IN
Wednesday, March 16 Old Rock House St Louis, MO
w/ Bowling for Soup & Lit
Tuesday, April 12 Empress Ballroom Blackpool, UK
Wednesday, April 13 O2 Academy Glasgow Glasgow, UK
Thursday, April 14 Grimsby Auditorium Grimsby, UK
Friday, April 15 Scarborough Spa Scarborough, UK
Saturday, April 16 O2 Academy Birmingham Birmingham, UK
Sunday, April 17 O2 Academy Bournemouth Bournemouth, UK
Monday, April 18 Riviera International Centre Torquay, UK
Tuesday, April 19 Brangwyn Hall Swansea, UK
Thursday, April 21 De La Warr Pavilion Bexhill On Sea, UK
Friday, April 22 Winter Gardens Margate, UK
Saturday, April 23 O2 Academy Brixton London, UK
w/ Buzzcocks, The Dictators, & more
Thursday, August 18 – August 23 Great Rock n Roll Sea Cruise Athens, Greece
SOCIAL MEDIA
Rock At Night’s theme song is “Get On Down If You Feel Up To It” by Billy “Bass” Alford
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
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