Fuck the Spice Girls, this is what Girl Power is all about: talent, spunk and an impeccable sense of style.
Dum Dum Girls are riot grrrl without the riot, and punk without the self-indulgent misanthropy. They make easy-breezy indie pop and do not try to be anything they’re not.
But they are by no means dumb: these girls are savvy self-starters with a serious handle on the LA lo-fi scene. Front woman Dee Dee (real name Kristin Gundred) sings the praises of doing it for yourself. “I love the fact that bands are able to do a lot more on their own nowadays,” she gushes. “I think it’s really great how music has become more accessible and you don’t have to be a huge fucking talent to record a song: people can use their computers or really simple equipment.”
This is how Dee Dee herself started out: one woman, a four-track and a love of all things Sixties. It was only recently that she joined forces with the rest of her tri-coastal clan, a necessary act of union which would translate Dee’s homemade pop into live fodder for the stage. “We’re all really good friends and the other girls have friendships independent of me now too, which is cool because they all only met for the first time in October when we played CMJ,” she says. “I recorded everything myself, including the album, so it was just a case of me just teaching them the songs.” Debut album ‘I Will Be’ was then given the once over by the infamous songwriter/producer Richard Gottehrer. “I recorded everything in my house using pretty limited equipment, that’s why if you listen to some of the earlier stuff it’s definitely lo-fidelity,” she explains.
“But with this record we had Richard Gottehrer step in and try to make up for the recording technology through mixing post-production. I would send him the drum part, the bass part and the vocals for a song and he re-vamped and re-effected things on a more professional level using better techniques. It still retains the noisiness but I had him focus more on the vocals, trying to bring them out in a more Sixties way. I’ve always considered the vocal parts the only parts that are decent, so I wanted to highlight them.”
The Posh and Becks of the Californian lo-fi scene, Dee Dee is married to Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles, with whom she has even recently recorded a track. Do they have any plans to pursue this musical partnership any further? “I think we really complement each other. And we both have a bit of a thing for Sonny and Cher, so who knows!”
Words by April Welsh
Where: California
What: Lo-fi Sixties surf pop
Unique Fact: Dee Dee went to school in Germany and sometimes sings in
German.
Get 3 songs: ‘Jail La La’, ‘Rest Of Our Lives’, ‘Bhang Bhang’, ‘I’m A
Burnout’
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Read ClashMusic’s review of Dum Dum Girls debut album ‘I Will Be’ HERE, a live review HERE and get a free download of their ‘Jail La La’ HERE.
