Interview with The Dollyrots

​​We had the pleasure of interviewing The Dollyrots over the phone! ​​Please share while we are #togetherathome ​🏠​ ​​​​"The Dollyrots continue to bring their trademark melodic pop-punk to the masses with their newest album release Daydream Explosion, out now on Little Steven Van Zandt's Wicked Cool Records. Their songs garnered top spots on multiple 2019 'year-end' and 'best of' lists, including Huffington Post, The Punk Site, I'm Music Magazine and Folk n'Rock to name a few. Their song "Everything" was voted Coolest Song in The World 2019 on SiriusXM's Underground Garage. ​​​​"foot-stomping medley" – Huffington Post ​​​​Deemed by NPR as a 'Notable Release', Daydream Explosion debuted on three billboard charts and is the band's sixth with longtime producer John Fields (Jimmy Eat World, All Time Low.) The Dollyrots' songs have long been a staple in rotation on SiriusXM's Underground Garage, but the band's recent work really perked up the ears of Underground Garage/Wicked Cool founder Stevie Van Zandt. The alliance with Wicked Cool, which began with the singles "Get Radical" in 2018 and "Everything" last spring. Their songwriting has reached a consistent level of greatness." – says Wicked Cool founder Stevie Van Zandt ​​​​"The 14-track Daydream Explosion, their first for Stevie Van Zandt's Wicked Cool Records label, is simply pop-punk perfection" --- New Noise Magazine ​​The Dollyrots began their thrill-packed journey when band founders Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas met in middle school, playing music together for the first time when she asked him to teach her guitar. After graduating with degrees the twosome relocated from Florida to Los Angeles in 2001 and began playing shows and creating a sound that combines the energy of punk rock with the bubblegum hooks of pop. They have since built an incredible and loyal audience and become true punk stalwarts through tireless touring and recording. ​​The Dollyrots self-recorded and released their first EP, Feed Me Pet Me in 2003 and were chosen by Hewlett Packard to be part of their Share Your Story Campaign - which lead to a chance meeting with producer John Fields. The unsuspecting band went into the studio to record for the HP campaign and knocked it out in one take with Fields behind the board. Since the studio was rented for the day Fields suggested they record a few more songs, and before the sun went down their debut album Eat My Heart Out was finished. Initially self-released, the record gained traction on Los Angeles radio and was picked up by Panic Button, an imprint of the influential Lookout Records (Green Day, The Donnas, Rancid) label. ​​The Dollyrots spent most of the next two years on the road, including their first stint on the Vans Warped Tour. In between dates the band started working on their second album but were derailed when Lookout went out of business. Luckily, they had a fan in Joan Jett, who was so taken by the Dollyrots that she offered them a spot on her Blackheart label roster. Produced by Jacques Wait and John Fields, the band's second album, Because I'm Awesome, was released on Blackheart in March of 2007. They toured relentlessly and popped up all over the map, recording a version of Jett's song "Bad Reputation" for the soundtrack to the film Endless Bummer, playing themselves on the TV series Greek, appearing on CSI:NY and landing a commercial for Kohl's department store. Their next album was recorded in 2009, with Cabezas taking over some production duties for the first time. A Little Messed Up was released in 2010 and saw the band folding more pop elements into their sound. The Dollyrots left Blackheart soon thereafter and started up their own Arrested Youth label. Sticking with self-releasing their work, the group turned to crowd-funding site Kickstarter for support, launching a wildly successful campaign that yielded the funds needed to record 2012's The Dollyrots. Working again with Fields, the album featured Ogden and Cabezas firmly in c --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bringinbackpod/support Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/