At the end of this week, in mere days, the Bay Area will be hosting the inaugural Doll Fest. The two day festival will take place at the Cornerstone in Berkeley, CA and is “a celebration of the feminine energy, friendship, and community gathering together in support of one another.”
The lineup is a jaw dropping list of rad bands all with a femme energy to them along with multi-genre artists. Doll Fest will feature artists such as The Iron Roses, Tsunami Bomb, Dog Party, Tess & The Details and many more on March 1st and 2nd along with a pre-show party on February 28th.
We wanted to get in on the action, so we’ve asked the amazing bands a handful of questions about the festival including who they’re stoked to be playing with and what they think a festival of this caliber means to our scene.
We chatted with Nicole, the singer/organist/songwriter/founder of Phoenix-based band The Darts (US). The band formed in 2016 with the goal of making great all-girl garage-rock noise, seeing the world, and having a fab slumber party every night. Check out our interview below and grab your tickets to Doll Fest now via their website here!
Interview
Tell us a little about yourself and why you’re excited to play Doll Fest.
THE DARTS are all about showing the world that grrls can be both intensely-talented, internationally-touring composers and rockers, and also can be unapologetically feminine at the same time. Doll Fest holds those same views and is putting some great femme artists front and center, so we are proud to be part of the scene.
Which bands are you most stoked to see or play alongside?
Tsunami Bomb are long-time friends and we have a split 7″ record coming out with them later this Spring! So this is a great chance to play alongside them. I also love what I heard from Trap Girl and The Vaccines, and I’m hoping to catch the sets.
How has the Oakland music scene or Bay Area culture influenced your sound/creative process?
Our label, Alternative Tentacles Records, is located there and my family is in the area too, so even though I don’t get to spend much time there, I am drawn back to the area a few times a year. The feeling of free thought and tolerance and anything-is-possible always strikes me when I’m walking around the area. It’s a really unique place.
How do you see events like Doll Fest contributing to greater representation and empowerment of women in the music industry?
Being both American and femme in this day and age is a ridiculously, inexcusably difficult task, with even the highest office holder in the land personally and constitutionally violating us in a zillion different ways. So, anything we can all do to be strong, calm, determined, intelligent and focused on doing great things to the very best of our abilities is something we want to be part of. Karma is on our side.
What unique challenges have you or your bandmates faced as female musician, and how have you overcome them?
Finding a great female rock drummer or soundperson or tour manager or venue owner is still difficult out there, and there is no good reason for that. As we play our set, watching people who don’t know us is quite entertaining from the stage. We see the expressions go from “ah this is just another girl band gimmick” to “get me in the mosh pit” is the most satisfying message we could ever send to the world.
As a lawyer and judge, I found the same thing happening – the expectations are so low and demeaning when they see me at first. And so I just do what I do, at the highest level I can possibly do it, diplomatically with kindness but also apologizing to no one. And by the end of the day everyone seems to have forgotten that I’m a 5’2″ introverted female.
What message do you hope to convey to your audience through your performance at Doll Fest?
Yes, we have girl parts, and they are beautiful, but we also have big, man-sized brains that are capable of the biggest love and skill and power that you will ever see in any gender. We are your mom, your daughter, your favorite aunt, your music teacher, your supermodel crush, your secretary, your boss, your top new band, and your next president, all rolled into one. And we will love the hell out of you.
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