Doll, a four-piece based out of Ottawa, Canada, formed in 2005 provides the missing link between punk and rock, a sound that’s been lacking in mainstream music for quite some time. In a time of over saturation of commercially designed and developed music to subdue the listener into a false sense of marketability, Doll’s fresh and honest songs cut through like a hot knife through butter, snapping the listener out of their daze and on board their trip of truth and beautifully crafted angst through sound and vision. Inspired by the great bands such as Sonic Youth, Hole and L7, Paramore, Flyleaf and Die Mannequin, Doll is on its way to becoming a musical force to be reckoned with, inspiring, creative, and honest.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Doll, and how long the band has been together.
Christina: My name is Christina and I sing and play guitar in Doll. The band has been together for over seven years already!
2. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Christina: We're based out of Ottawa and the music scene is great here. You might have heard of Hollerado, the Balconies, Fuck the Facts, Buried Inside, Aggressor... They're all from Ottawa.
3. Why did you want this band to be a trio, and how has that worked out for everyone?
Christina: We're actually a four piece band. We love having the option to play two different guitar parts.
4. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Christina: My lyrics are about personal life experiences or things that really affect us. Although many of our lyrics are dark we have a few party songs to put everyone in a rocking mood.
5. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Christina: We're influenced by bands like Nirvana, L7, Sonic Youth, Paramore, Yeah Yeah Yeans to name a few.
6. Where did you record this album and how was the vibe for everybody throughout the whole process?
Christina: We recorded the album at Metropolitain studios in Ottawa. We had a great vibe throughout the process as we took our time to perfect every song.7. What was it like to work with producer Jason Jaknunas, did he bring everything you guys wanted to the table and were you happy with the ending results?
Christina: We love working with Jason and are going to work with him for the third album. He's great at brining solid creative ideas to the recording process. He makes us think outside the box and it's great to have an outside opinion to help in the recording process.
8. Is there any story or concept behind the The Ragdoll Diaries title?
Christina: In a sense yes, the album revolves around our character, Sally. The album cover and many of the songs revolve around her.
9. Select two songs from The Ragdoll Diaries and what inspired the lyrics.
Christina: "If I Could" is about a local story about a woman that was shot and left paralyzed from the neck down. He boyfriend became furious after she mentioned a celebrity was cute. It really affected me as how something so minor could trigger a crazy behavior like that.
“Plastic Lies” is all about consumerism, consumer debt, fake beauty, high expectations that the world gives people. It’s about rebelling against it and standing up for what you believe in.
10. Who did the cover art for The Ragdoll Diaries and how much input did you have on it?
Christina: The cover was done by Siniestro Design. The Doll on the cover is actually a real photograph of a live dancer we had onstage at one of our festival shows.
11. What's your take on The Ragdoll Diaries as a whole?
Christina: We're really proud of it and we've received some great reviews.
12. What's your favorite song on the album right now?
Christina: Right now I'd have to say "Plastic Lies" since we just released a music video for it.
13. Is it important for you to paint visual pictures with the songs?
Christina: Yes it is, I like my lyrics to tell a story.
14. What would be the cinematic equivalent of The Ragdoll Diaries?
Christina: Hmm good question, a mix of Superbad with Saw!
15. How does "Inside The Dollhouse" and The Ragdoll Diaries" compare, differ, and evolved between the releases?
Christina: We evolved as musicians and as a band and I think that showed in the later songs we wrote. We also developed a sound for Doll and stuck with it on "The Ragdoll Diaries". Lastly we also took much more of our time, one year, to record the album to ensure everything turns out the way we wanted it.
16. Does both of these releases have a continuing story to tell or are they both their own tale to tell?
Christina: They are both different but both revolve around our character Sally.
17. Why did you want to have "Dolls" as your theme source, are you a collector or fan of dolls, or are actual toy dolls have nothing to do with you guys?
Christina: Well the band is called Doll so it comes hand in hand! We’re also big collectors of movie doll characters like Chucky, Saw, Freddy, Jack Skeleton and we like to bring them out sometimes at shows.
18. You released a new video for "Plastic Lies", which follows two previous music videos "Youth of Today, Hope For Tomorrow" and "FMO". How do the three connect with one another, what's the story behind these? Do you plan on continuing the story?
Christina: These videos are all very much different and we've taken a different creative approach while filming them. Our drummer directed and edited both “FMO” and “Youth of Today”. “FMO” was all about simplicity, so people can concentrate on the music. While with “Youth of Today” we wanted a younger version of me, carrying on the message.19. Any big plans for Doll throughout 2013?
Christina: We've just finished playing several concerts in Canada and the USA, now we’re going to focus on writing new material and hopefully we’ll be in the studio in the fall.
20. Any final words of wisdom?
Christina: Check us out subscribe to our websites!
www.dollband.net
www.youtube.com/insidethedollhouse
www.facebook.com/dollband
www.twitter.com/dollband
Very wise words!
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