The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of
Amanda PalmerAmanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
(vocals,
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
,
harmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
,
ukuleleThe ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
) and
Brian ViglioneBrian Viglione is the drummer for The Dresden Dolls. Additionally, he was a prominent member of New York City's cabaret punk orchestra, The WORLD/INFERNO Friendship Society...
(drums, percussion,
guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
,
bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals). The two describe their style as "
BrechtianBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
punkPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
cabaretCabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
", a phrase invented by Palmer because she was "terrified" that the press would invent a name that "would involve the word
gothicThe goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
". The Dresden Dolls are part of an underground
dark cabaretDark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risqué German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s...
movement that started gaining momentum in the early 1990s.
Band formation and name
The duo formed a week after Brian Viglione witnessed Amanda Palmer perform solo at a Halloween party in 2000. Their live performances soon gained them a cult following. During these performances the two band members often wore dramatic
make-upCosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
and fancy clothing that push their
cabaretCabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
/theater aesthetic. They encourage fans to become involved at their shows, with the fans' own stilt walking, living statues, fire breathers, and other
performance artIn art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
becoming an integral part of the show. The Dirty Business Brigade coordinated the fans' performances.
The band's first name was Out of Arms. At some point, the name became The Dresden Dolls. The name, according to Palmer, was "inspired by a combination of things," including the
firebombing of Dresden, GermanyThe Bombing of Dresden was a military bombing by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force and as part of the Allied forces between 13 February and 15 February 1945 in the Second World War...
and the porcelain dolls that were a hallmark of pre-war Dresden industry; an early song of the same name by The Fall; and a reference to the V. C. Andrews novel
Flowers in the AtticFlowers in the Attic is a 1979 novel by Virginia Andrews. It is the first book in the Dollanganger Series, and was followed by Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. The novel is written in the first person from the point of view of Cathy Dollanganger...
, where the classically blond-haired and blue-eyed protagonists are called "the Dresden dolls". The name also evokes
Weimar GermanyThe Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and its cabaret culture. Additionally, Palmer "liked the parallel between Dresden (destruction) and Dolls (innocence, delicacy), because it is very much in keeping with the dynamics of the music, which sometimes goes from a childlike whisper to a
bansheeThe banshee , from the Irish bean sí is a feminine spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld....
scream within a few seconds."
Growing fame and performances
The duo was featured in a webcast performance at the 2002
Ig Nobel PrizeThe Ig Nobel Prizes are an American parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early October for ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. The stated aim of the prizes is to "first make people laugh, and then make them think"...
ceremony in
Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. After a self-promoted demo recorded and released in 2001, their first release was the mostly live compilation
A Is for AccidentA Is for Accident is the debut live album by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, a collection of live and studio recordings from 2001–2003, which was released on May 27, 2003 by Important Records. Future pressings were handled by 8 ft. Records and didn't include the bootleg recording...
(Important Records), followed in 2003 by a
self-titled debutThe Dresden Dolls is the self-titled debut studio album by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls. It was recorded by Brooklyn producer Martin Bisi and released on 26 September 2003 on 8ft. Records, the band's personal label. Upon signing with Roadrunner Records, the album was re-released on...
produced and recorded by
Martin BisiMartin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter.He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Helmet, Unsane, Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, Angels of Light and Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning song Rockit,In 1979, Martin Bisi...
(
SwansSwans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...
,
Sonic YouthSonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
) at The Old American Can Factory in
Gowanus, BrooklynGowanus is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6.The Gowanus area has been an active center of industrial and shipping activity since the 1860s...
. The album features fellow Boston-area musicians Ad Frank (guitar on "Good Day") and Shawn Setaro (bass on "Good Day," "Gravity", and "Jeep Song"). Two songs off the album ranked in the
Triple J Hottest 100, 2004The 2004 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on 26 January 2005. It was the twelfth such countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J....
: "
Girl Anachronism"Girl Anachronism" is a song by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, released as a promo single from their self-titled debut album. The lyrics, alternately angry, apologetic, and full of complaint, deal with Amanda Palmer, the band's lead singer, as a "problem child", a trait which she...
" at number 30 and "
Coin-Operated Boy"Coin-Operated Boy" is a single by The Dresden Dolls duo, taken from the self-titled debut album The Dresden Dolls. It was produced by Martin Bisi and released on December 13, 2004 by Roadrunner Records. "Coin-Operated Boy" was written by Amanda Palmer...
" at number 12. In 2003 they were crowned the winners of Boston's long-running
WBCN Rock & Roll RumbleThe WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble, begun in 1979, is a Greater Boston "battle of the bands" competition co-sponsored by WBCN-FM and its local music show Boston Emissions....
.
On 6 October 2005, The Dresden Dolls were interviewed by the subject of one of their songs,
Christopher LydonChristopher Lydon is an American media personality and author. He is best known for being the original host of The Connection, produced by WBUR and syndicated to other NPR stations.-Background:...
, on the radio show Open Source.
Tours, festivals, books, and theater
In March 2005, the duo supported
Nine Inch NailsNine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
on tour. On June 5, The Dresden Dolls hosted a free concert at the
Paradise Rock ClubThe Paradise Rock Club, formerly known as the Paradise Theater, is a small music venue in Boston, Massachusetts which opened on September 22, 1977...
in Boston. When a
power outageA power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
unexpectedly delayed their performance, city streets became a temporary stage for some of the many performers (living statues, stilt-walkers, and fire-breathers) who had come from across the world to entertain audiences. The entire event—concert and street performances—was filmed and the resulting DVD,
Live: In Paradise, was released in Europe on October 10 2005 and in North America on November 22, shortly after the band's fall 2005 tour.
The Dresden Dolls' second studio album,
Yes, Virginia..., was released on April 18, 2006.
Over the summer of that year, the duo performed at
South by SouthwestSouth by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
, Bonnaroo, Britain's
Reading and Leeds FestivalsThe Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
, and
LollapaloozaLollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
, in addition to touring with
Panic! at the DiscoPanic! at the Disco is an American alternative rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. Since its split, the band's line-up includes Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith . Former members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the group in 2009...
as their
opening actAn opening act or warm-up act is an entertainer or entertainment act that performs at a concert before the featured entertainer...
. During the support tour, the band presented "Fuck the Back Row—A Night of Celluloid Vaudeville". The events consisted of screenings of short films from friends and fans, performances by local artists, and a solo show by Palmer who performed mostly cover songs inspired from film soundtracks.
In June 2006,
The Dresden Dolls CompanionThe Dresden Dolls Companion is a songbook by American musical duo The Dresden Dolls which was released in July 2006. It contains sheet music from the band's debut record, The Dresden Dolls, and insight into the songwriting, song-meanings, and process by which the record was prepared and recorded,...
was released by Amanda Palmer. The book contains a history of the band and their first album—
The Dresden DollsThe Dresden Dolls is the self-titled debut studio album by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls. It was recorded by Brooklyn producer Martin Bisi and released on 26 September 2003 on 8ft. Records, the band's personal label. Upon signing with Roadrunner Records, the album was re-released on...
—as well as a partial autobiography. The book also contains the lyrics,
sheet musicSheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
, and notes on each song on the album, as well as a DVD featuring a 20-minute interview with Palmer about the origins of the band and the first LP. The interview was conducted by a friend while Palmer compiled the artwork for the first LP.
On 16 August, the East Providence Community Theatre in
East Providence, Rhode IslandEast Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,037 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state.-Geography:East Providence is located at ....
premiered a full-length, fan-written
jukebox musicalA jukebox musical is a stage or film musical that uses previously released popular songs as its musical score. Usually the songs have in common a connection with a particular popular musician or group — either because they were written by, or for, the artists in question, or were at least...
,
The Clockwork Waltz, featuring songs from The Dresden Dolls' three albums. The show was encouraged by the band and their management.
In December 2006 and January 2007, the music of The Dresden Dolls was featured in an original production—
The Onion CellarThe Onion Cellar is a play that premiered at the Zero Arrow Theater , in Cambridge, Massachusetts from December 9, 2006 to January 13, 2007. It is a cross between a musical, cabaret show, rock concert and drama. It was the brain child of Amanda Palmer who based the title of the production on a...
—at the
American Repertory TheatreThe American Repertory Theater is a professional not-for-profit theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to neglected works of the past; and to established classical texts...
's Zero Arrow Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The play is co-authored by Amanda Palmer, from her original concept.
On January 14, 2007, the duo took a temporary hiatus. Palmer worked on her
solo albumA solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
,
Who Killed Amanda PalmerWho Killed Amanda Palmer is the first solo album by American musical artist Amanda Palmer.The album was largely recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, with collaborator Ben Folds and was released on Roadrunner Records...
, while Brian Viglione toured with Boston-based
HUMANWINEH.U.M.A.N.W.I.N.E. is a band based out of Boston, Massachusetts. Their name is an acronym of the phrase, "Humans Underground Making Anagrams Nightly While Imperial Not-Mes Enslave". This is a reference to the subtly-coded lyrics that comprise most of their songs...
and other local Boston acts, along with touring with
Jesse MalinJesse Malin is a rock musician. He has played with Heart Attack and D Generation. He is currently a solo recording artist.-Biography:...
and offering drum clinics.
In June 2007, they joined the True Colors Tour 2007, including their debut in New York City's
Radio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
and their first review in the
New York Times.
On July 10, 2007, the DVD,
Live at the RoundhouseLive at the Roundhouse is a live concert DVD by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls.On November 3 and 4, 2006, The Dresden Dolls performed at London's recently restored Roundhouse venue...
, was released in the U.S.
From December 27, 2007 to January 13, 2008, their Winter Tour started at the
Sixth & I Historic SynagogueThe Sixth & I Historic Synagogue is a non-denominational, non-membership, non-traditional Jewish synagogue located at the corner of Sixth Street and I Street, NW in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the city...
in Washington, DC, and ending at
The NorvaThe NorVa is a performing theatre located in Norfolk, Virginia. The NorVa's name consists of an abbreviation relating to its location.The NorVa was the brainchild of local music venue entrepreneurs Bill Reid and Rick Mersel, who have also developed the NTelos Wireless Pavilion and have ties to the...
in
Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
.
On January 15, 2008, they entered the studio to record new material for their fourth album,
No, Virginia...No, Virginia... is the second compilation album by American dark cabaret band The Dresden Dolls. It was released in Europe on May 19, 2008 and North America on May 20, 2008. A special edition was released in the U.S. via the iTunes Store and Amazon.com's MP3 service on June 10, 2008...
Released on May 20, 2008, it is a collection of B-sides and rarities, along with new recordings of old favorites and cover songs that were previously only available as live versions. The album spawned the single, "
Night Reconnaissance"Night Reconnaissance" is a song by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls. It was released as the only single from their album No, Virginia....- Theme :...
".
July 2008 saw the release of the second Dresden Dolls book, the
Virginia Companion. It is a follow-up to the
Dresden Dolls Companion, featuring the music and lyrics from the
Yes, Virginia... and
No, Virginia...No, Virginia... is the second compilation album by American dark cabaret band The Dresden Dolls. It was released in Europe on May 19, 2008 and North America on May 20, 2008. A special edition was released in the U.S. via the iTunes Store and Amazon.com's MP3 service on June 10, 2008...
albums.
Hiatus
In September 2008, rumors began to circulate about the future of the whole band. Viglione confirmed that the band is currently on hiatus but emphasized that he and Palmer are on good terms and that they will get together again when it feels right for both of them. In late July and early August 2009, a rumor began to spread that the band was "reuniting for performances in 2010" but Palmer clarified in her blog on August 7: "There's been a ton of press lately re-printing an old quote from an old interview that's now blown up into a full-fledged press rumour that Brian and I have planned Dresden Dolls' shows for 2010. Not true. We aren't planning any shows. Sorry about that, blame the gossip whores."
2010 reunion tour
In 2010, a reunion tour to selected venues in the United States occurred. It started on Halloween in New York City and ended in San Francisco on New Years Eve.
2012 tour
In late 2011, the Dresden Dolls announced a show in Mexico City on December 9, as well as a tour of New Zealand and Australia in early 2012.
Discography
Studio albums
- The Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls is the self-titled debut studio album by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls. It was recorded by Brooklyn producer Martin Bisi and released on 26 September 2003 on 8ft. Records, the band's personal label. Upon signing with Roadrunner Records, the album was re-released on...
(2003)
- Yes, Virginia... (2006) (#42 US
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, #41 AUTAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, #138 FRAThe Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...
, #105 UKThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
)
Musical style
The Dresden Dolls are arguably the most commercially successful
dark cabaretDark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risqué German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s...
band, bringing more mainstream attention to the still fairly underground genre. Their piano-driven rock music, incorporated into
alternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
song structures with piano replacing the
rhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, has seen them fall into the
piano rockPiano rock, sometimes referred to as piano pop, is a style of popular music that is based around the piano—and sometimes piano-related instruments such as keyboards–with piano typically replacing rhythm guitar as the rhythm instrument...
genre.
Awards and honors
- 2005 - WFNX
WFNX is a New England commercial alternative rock radio station. The station began broadcasting on Monday, April 11, 1983. It was one of the first American commercial stations to play alternative rock and has become a leading radio station for breaking new alternative music.WFNX broadcasts on 101.7...
/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll, Best Local Act and Best Local Album.
See also
- Dark cabaret
Dark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risqué German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s...
and List of dark cabaret artists
- Evelyn Evelyn
Evelyn Evelyn are a musical duo formed by Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley. According to the fictional backstory described by Palmer and Webley, the duo consists of conjoined twin sisters , Evelyn and Evelyn Neville, who were discovered in 2007 by Palmer and Webley...
- Black Tape for a Blue Girl
Black Tape for a Blue Girl is an American Dark Wave band formed in 1986 by Projekt Records' founder Sam Rosenthal. Their music takes on elements of dark cabaret, Dark Wave, ethereal, ambient and neoclassical music. Director David Lynch...
- Vermillion Lies
External links
including lyrics and downloads