Doll Riot: Brining Back the Riot Grrrl Sound
Photo taken by @jacklue on IG
Meet Doll Riot. This femme-fronted four-piece band makes punk/garage rock-type music and has become one of my favorite local bands due to their live performance and overall tightness when playing together. Doll Riot's most recent single, "Those Days," came out on March 24, 2023. If you are looking for music heavily inspired by bands like Hole, L7, and No Doubt, Doll Riot is the band for you! Let's get to know this band and learn about their origin, what inspires them, how they record their music, and what we can expect from them in the future.
Photo taken by @visuals.of.jess on IG
BAND MEMBERS' NAMES, WHAT EACH PERSON PLAYS, WHERE YOU ARE FROM, AND WHEN THE BAND ORIGINATED.
"Elena is the lead singer, London is the bass player, Ella is the guitarist, and Lillee is the drummer. We are from north county San Diego. The band started with Elena and Ella, and we later found London and Lillee, so officially, we were up and running in 2020."
TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE NAME "DOLL RIOT."
"Our original bass player thought of it, and we all liked it and stuck with it."
HOW DID YOUR BAND FORM? WERE THERE ANY CHALLENGES TO STARTING THE BAND?
"Ella and Elena took lessons from the same teacher, and we started a band with two other girls who eventually had to leave the band. Then we found London from a Craigslist ad and Lillee after meeting her at a show."
Photo taken by @phin.eas.j on IG
WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION FOR MOST OF THE SONGS YOU GUYS WRITE?
"Most of our songs are written out of anger and frustration. A lot of our songs also focus on feminism."
LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR MOST RECENT RELEASE, "THOSE DAYS," WHICH CAME OUT IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR. WHAT IS THE SONG ABOUT?
"'Those Days' is just about having a bad day where nothing is going well, and everything is boring."
WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS LIKE FOR THIS SINGLE?
"We recorded the instruments separately for two days, starting with drums. We also layered most of the guitar parts."
“Those Days” cover art done by Gianni Esparza
TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SAN DIEGO MUSIC SCENE. IS THERE ANYTHING THE SD SCENE EXCELS AT OR NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON, IN YOUR OPINION?
"The SD music scene is a lot of fun; we have a great community of bands we play with. We all look out for each other and love playing together. We always get fun crowds and a lot of diverse genres of music at shows."
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LIVE SHOW MEMORY AND WHY?
"My favorite memories are when the crowds know the lyrics to our songs and sing with them."
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO PLAY LIVE?
"My favorite song (Ella) to play is 'Those Days' because it's fast and fun to play on guitar."
WHAT CAN FANS EXPECT FROM DOLL RIOT IN THE FUTURE?
"We are writing many more songs and are about to record an album with our new music."
Photo taken by @alexx__25t ON IG
