The Dandy Warhols and their new album “Rockmaker”

The Dandy Warhols called their first album Dandy's Rule OK. That was a long time ago. The Dandys from Portland, Oregon were one of the coolest bands of the 90s. The quartet has never stopped making music and is hitting rock 'n' roll like the nail on the head with their new long-serving bassist. Dandy (silent) rule ok!? Yes they do.

Written by Eva Empower

“It's a manifestation of our desire to hear records of raw, heavy punk and metal guitar tones, but this has its own alley.”

Here's what Courtney Taylor Taylor of The Dandy Warhols (“Bohemian Like You”) says about new album “Rockmaker.” In fact, all you need is this sentence from Courtney about his band's new record. She's the 12th frontman of this psychedelic rock quartet from Portland, Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, but even in her mid-50s, Courtney Taylor Taylor still likes to put herself in the state that gave him that high feeling when he was… As a teenager, he recorded his first song sketches on a four-track recorder. Courtney and the four-track recorder were the beginning of the Dandy Warhols and a lifelong love of making music.

Hard, metallic guitar riffs were the starting point for almost every track on the new Dandy Warhols album, but then things always take a turn in their own direction, and just like Dandy Warhol-esque, the Dandys finally have their own “alley”, “their alley”. , as Courtney Taylor Taylor likes to describe it in interviews about the record.

One of the main tracks on “Rockmaker” is called “Danzig With Myself” and was created in collaboration with Black Francis aka Frank Black from the Pixies. Instead of “Dancing with Myself” he called it “Danzig with Myself”, a reference to American musician Glenn Danzig and his heavy rock band Danzig, who have been releasing music since the late 1980s and are famous for tracks such as “Dirty Black Summer”. “How to Kill Gods” or “Mother” is well known.

Least inspiring in “Danzig With Myself” are the Pixies – Frank Black's big alternative rock band – and their song “Debaser” from the band's second album, “Doolittle”, released in 1989. “Danzig With Myself” is a grunge song, and it has A groovy, slow groove, a psychedelic wall of sound, an excellent drum sound – from drummer Brent DeBoer – and a heavy bass sound – played of course by Dandy's keyboardist/bassist Zia McCabe.

Courtney Taylor Taylor: “It started with a song that sounded either like Misfits (=Glenn Danzig's first band) or Danzig and then it slowed down. As time went on, it became the working title, and then we couldn't change it. I mean come on… 'Danzig With Myself'” ?!” Courtney Taylor Taylor loves his puns, and so do we. The press release for this song released by the Dandy Warhols states that it is a track that is “subtly embellished like frayed jeans.” You can get there.

Lots of collaboration

But let's leave the comparisons behind and see who else is guesting on the Dandy Warhols' new rock-inspired record. “Rockmaker” features a collaboration with legendary Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, who can be heard on the Queens Of The Stone Age-esque song “I'd Like to Help You Solve Your Problem.”

Another great musician, Blondie's Debbie Harry, one of the most important women in rock history, lends her voice to “I'll Never Stop Loving You,” and “I'd Like to Help You…” gets backing vocals from James. Mercer from the American band The Shins. There are also other musicians on the album who play trumpet – on the song “Real People” – or piano, or sometimes enrich the song with strings, as happened in the piece with Debbie Harry.

“Sometimes we have a very focused idea of ​​what we want. It's generally what we want someone else to do, but since they never do it, we have to do it. It has a very specific sound.” There aren't a lot of heavy guitar recordings out there right now Which we love, so that was the motivation behind Rockmaker.” -Courtney Taylor – Taylor The Dandy Warhols

If no one's going to do it, then we have to, that's the motto of the Dandy Warhols, in fact always, and not just now with their 12th album.

Love hate

“Summer of Hate” is inspired by the clashes that took place in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 2021 – between American far-right and anti-fascist groups. The former organized what they called the “Summer of Love,” which certainly had nothing in common with the “peaceful love” of the hippie era, and even used brute force when confronted by a smaller group of counter-protesters. Additionally, Courtney Taylor Taylor of the Dandy Warhols was born in the summer of 1967, the summer of true love.

“The Summer Of Hate” was one of the previously released songs for the new Dandy Warhols album. Musically, this song is a real hit with a great rock vibe from T-Rex and also part of The Cramps – American punk rock from the 70s by husband and wife team Lux Interior and Poison Ivy. The Dandy Warhols leave no potential inspiration behind the “Rockmaker”. The Damned – an English punk band from the 1970s – is another band that The Dandy Warhols relied on for “The Summer Of Hate”.

30 years old, but not tired

Otherwise, in the new Dandy Warhols album, you can also hear influences from Depeche Mode, dark gothic industrial from bands like Revolting Cocks, etc. Name dropping can go on forever. But then The Dandy Warhols put it all into their blender. 30 years old and not a bit tired. Dandy base ok!? Yes they do.

Note: Zia McCabe has been a certified Dandy Warhol real estate agent for about six years and sells houses and condos in Portland, Oregon. She often supports first-time buyers and then explains to them that the first apartment they buy is usually modest, but the main thing is to start acquiring properties, says Diya Makkabi. At first she had difficulty with everyday office life, but because she loved numbers and loved dealing with people, Diya wanted to learn the work of a real estate agent. She is always allowed in the office to do work related to the band. Since Zia became a real estate agent, the Dandy family's finances have become much better, the band admits with a laugh, and Zia McCabe can still go on tour with the Dandy Warhols from time to time.