Imagine my surprise when (about a year later) I actually took the time to listen to them and found them to be good….really good. I have since become a big fan of theirs and love the fact that they, in a way, proved me wrong.
Meet: Meredith, Urith, Gee and Sue; also known as Dormitory Effect. They are the Icons of Punk Unsigned Band of the Month for July and we could not be more happy or proud to have had them agree to this interview. We ask that you give this powerhouse of Metal a shot…they may just surprise you, too. - By Kristin - 7/08
Icons of Punk: Do you remember what or who made you realize that music was something that was a part of you?
Sue: I think I knew it instinctually from very early on that it was a part of me. Maybe the first confirmation of this came when I was around four years old. I was singing along with a children's album and my father passed outside my door. He couldn't tell which of the voices singing were recorded and which was mine. The fact that he could confuse me with professional singers was a huge source of validation. |
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Meredith: I was basically forced into playing an instrument in elementary school, Clarinet apparently was the instrument…yeah, I was fucking cool. So, I played that throughout Elementary and Junior High School; marching band and everything. I really wanted to learn the Saxophone. I learned to read music through that, so I guess I was sort of grateful. I finally said to my mother, listen, I want to play something a bit cooler than clarinet. At the time, I was into Guns N Roses; I wanted to play guitar, but I was told that was a boy instrument, so I took up keyboard/piano instead. I learned a bunch of songs I hated, and I distinctly remember learning ‘Love Bites’ by Def Leppard. Finally, after battling with my mother about how the Keyboard sucked and she was only wasting her hard earned dollars on the lessons and that I should learn guitar instead, she gave in; she bought me my first guitar, an Ibanez Roadster Series 2, at a flea market. My piano teacher was also my guitar teacher; he was the man…Dean Pascerella, if you are out there, contact me! But, back to the main question. I was always somewhat involved in music and my father…RIP Dad, was a jazz pianist and my mother sings karaoke, so I’m kinda going with, I had music in my blood from my Dad, not my mom. (laughs) |
Urith: I have always been surrounded by music, but I think the pivotal moment for me came at seven years old. My uncle is an electrical genius type. He took an entire section of our living room ceiling and put up these big, multi-colored lights. He had it set up to so that the different frequencies of the instruments had it own color. I noticed that when the deep purple lights went off, everything shook. He told me it was the bass. I wanted to play that so I can make things shake, too!
Gee: There really wasn't a specific person....except myself, maybe? I was sort of "guided" by an inner voice telling me to take this Saturday morning class called "Drums along the channel". I'll never forget it. I was eight years old and there were all these different classes offered on Saturday mornings at the local Middle School; Karate, Cooking, fucking knitting...I dunno. I looked at the list and said to my mom, I wanna do this drum thing.
| She tilted her head for a second in confusion and then said "OK"! I was the only girl in the class, which was my first "introduction" to being the minority gender in this field, at least at the time, and was handed a pair of sticks and this little square drum pad that couldn’t have been more than a 6" square. (laughs)I loved it! Of course, at that age, how serious can you take something? As I got older though, it was just my salvation and I was lucky enough to have a mother and father that were behind me. Nobody in my family was a musician so I'm not sure what happened! I wouldn't change it for the world though. |
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IOP: Who were some of your earliest influences?
Sue: As a child, my parents exposed me to stuff that sounds pretty tepid and "vanilla", like Broadway show tunes , Carole King , The Beach Boys and The Mamas & the Papas . But in its own way, these influences made a great impact. The latter two gave me a great love for vocal harmonies and made me look for harmonies in everything. Carole King is actually a great songwriter with incredible 'turn of phrase', and she had a huge influence on me, lyrically. |
| Meredith: I loved Pat Benatar back in the day. Men at Work, Heart…and I have seen Chicago over seven times in concert! Letter’s to Cleo were fun; I went through that girlie band stage. I also loved some funk stuff, Sly and the Family Stone, Al Green and you can’t forget Fishbone. I went through my Phish period, too…Frank Zappa. But that’s when I was a wee Meredith. I was heavily influenced by Aerosmith. I was in love with Steven Tyler at an early age and he’s still sexy at a hundred and five. I was into a lot of Rock/Metal music; Skid Row I couldn’t get enough of, either. Guns N Roses, Metallica, Whitesnake, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Dream Theater...basically anything that was insane or had a plethora of guitar-ness going on. To name a few more: Faith No More [because] Mike Patton is God, Spooge…if you haven’t heard of them, go find them! Snapcase, Alice in Chains, Pantera, NIN, Tori Amos, Maiden, Ozzy…I’m sure there are a ton of others I’ve forgotten! Urith: Bootsy Collins , John Paul Jones, Stanley Clarke, Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler, Cliff Burton. |
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Gee: Believe it or not, the first time I saw the Go-Go's and Joan Jett on MTV I said to myself, I wanna do that! I was about eight years old. When I got a little older my mom played me Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’ and it was over from there! Band wise, it's people like Janis Joplin, Zeppelin, early Metallica, Pantera, The Runaways and stuff like that...the list is endless. Drummer wise, from early till now it's John Bonham…he is my God! Gina Shock, Lars Ulrich before he started sucking, Vinnie Paul, Chris Adler, Neil Peart, Buddy Rich, Tommy Lee, Cindy Blackman, Tommy Aldridge, Carmine Appice and Joey Franco. |
IOP: What was the first album/tape/record that you can remember being blown away by?
Sue: I remember my brother playing Pink Floyd, ‘The Wall’ and having a very emotional reaction to it; I could hear it as he sang along. At some points I thought he was having a nervous breakdown. I loved it! I wanted to give someone a nervous breakdown!
Meredith: Wow, tape, what’s that? (laughs) Probably [most] blown away by Zappa. He is ridiculously insane. Anyone that listens to that and thinks it sucks must delete me from MySpace. |
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Urith: Led Zeppelin IV
Gee: Probably Master of Puppets. Granted, I was only ten years old, but I remember saying, Wow, how the hell do they play songs like that?
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IOP: What was the first album/tape/record that you remember purchasing for yourself?
Sue: My taste was a little schizo. I bought The B-52's and Def Leppard on the same day.
Meredith: I’d have to go with Guns N Roses...huge fan! As if you didn’t know by this point of the interview. Urith: Queen's ‘The Game’ Gee: I know I saved up my allowance and brought either ‘I love Rock and Roll’ by Joan Jett or ‘Beauty and the Beat’ by the Go-Go's. |
IOP: Currently, are there any bands or musicians that you turn to for inspiration?
Sue: Ok, so I'm still schizo. I might turn to Megadeth one day and Aimee Mann the next. Tori Amos is a pretty consistent influence.
Meredith: My band, pretty much. My drummer I have connected on such a different level, as far as any other drummer I’ve played with. My band gives me inspiration and it seems very easy to write with them. There aren’t any bands really that I’d say that I turn for inspiration, it’s really just a certain mood or a song that gets me in the mood to write. Usually, it’s circumstance as well. I can feel inspired by watching something sad and emotional on TV; I’m a sap like that. Urith: I try not to be too influenced by other bands; I want us to sound like us. But certain bands like, Pantera, Lamb of God, Meshuggah, Fear Factory, [they] get me hyped up which is good to hear before playing a show. |
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Gee: That depends on my mood. If I'm wanting to kick my ass into practicing my drums and bettering my ability as a drummer, I'll throw on crazy technical shit like Dream Theatre and Rush. Then go to awesome speed and precision drummers like Chris Adler and Dave Lombardo, and your basic in the pocket awesome people like Gina Shock and Kenny Arnoff.
IOP: As far as I know, you have all been in various other bands. Do you find more pros or cons in being in an all female band? |
Sue: Pros. There are ways that we understand and respect each other that that's different. There's things that guys can't understand about women that we already understand about each other that's totally unspoken. There are some pretty ignorant things we will never have to hear from each other, like "Whattsamatter, you on your period?"
Meredith: Men do not really take you seriously sometimes and, honestly, nor do women. It can honestly go either way. If you hear about an all female band you are either curious or just turn your head the other way. I have felt lately though, that a lot of people have been curious and given us a chance more than turning their heads, which I’m more than thankful for. |
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I think it’s finally our time to shine, and I mean us as far as women in Music and Metal. I think that people are becoming more open minded as far as females in Music, any genre. I do feel that years ago it was completely different. I am not sure exactly what has changed, but possibly that more women have become stronger and come forth with their music and decided to take over (laughs).
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Urith: Well, one 'pro' is that you do have an instant "gimmick". There may be more all-female bands in existence now, but it's still an anomaly. People are still curious about an all-female band, which brings me to the biggest 'con' - people expect you to suck. I very much enjoy showing people that we are the polar-opposite of suck and that we're not just good "for a bunch of girls" but that we're good, period, regardless our gender.
Gee: I've been in a few all female bands since I was about eighteen, and I've been in bands with guys, as well. No matter what, you're gonna have the group of girls who maybe are starting out playing an instrument or whatnot, that are going to support you or listen to you just because you're an all female band. It's like a girl power sort of thing…not to quote the Spice Girls or anything, which is fine. I, of course, support female bands and musicians because we've had a harder time being accepted in the Metal/Rock genres. I will say that as bitchy and emotional as us girls can be, guys still have those ego's that just get right under your skin. So, I've found that being in bands with females is actually a little easier, believe it or not. (laughs) I just like to surround myself and play with good musicians who are on the same page; leave those ego's at home man! |
IOP: It is widely known that females in this industry, as a whole, have a harder time being taken seriously. Has this generalized idea hindered anything for the band, in your opinion?
| Sue: I'm still waiting for the day that being female and being in a metal band doesn't create problems and hindrances. The fact that we are female will always mean that some asshole is saying that our ages are an issue, that our looks are an issue and other stupid unrelated factors could be considered an issue. For guys, there's almost never that same kind of vibe where people are actually looking for something to criticize. I wish we could rise the way Tool did, where most people didn't even know what they looked like because you never saw them in their videos. |
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Urith: We don't over sexualize ourselves. We do have fun with the fact that we're women, but we don't have to go the, "look how hot/cute/sexy/naked we are" route to get people to pay attention to us. We rehearse, we're promoting aggressively and we give 100% when we perform. When we're interviewed or people talk to us, we come across as funny, strong and intelligent. I think we've garnered a lot more respect that way - people know we don't have to rely on T&A to get ahead.
Meredith: I think that we have done okay, as far as trying to get shows and such. We do play a lot with our friends, so it’s very word of mouth lately. I don’t think we’ve been ignored because we are an all female band, but, then again, Urith takes a huge part in booking so maybe she hides that from us. She hides the rejection; she knows we’ll cry like little boys. (laughs)
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Gee: When I was younger and the Metal/Rock scene was different, it was definitely harder to be accepted seriously in an all female band. Nowadays it is a little easier, but you are always gonna have someone or a few someone’s looking at you setting up your gear or carrying in your gear and ask you “You’re playing tonight…Oh, you're in the band?" I find it humorous now, but back about ten or twelve years ago it was frustrating. It all comes with the territory though, and when I get up and do my thing behind my drums, hopefully my passion and love for my playing comes across. If that don’t work, then I'll just drink them under the table! |
IOP: You guys have been championed by quite a few notable names, including Jim Breuer. For those who have missed your showcase on his satellite program, can you tell us about that experience and how it came to be?
Sue: I was always a fan of Jim; he's a completely underrated stand up comedian and a great storyteller. When I got Sirius Satellite Radio , his show was, and still is, one of the shows I'd tune into every day. He talks about a lot of stuff I relate to and I started calling in to throw my two cents in on a lot of subjects, particularly Heavy Metal. One day, I called in when they were rating callers' Metal screams. I did my best Doro Pesch ( Warlock ) and they all freaked out. Later, one of his co-hosts, Larry, started running open mic nights. I sat in a few times and Larry started advocating for me in a big way. The next thing I knew, my whole band was on the show, performing. A few more times I came back and sang for various shows, including one where I sang ‘Run to the Hills’ as a duet with Jim! By the way, he has a great voice, which most people don't know.
| Meredith: It was incredible. I was super nervous...and had a few drinks on the show. (laughs) I really hope they ask us back soon! Guys? Soon...please? Jim Bruer was so fucking nice and, of course, his counter part as well. Plus, I gave him Funions Urith: It was an honor and a great experience. Everyone was very nice and it was great getting that kind of support from established industry people who don't have to do things like that! Gee: I was just so stoked to meet him and have the opportunity! He is definitely one of the nicest people I've ever met. And we got to give him the Funions, which was awesome. |
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IOP: Would you guys mind describing a bit of the writing process for Dormitory Effect?
Sue: Some songs are brought to the table with music and lyrics done, and then we flesh them out a little more. Other times, someone may have music and another of us has lyrics. There is no specific lyricist. All of us contribute on that level, although I am usually given a little leeway to tweak someone else's words a little.
Meredith: Right now we are heavily involved in writing new music for recording a new full length CD soon. Everyone has lyrics and music...usually, one person will bring something and we work around it. Everyone puts in their own flair, idea or signature.
Gee: Meredith and I also have been known to just get together and jam and have come up with some pretty good shit I must say. We'll then bring it to Urith and Sue and watch it come together.
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Urith: We were supposed to be a cover band, but Meredith had a few songs that her old band didn't want to use. We thought they were great so we started incorporating them and it snowballed from there. So it started out with her songs. Some had lyrics, some didn't, so Sue contributed lyrics to ‘Bide My Time’ and I wrote the lyrics to ‘Crawler’. Sue also wrote all of ‘What I Have Done’ which we began playing, as well. As for the newer songs the trend has been, someone brings in an entire song sometimes with lyrics, sometimes not. I think in the future it'll be more collaborative musically but, right now, we're so excited to get new music out there we don't really focus on who it’s from, as long as we can get it completed and out there. We've taken way too long to get new songs together. The new ones we have been playing so far, ‘Evacuation of His Soul’, ‘Hand That Feeds’ and ‘To Belong’, they’re going over great, and we have more coming! |
IOP: Do you plan on touring at all?
Meredith: Hell yeah, you paying? Let’s do this! (laughs) Gee: I'm ready...when are we leaving?
Sue: We do a lot of weekend stuff, usually something where we drive as far as we can get by Saturday night and then spend Sunday driving home. We don't enjoy driving more than six or seven hours, so aside from a couple of trips to Seattle and Toronto , we usually don't get much further than Virginia or Pennsylvania. |
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Urith: We have been discussing doing some 'weekend warrior' type stuff in New England and down South. It's expensive to do, say, a week-long tour because of gas and because unless people specifically come out to see you, you usually don't get any door money. This is why it's essential for people who want to support the band to buy merch - that's what helps fund the bands and gets them on the road or allows them the flexibility to do decent stints on the road without going totally broke.
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IOP: To date, what is your favorite show to have been a part of?
Sue: Seattle we played to a huge crowd and had a great reaction. I feel like we were really on-point and put on a good show. Overall, it was a lot of fun, except afterwards when some drunk girl trying way to hard to act like a lesbian grabbed my crotch. For the record, most actual lesbians have a lot more respect for themselves and others to pull something like that. |
Meredith: I can’t really say…Okay well, maybe the Canal Club in Virginia. We were made to feel at home; the Bullistic Boys made us feel comfortable. The venue was awesome, the people were awesome, the bands we played with were awesome and the staff was amazing…and drinks were cheap! Urith: I still think our CD Release party back in 2005 was the highlight for me. We worked so hard to put that show together and we played our asses off. We were cheered on by friends, fans and family - a very large very packed house. It was a great night and a great jump-off for us.
| Gee: With my Dormitory girls, it's a toss up for me between the Rockrgirl Conference show in 2005 and our CD Release party. I loved Seattle, the whole trip and experience was awesome; I wanna go back! The performance and the amount of support we got at our CD Release show at the infamous Ritual here on Long Island was truly unforgettable. I remember sitting behind my drums just before we started our set, looking out and just seeing a sea of people that were all our friends and family; it was just so overwhelming and an amazing feeling inside my belly that I’ll never forget! Even my singer, Sue, turns around to me on stage and just goes "Holy Shit!” with this sparkle look in her eyes. I think we all had fun that night and it was awesome. |
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IOP: As we get older, life starts throwing shit at us that we never even imagined. Personally, I have found that my love for music has grown enormously throughout these times. Do you have any specific moments in time where you have felt that music was one of, if not the only thing that got you through or increased your desire to play?
Sue: When I was a teenager, and I think this is true of a lot of people, music was probably the biggest thing to keep me from losing my mind. Music was and still is a great outlet for your frustrations. It's the best way in the world, for me anyway, to vent.
Urith: Oh yeah, like most of my life. (laughs) Through Grammar School I wasn't allowed out a lot, so playing bass and absorbing all kinds of music helped me get through some lonely times and really molded me as a musician. High School sucked for me, I hated it! Listening and playing music, getting into bands young, got me through that, as well. Thankfully, I no longer have such extended periods of suck, but music is still a vital part of my being. |
Meredith: I think music has helped me out a lot in my experiences. It keeps me sane and relaxed. I’m normally a pretty aggressive and angry person. (laughs) I’ve always had music to fall back upon, to make me feel proud of myself in some sort of way. I just always wanted to be good at something and when I feel like I am failing at things – it could be anything: relationships, friendships, family, work - I turn to music and it does make me feel better about myself. And, to add to this, I was cleaning my room one day and found a tape. I popped it in and it was my father’s voice saying, “Meredith this is for you”. My father passed when I was 10 and I hadn’t heard his voice in years. The tape was him playing piano and I’ll always treasure that tape. At that point when I heard his voice and his music, I pretty much knew I was going to play music forever and try to make him proud while he looks down upon me.
| Gee: Music, for me, is everything. I don’t get through anything without it, whether I'm actually playing the music with my bands, or by myself or just listening to it. I listen to music twenty three out of the twenty four hours in a day. I don’t know what I would do if my ability to actually play music was taken away; my soul would die, honestly. Life is absolutely crazy and I believe you're dealt only what you can deal with. Sometimes that’s hard to believe, but seriously, everything happens for a reason. We don't always know what the reason is right away, but it's there. By listening to music it helps. It helps to get you in a good mood if you're down, or it helps you mellow out or be pissed off or be happy or whatever the case is. It's a beautiful thing. Music equals life. |
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IOP: If you could host your own dream concert, who would you want on the bill? There are no rules so long as it’s not a three day festival…we could be here forever.
Sue: Us and whatever band Mike Patton is in. I would of course demand a duet with Mike and when it was over I'd run away without ever talking to him so I'd never really know if he's an asshole or not. Why ruin my fantasy?
Meredith: Easy! Faith No More, Pantera (resurrecting Dimebag), Metallica (no new shit), Slayer, Fishbone, 24-7 Spyz, Lacuna Coil, KORN (only old songs), Pearl Jam (only their first album) Alice in Chains (yes, we are resurrecting dead people now), Frank Zappa, Eryka Badu, Jill Scott, Rage Against the Machine, Skid Row, Guns N Roses (only stuff up until ‘Lies’), Queensryche (only ‘Operation Midcrime’), Fates Warning…I miss them! Tool, Meshuggah, Fear Factory, Puya, Candiria, Stained, Freddy Jones Band, Phish, Tori Amos, Soilwork, Type O Negative (old stuff) Anthrax (everything up to ‘Sound of White Noise’) Sevendust, Skunk Anansie, Sepultura, Kings X, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Whitesnake, Beyond the Embrace, Children of Bodom, Cannae, Spooge, Snapcase, Arsis, Between the Buried and Me, Mr. Bungle, Killswitch Engage, Dream Theater, 40 Below Summer, James Brown, Old Incubus (mostly ‘SCIENCE’ and ‘Fungus Amongus’) Stereo Mud, Life Of Agony, Dark New Day, Bjork, Arch Enemy, Old Megadeth…Okay, so it’s a three day festival, shoot me!
Urith: It would have to be a three day event. I love waaaaay too many bands! I'd have to have my own Fest, it's too hard to choose. (laughs)
Gee: I love questions with no rules. Okay, since I listen to everything, this is gonna be good and I'm gonna make people rise from the dead, too! I'm not gonna name all, but a select few would be: Lamb of God, Pantera, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Beth Hart, Melissa Etheridge, Aerosmith, The Go-Go's, Metallica (with Cliff), Pink, Ozzy Osbourne (with Randy), Motley Crue (back in the late 80's), Alice in Chains (with Layne) and Ani Difranco.
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