The risk of putting out an album with deeply personal tracks, and then going on tour to support said album, is the exposure. Reviewers slice and dice the work, and writers ask questions that strangers wouldn’t dare to broach. Take Dum Dum Girls, for example. Band founder and songwriter Dee Dee (real name: Kristin Gundred) penned songs dealing with the death of her mother and the loneliness of being away from her husband for the band’s second album, “Only In Dreams,” which came out last month.
“It’s definitely a different beast to put out something so personal when you know it will be reviewed and critiqued and written off, or for some people it’s really special,” said Dee Dee, speaking from a tour stop in Boston. “I think that for me, I don’t weigh any of those things. I write what I’m compelled to write. For me, it’s been a struggle to grow a tougher skin, but that’s something that I think I’ve got a lot better at. I don’t really dwell on anything negative.”
| Onstage |
| Dum Dum Girls |
| With Crocodiles and Royal Baths |
| Where: Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW |
| When: 9 p.m. doors Saturday |
| Info: $15; blackcatdc.com |
Dum Dum Girls play the Black Cat on Saturday.
Dee Dee wrote the track “Hold Your Hand” to address the death of her mother from an illness last year. Dee Dee said tackling such subject matter helped.
“I think I was dealing with a lot of stuff as I was writing the songs and I wasn’t even fully cognizant of what was necessarily going on,” Dee Dee said. “Through writing the songs I definitely was able to have an outlet. Looking back, it’s almost been a year, I think I’m only now starting to process things. The music definitely has a lot to do with it. It’s a positive thing. If I hadn’t had that, I think it would have been a lot worse if I hadn’t been able to work through some things.”
Other songs tackled the long periods of time Dee Dee spent away from her husband Brandon Welchez. Welchez is with the band Crocodiles, and with both bands on the road, the pair, who have been married for four years, would spend just a day or two together a month.
It’s no coincidence that Crocodiles is on the current tour with Dum Dum Girls, which took some teeth pulling, according to Dee Dee.
Dum Dum Girls released their first album, “I Will Be,” in 2010, and toured extensively in support of the effort. The group draws from the likes of Patti Smith, the Runaways, the Pretenders and Mazzy Star. Sub Pop shortly signed the band, and now Dum Dum Girls has its second full-length under it’s belt in less than two years.
“I definitely was shocked when Sub Pop was interested in signing me,” Dee Dee said. “I’ve been playing in bands and wanting to do this for 10 years. It’s an amazing opportunity. I’ve failed for longer than I’ve had any sort of success.”
