Littering the landscape with pop gems
Bla bla with Gregg Dolan of Kissing Party
What’s the story behind your song “Real Real”?
As far as the song “Real Real” it's basically being in a dark place & trying to escape the endless cycle of f*cking yourself over, making bad decisions...“I'm not listening to me no more lalalala…” ( hands over the ears etc...)
why is 'real real' the song you like? I think you're the only one haha.
Nobody has EVER asked me why I pick a certain song of theirs - bunch of selfish turds, right? :) Thank you for asking. I like all the songs on the album, but I picked this one to kick off episode 12 of _____ mood. because it just feels damn good. I like the male/female vocals, I like the bass and drums, the energy - a kind of whiny temper tantrum (the guitar) that you indulge yourself in because you know you'll feel better after. And because I'm an old (49 going on 83), the bass and drums remind me of Mark Robinson/TeenBeat stuff from the 90s, but yours has a dirtier sound. I did a few years of college radio in the late 90s and as a result have a lot of bands that nobody ever really cared about burned into my slowly degrading memory. Sometimes a new band or song jogs a piece of my stale mind and then I'm like, 'this sounds like that band Silkworm back in 1997'... to which nobody responds because who cares? Nostalgia is kinda gross and creepy, I realize.
Btw your blog is so clean, it makes my brain feel smooth.
Yeah, the blog is like a creepy-clean basement where a crazy aunt keeps things that nobody knows she is interested in. I hope my niece isn’t reading this. If it made your brain feel smooth for a moment, shit, that's the best compliment I've received all year. Shouldn't I be charging for that kind of service???? Where have you been all my life, Gregg?
Ha! Thank You, I have been in Ohio.
I love the sound of the vocals in Kissing Party - who is part of the band?
Thank You, I ( Gregg ) sing and play guitar, Deirdre sings as well, I wish Deirdre was on the new album more but she was too busy watching reruns of Gilmore Girls. Also Joe plays guitar, Lee plays Bass & Shane bangs the drums.
How would you describe Kissing Party or the latest album to your friend's grandmother?
I’ve actually been in this scenario, I think I said it sounds like the Beatles but not as good, I've also told Moms we sound like the Bangles & The Go-Go's, I don't know why, we don't, it's just the easiest answer.
This makes a lot of sense, the mom part is a good strategy. Also, I can easily imagine Susanna Hoffs covering one of your songs.
You have self-designated as a 'slop pop' band, how would you summarize that and who or what else belongs to the slop pop canon?
Our music isn’t quite enough of anything to neatly fit into one genre, so I had to invent a whole new one, which encompasses everything. it’s just us that I know of, maybe Bleak Plaza or American Culture could be Slop Pop. I can't relate to people who set out to make a certain “kind” of music, like bands saying we are a ’Shoegaze’ band here is our Big Lots version of Loveless, that’s not art to me, & I don't like the idea of having to identify as just one thing, unless someone's Grammas asking.
lol...We don't have Big Lots in The Netherlands, but where I grew up in the US (New Hampshire) the equivalent is Job Lots.
New Hampshire to The Netherlands, that's quite a leap, what do you do there just to go to the Van Gogh Museum everyday?
Basically I swapped pine trees and cheddar for marijuana and Gouda.
You're based in Denver, CO - what's it got going for it there in terms of music right now?
I wouldn’t know, we rarely play out and I don’t really listen to new bands cuz I don't want them to influence what I’m doing, I also get overwhelmed by just the amount of new music that is out there, i tend to find one or two things and just listen to it on repeat. The DIY space/scene seems to be pretty healthy in Denver though.
I hear bits and pieces of a wide range of potential influences (90s indie pop, Pavement, The Smiths, Mazzy Star) none of which I would really have categorized as 'slop pop', which is interesting! Who and what are your main influences for the album Graceless?
Guilty as charged on the 90’s music but I'm not intentionally trying to make music that sounds like bands I like, I wouldn’t know how to anyway because I don’t even know the names of the chords, I’m sure some seeps in. I don’t understand the mentality of wanting to sound like another band though, I see bozo’s online that are like I have a pedal just like Kurt Cobains or this preset patch thingy sounds just like MBV & it’s like why the fuck would you want to try & recreate something someone's already perfected, do something original.
Where does Graceless fit in with your other releases in terms of themes, sounds or inspiration?
I think all our albums are pretty much the same song written over & over in a different way. I feel like I’m in the same emotional state as I was 8 or 18 or 28 and these songs just come out of life & are born when they are ready. Right now Graceless is my favorite album of ours but will probably be my 3rd favorite eventually.
Do you have any physical releases? Vinyl, cd, cassette or 8-track perhaps?
We still have boxes of vinyl In our practice space from the last time we thought people wanted to physically own a Kissing Party album haha, Ideally yes we would love to make all formats realistically we're broke. We will physically release some t-shirts in a couple weeks though, lmk your size ;)
Is there a story behind the album cover of Graceless?
I saw the photo on Instagram a couple years ago and knew it was the cover of the next album before any songs were even written. I bought the photo from the owner but no I don’t know anything about it so it’s a mystery to both of us.
What's coming up for Kissing Party in 2024?
We will continue to litter the landscape with pop gems
Last one…to follow up on your comment about "Real Real" - are bad decisions good for writing pop songs?
Haha I think they go hand in hand.
Thanks for making me laugh, Gregg. When the Kissing Party muscle shirts are ready, size small, please.