Der Daniel ist Cool (Interview)

## Wisdom Teeth in Exchange For a Dried Up Chicken’s Leg

### Information

*\*\*This interview was translated from German. We apologize for any inaccuracies.*

Posted on: May 24, 2014

By: Der Daniel ist Cool

### Intro

The ways of the Internet but always inscrutable and often have some surprise in store. As you look again the iconic horror film, *It*, by Stephen King and think once again: "But you'd actually a band called Beverly Marsh found" chops with google fix the terms Beverly Marsh + band in the keyboard - to be to ascertain whether they not already someone else had come up with this bright idea - and comes across a 22-year-old Canadian, who a song of the same name at bandcamp has put online.

Although it is only a short song of about 1.5 minutes, the song thanks to the childlike voice of Nicole Dollanganger (named after the children of *Flowers in the Attic*) and the folky attitude combined with the estimated issue packed immediately. Since all releases of grew up in a small town in Ontario and living Dame are available for free, I've then same time gained the complete catalog and discover a world of peacefulness rarely heard. Even by the already soft singer / songwriter rail is again upped the ante a decent shovel resting here by the very subdued instrumentation and massive use of Hall effects. Artwork and slightly morbid lyrics are in stark contrast to and more reminiscent of artists from the Gothic area (because I think especially often to the girls of Switchblade Symphony). Reason enough to feel the girl with the already considerable following times on the proverbial tooth. Literally.

### Interview

**Der Daniel ist Cool**: Nicole, what do you do in your daily life (work/college...)?

**Nicole Dollanganger**: I dropped out of film school this year and have since been making a living off of music/merch sales and working part-time.

**DC**: Have there been any previous musical projects that you were involved in?

**ND**: No. I never thought music was a viable option for me due to my inexperience with instruments and songwriting in general.

**DC**: Judging from your superb Manson coversongs, your gothic-like art and lyrics, as well as, the look of your friends on those Tumblr photos, I presume that you’ve been into a lot more heavier stuff in the past. Do you still like that kind of music/scene, and why is it that your own music is so soft then?

**ND**: The stuff I make does not reflect the music I like and listen to whatsoever; partially because I just don’t have the ability or skill to create anything even remotely similar. For the most part I just try to do what I can and worry as little as possible about what kind of music that will be or what genre it subsequently will fall into. When I try to make something sound *like* anything else, it usually turns to shit.

**DC**: I like the combination of your soft music and the sometimes cruel lyrics. What keeps you going to write about those topics?

**ND**: I really don’t know

**DC**: You seem to be obsessed with teeth. You even collect them, right? How come? Reminds me a little of that *Blair Witch Project*...

**ND**: I have a lot of obsessions but I’m not sure teeth are one of them. I do collect teeth though. I guess I initially picked up the habit from all of those old victorian mourning lockets. Preserving someone’s hair as a way of immortalizing them resonated with me I guess. I feel the same about the hair I collect as I do with the teeth I collect. The other day I was hanging out with a cute boy and he gave me some of his wisdom teeth in exchange for a dried up chicken’s leg.

**DC**: You don’t seem to play live in front of a crowd very often, am I right? Why is that? Any plans to go on the road and do a little tour?

**ND**: I experience horrible stage fright, but beyond that, the shows my friends play and the shows I’ve been going for years do not cater towards the kind of music I play. So it was partially an opportunity thing as well. I recently played a show in Toronto though, and I’m hoping to start playing as many as I can from this point forward.

**DC**: When you do live shows, is it just you or do you bring friends of yours on stage as well? Ever thought of a "live-band" situation?

**ND**: For my previous show, one of my best friends and most admired musicians Brad Garcia came on stage with me and played the guitar. I was so nervous that he ended up doing what little talking there was. I think he was the one who introduced me, too. I didn’t say a word outside of singing. And yes, I’ve started writing songs with a few friends who accompany me and I’m trying to convince them to start playing shows with me.

**DC**: I also dig your artworks! Some of them remind me of the stuff that Jessicka Addams from Jack off Jill is doing. Are you familiar with the *Cotton Candy Machine*?

**ND**: I am not familiar with the *Cotton Candy Machine*, but I am definitely familiar with Jessicka. I grew up listening to Jack Off Jill and Scarling.

**DC**: There were some handmade CDs of Observatory Mansions. Any plans to offer physical copies of your other releases as well? Are you a fan of vinyl, tapes, CDs etc. or do you think that’s pointless nowadays?

**ND**: I’m a fan of anything physical when it comes to music. It’s special to hold something in your hands, as opposed to just having the MP3s. I had a limited number of cassettes made of Observatory Mansions, Ode To Dawn Wiener: Embarrassing Love Songs and Curdled Milk made – and will be selling them soon.

**DC**: As I mentioned previously, I discovered your music through your song Beverly Marsh. That song’s featured on the BabyLand EP. According to your bandcamp page the guitars were played by a guy named Brad Garcia (which you also mentioned previously in this interview). How are you two connected? Is he doing any music projects on his own? Are there any other local artists that you can recommend?

**ND**: Brad is one of my oldest and absolute best friends. He has several musical projects going on. He’s in Safe to Say, Iris, UFO; and he also creates stunning songs under his own name and likely has more hidden projects nobody knows about yet. I would recommend all of his music first. But there are a ton of other local musicians and good friends I would recommend, such as: Burnt Out, Exalt, Nihil, Daspatch, Altona, and Danielle Clark’s solo work.

**DC**: This may be a stupid question... but what made you shave your head? (Which suits you well by the way...) Hard decision? Did you keep your hair? Any regrets or Britney Spears comparisons you had to deal with? Are you going to keep this look for a while?

**ND**: My friends shaved my head for me because I was sick and my hair was falling out. So that made it a pretty easy and enjoyable decision. But I liked it so much I had pals keep shaving it for me for upwards to a year after. My hair is now just beyond my neck and I’m going to keep growing it back out to the length it was before, which was relatively long.

**DC**: You have gathered a lot of followers. Did you expect such a great reaction? Any bad experiences as well? I mean, the Internet can be very cruel from time to time...

**ND**: I absolutely did not, but Tumblr has consistently been introducing me to cool and wonderful friends and I’m really grateful for the platform it has provided music wise. I haven’t experienced much cruelty, but definitely some unpleasant weirdness here and there. I also have a hot temper so I’ve been trying to ease up a little with answering questions I find invasive or inappropriate. I can only think of one really bad interaction I’ve had (knock on wood) and it was a situation that got sorted out very quickly.

**DC**: Which of your songs means the most to you? Any favorites or are all of them equally important to you?

**ND**: I think my first few albums are pretty much write-offs, but the songs on Observatory Mansions are generally very important to me.

**DC**: There’s this great photo you posted on your FB page (*first photo above*). This place seems to spread a magic vibe! What can you tell about this spot?

**ND**: I’ve had the same best friend since Grade 1 (his name is Kevin), and this is the cemetery directly between both our houses, so it has always been the place where he and I meet up. We’ve spent a lot of time there collectively over the years. This is actually where we spent this past Christmas Eve together. It’s the only cemetery our town has and a lot of the graves date back beyond the 1900s. But kids we went to high school with are buried there. A little girl I knew who was killed by a dog is buried there. So it’s as sad as place it is, it's peaceful.

**DC**: What are your future plans with this particular project? Sky’s the limit or do you want to keep it small and underground? Any new releases in the making?

**ND**: I’m currently working on a new album that will be very, very different from my previous stuff. I’m also going to be working on some projects with a small record label named Yellow K Records!

You asked me some really wonderful and amazing questions. Hope my answers were adequate. Thank you again for interviewing me & giving me your time with this.

**DC**: Well, thank you, too, and you’re very welcome Nicole! Take care!