The Dandy Warhols are turning 30 this year.
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And, yeah, that’s really hard to believe given just how fresh and innovative those early Dandy albums — especially the twin masterpieces of “…The Dandy Warhols Come Down” and “Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia” — still sound in 2024.
But, check the dates, and you’ll indeed find that the Portland, Oregon rock troupe came together in 1994 and released its full-length debut, “Dandys Rule OK,” one year later.
The group — which has consisted of vocalist-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor, guitarist Peter Holmstrom, keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Brent DeBoer since 1998 — would reach its commercial peak with “Thirteen Tales,” which featured the omnipresent alt-rock hit “Bohemian Like You.”
Since then, it’s continued to release quality albums, such as 2003’s “Welcome to the Monkey House” and 2016’s “Disortland,” nurturing a devoted following through steady touring and shows that are just brimming with radical coolness.
The group currently out on the road celebrating its milestone anniversary as well as the release of its most recent album, “Rockmaker,” which stands among the band’s better outings of the last 20 years.
I recently had the chance to catch up with Holmstrom — the Dandys’ dazzling lead guitarist – in advance of the band’s 30th anniversary tour hitting the Bay Area. The Dandy Warhols perform Dec. 6-7 at Bimbo’s in San Francisco. Showtime is 8 p.m. and tickets are $39.50. The group also performs three nights, Dec. 2-4, at the Moroccan Lounge in Los Angeles. See dandywarhols.com for ticketing details.
Q: Hi, Pete. I feel like I should get one thing out of the way up front and tell you that seeing the Dandy Warhols in concert is one of my main hobbies. In fact, I’ve counted and, if my numbers are correct, I’ve seen the band 53 times over the decades.
A: That’s an awful lot.
Q: Is that too many? Or is that not enough?
A: I don’t know. You tell me. I don’t think I have seen anybody that many times. But (David) Bowie would be close. But that’s because we went on tour with him. And I watched every single sound check as well.
Q: I was saving the Bowie questions for later, but since you brought the Thin White Duke up, I’ll go ahead and ask you what it was like being tour with such a legend?
A: It was an honor to be on tour with him. And it amazing to be able to see him every night – or every other night or whatever it was.
The interaction that we did have with him was great. His band was great. His crew? Not as much. And the guy running the kitchen definitely had it out for us.
And there were lots of rules, like we weren’t supposed to come into the venues until after, say, 5 p.m. or a certain time. So, a lot of times we were just stuck in these parking lots at these venues that were outside of town.
Q: All in Europe, right?
A: Yeah, Europe. There were like these hockey arenas and they were all outside of town — so there was nothing around them. So, we were just stuck in these parking lots. And then we were stuck in a back dressing room. It was a bit brutal.
Being a support band, you don’t get paid what you’re used to. So, we were doing our own shows every day off — for two months. It was pretty crazy.
Q: Sounds like it.
A: But I got to see Bowie almost every single night.
The sound checks were crazy fun, too. He would just do really interesting things – randomly. Like, I think it was in Zurich, he did “Ziggy Stardust” first as Elvis Presley, then Lou Reed and then Bob Dylan – just different voices. And he’s pretty good at mimicking people.
Q: The story I heard was that Bowie handpicked the Dandys to open that tour for him.
A: Absolutely. The first time we found out he was even aware of us was at Glastonbury in 2000 – which he headlined and we played on the same day on a different stage. After we got done, our tour manager told us that Bowie had brought his whole band over to watch us side stage.
Thank God he didn’t tell us beforehand. It would have been unnerving.
Then, like a month later, we were playing New York and Bowie brought his band to watch us. It was kind of cool.
Q: Are the Dandy Warhols a good opening act? I mean, would you want the Dandys to open for you if you were in a different band?
A: I don’t know. There is a lot of attitude that comes with us. But that’s the same for any band. I think that if we are playing with a good band — like a really good band — like the co-headline thing with the Black Angeles.
Q: Which I saw at the Fillmore last year – shows 51 and 52 for me. Both bands really sounded great on that co-bill.
A: It makes both of us better. (The Black Angels) are so good. We are not used to playing with somebody who is at our level and consistently good. It makes us have to be better, because you don’t want to be bad. You have to step your game up a bit.
And I think we would do that as a support band for somebody. We can be good.
Q: I remember the days when there would be a smoke break onstage and stuff like that. And, actually, I remember Courtney once remarking to me – and maybe he was joking – that the Dandys weren’t a good live band.
A: We were hit or miss, in the beginning – like everybody. There would be days where it would be absolutely terrible. I think a lot of it is self doubt – you think you are playing badly and you think the whole show is a disaster. So, him saying that meant that he had had a bad night.
Now, there’s a consistency that you don’t fall below. But it’s still all over the place.
Q: I like that. You guys are exciting. It’s not like the same thing every single night.
A: But it’s kind of the same. We haven’t changed the set up all that much in like 10 years.
Q: Setlists are tricky things. I’m sure there are songs you’d like to add, but then what are you going to leave out? I mean, you’re not going to skip “Bohemian Like You”?
A: Yeah, there are the ones that we have to play, because they are hits or live favorites. Then there are other ones we like to play and then there are the new songs we need to fit in. We kind of leave it to Zia.
Q: Oh, Zia does the setlists?
A: She took that over at some point. Just because of the DJing thing, it’s like she does have a sense of how things flow. And, honestly, I complain about (the setlists) all the time. But I would never want to do that.
Q: What would you like to see more of in the setlist?
A: I want to play more new songs. I always do. Or weird obscure ones – things new for us – just because I tend to get bored quicker than the rest of (the Dandys).
Q: Do you ever roll your eyes when you have to play “Bohemian Like You” for the zillionth time?
A: Not that one. That one’s always been fun to play. “Junkie”? Yeah. That one I’m just strumming chords. I think it is fun for them to sing, because the harmonies are cool. But for me playing it? It’s a little simple.
Q: “Bohemian Like You” and “Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth” are two of the Dandys biggest numbers. But what do you think are some of the hidden gems – the awesome deep cuts – in the band’s catalog?
A: I think “Sad Vacation” is a really cool track. “I Will Never Stop Loving You,” off the new record – I am incredibly proud of that one. “Catcher in the Rye,” as far as recorded versions, I think that’s another one that has got some magic.
Q: I think you are a phenomenal player — and your guitar work is certainly one of the main reasons why I keep turning to the Dandy Warhols. How important is that kind of personal recognition to you?
A: It’s certainly nice. But it’s not going to change anything for me. I still feel like I have got so much work to do that I will never stop trying to figure something new out. And I don’t care about playing fast. It’s more about being interesting and finding interesting things.
