Brody Dalle

Brody Dalle (born Bree Joanna Alice Robinson; 1 January 1979) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician.[1] She began playing music in her adolescence and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18, where she founded the punk rock band the Distillers. The group released three albums before disbanding in 2006. She began another project, Spinnerette, which released an eponymous album in 2009. In 2014, she released Diploid Love, her first album under her solo name.

Brody Dalle
Dalle performing in August 2009
Background information
Birth nameBree Joanna Alice Robinson
Born (1979-01-01) 1 January 1979
Melbourne, Australia
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass guitar
  • keyboards
Years active1993–present
Labels
Associated acts

Early life

Brody Dalle was born Bree Joanna Alice Robinson in Melbourne on 1 January 1979.[2] She was raised in the Fitzroy and Northcote suburbs of Melbourne.[3] Her father, who was violent and abusive, left their family when she was young. Her parents later married other people; through her father's second marriage, she is the older half-sister of actress Morgana Robinson.[4] She did not have much contact with Robinson until the two met backstage after a Distillers show in 2004, where Robinson revealed that their father now lives "in Leeds or some shit".[5] Dalle was sexually abused as a child,[6] spending much of her teenage years in court cases surrounding the abuse.[6] She began training to be an Olympic swimmer as a teenager.[7] She attended and was expelled from two Catholic high schools in Melbourne before dropping out.[8] She also experimented with drugs and later said, "I was never a junkie, I was never shoeless and selling my mom's car to a Gypsy. I just experimented, like everyone else."[8]

Career

1993–2006: Early projects and the Distillers

Dalle was intrigued by Cyndi Lauper and the Beatles as a child.[9] At age 12, she discovered bands such as Nirvana,[10] and cited Courtney Love and her band Hole (as well as other female-led punk groups such as Babes in Toyland and Bikini Kill) as early influences.[3] Her musical career began at 13 years old, starting with guitar.[11] She participated in Rock 'n' Roll High School (RnRHS), a Melbourne feminist collective started by Stephanie Bourke.[12] She became interested in Black Flag, Discharge, and Flipper.[12] In 1995, a few days before her 17th birthday, her first band, Sourpuss, played a set at Australia's Summersault Festival where she met Tim Armstrong, frontman of punk rock band Rancid. The two pursued a relationship and were engaged in 1997, shortly after Dalle turned 18. She moved with Armstrong from Melbourne to Los Angeles and there founded The Distillers.

The Distillers released their eponymous debut album in 2000, receiving acclaim and comparisons to Hole, with Dalle often compared to Courtney Love[13] and later to PJ Harvey.[14] By the recording of their second album, Sing Sing Death House, the band had a new line-up and by the time of their third album Coral Fang, Dalle was then the only remaining original member. The album was well-received,[15] and the band experienced success with several singles from the album and performed at Lollapalooza.[16] In 2001, Dalle also made a cameo in New Found Glory's music video "My Friends Over You" with then-husband Tim Armstrong, as well as Travis Barker and Rob Aston.

2007–2011: Spinnerette and later work

Burned out and tired of one another following a grueling two-year tour, the Distillers broke up in 2005.[17] Dalle began work on a new project called Spinnerette with Alain Johannes of Eleven. On 11 December 2008, the band released their first EP entitled Ghetto Love, with an accompanying video directed by Liam Lynch. A full-length album was released 17 June 2009.[18]

Dalle has also played on tracks for the band Eagles of Death Metal under various monikers and appeared on the song "Weigh on My Mind" on the Transplants' debut album in 2002. She has also made vocal appearances on Queens of the Stone Age's "You Got a Killer Scene There, Man" on their 2005 album Lullabies to Paralyze and also an appearance on Leftöver Crack's song "Muppet N.A.M.B.L.A" from their 2004 album Rock The 40 Oz: Reloaded. In 2009, she made an appearance in the same song as her husband, Josh Homme, on "Bargain Healers" from the French artist Nosfell on his self-titled album. In 2011, Brody Dalle was featured on a Boots Electric song called "Boots Electric Theme."

2012–2015: Solo work
Dalle playing at the 2014 Highfield Festival in Germany

At the beginning of 2012, Brody Dalle abandoned her long-term black hair in favour of blonde hair, which is her natural hair color. In November 2012, Dalle announced on Twitter that she was working on a solo album, featuring Alain Johannes and Michael Shuman of Queens of the Stone Age and Shirley Manson of Garbage.

In November 2013, Dalle announced that she had signed to Caroline Records, a division of Universal Music Group, with the intention of releasing her debut solo album in early 2014.[19] The album was produced by Alain Johannes, and features guest appearances from Shirley Manson of Garbage, Nick Valensi of the Strokes, and Warpaint's Emily Kokal. Dalle supported Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age on their Australia/New Zealand tour in March 2014 to promote the album.

In February 2014, Dalle released the first single from her debut solo album, Diploid Love, which would be released on 28 April 2014. The single, "Meet The Foetus / Oh The Joy", featured backing vocals by Shirley Manson of Garbage and Emily Kokal of Warpaint.[20] The second single from the album, "Don't Mess With Me", was used in the soundtrack of the Square Enix game Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

2018–present: The Distillers reunion

In January 2018, Dalle shared links from her Twitter account to a newly made Twitter account for The Distillers, as well as a previously established/archival Instagram account for the band. A teaser video was put up across all platforms, confirming the return of the band.[21]

Personal life

In 1995, at the age of 16, Dalle met 30-year-old Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong when both of their bands played at Summersault. She was with the band Sourpuss at the time.[6] She moved to Los Angeles in 1997 to be with Armstrong, and they married later that year.[7] They went through a bitter divorce in 2003, and Rancid's 2003 album Indestructible featured songs such as "Fall Back Down" that dealt with the divorce and Armstrong's feelings towards it. Dalle has said that Armstrong was very controlling of her and that it took her three years to leave him. When she finally did, he and his friends criticized Dalle in the press, and she claims he threatened the male members of the Distillers and blacklisted anyone associated with them.[17] After her divorce, Dalle reverted to using the surname of her favourite actress, Béatrice Dalle.[22]

During her separation from Armstrong, Dalle reconnected with Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, having previously met him at Lollapalooza in 1996 when he was 23 and she was 17; she was still dating Armstrong at the time. The two began dating, which led to a backlash from Armstrong and his fans.[23] Homme claimed to have received multiple death threats from Armstrong.[24] Dalle married Homme on December 3, 2005.[25] They have a daughter named Camille Harley Joan Homme (born January 17, 2006) and two sons named Orrin Ryder Homme (born August 12, 2011) and Wolf Dillon Reece Homme (born February 13, 2016).[26] Dalle filed for legal separation in November 2019 and divorce a month later, citing Homme's alcoholism and drug abuse; he subsequently entered rehab, but over the following months, he and Dalle accused each other of domestic violence and had restraining orders filed.[27]

Discography

Sourpuss
  • Sourpuss (EP) (1995)
  • Tabouli (EP) (1996)

The Distillers

Spinnerette

Solo

Guest appearances

References
  1. "Spinnerette | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace.com. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  2. Diehl 2007, p. 92.
  3. Pinnegar, Shane. "Interview: Brody Dalle - April 2014". 100 Percent Rock. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  4. "Brody Dalle". Askmen.com. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  5. "Brody Dalle: the return of tough, surly female singers". New Statesman. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  6. Andrews, Charlotte Richardson (14 April 2014). "Brody Dalle interview: 'I'm not going to be held down'". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. Admin (11 November 2009). "Brody Dalle Shares Her Highs And Lows". Clash Music. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  8. Sullivan, Caroline (11 March 2004). "Scare tactic". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. Diehl 2007, p. 93.
  10. Diehl 2007, pp. 93-94.
  11. "BrodyInterview". 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  12. Diehl 2007, p. 95.
  13. Sullivan, Caroline (11 March 2004). "Scare tactic". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  14. "Hey Ladies: Pop Stars Vs. Role Models : The Record". NPR. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  15. Aaron, Charles (January 2004). "Revival of the year". Spin: 68.
  16. "Lollapalooza '03". janesaddiction.org. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  17. Andrews, Charlotte Richardson (10 April 2014). "Brody Dalle interview: 'I'm not going to be held down'". Retrieved 8 July 2017 – via The Guardian.
  18. ""Brody Dalle Speaks on Spinnerette, Distillers" – Spin Magazine Online". Spin.com. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  19. Bychawski, Adam (17 November 2013). "Brody Dalle signs to Universal's Caroline company". Nme.com. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  20. Cooper, Leonie (25 April 2014). "Reviews - Brody Dalle - 'Diploid Love'". NME. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  21. Breihan, Tom. "The Distillers Are Back". Stereogum.com. Stereogum. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  22. Power, Ed (17 June 2014). "Brody Dalle Interview: Living Dalle". Hot Press. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  23. "Queens of the Stone Age: "You work first, then party later…"". Uncut.co.uk. Spring 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  24. "Josh Homme in Fight With Tim Armstrong Over Brody Dalle". contactmusic.com. 21 March 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  25. "#260:Josh Homme/Queens of the Stone Age". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  26. Gamp, Joe (17 February 2016). "Josh Homme and Brody Dalle announce birth of third child, Wolf". NME. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  27. "Queens of the Stone Age Singer Josh Homme Gets Restraining Order". Tmz.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.

Further reading
  • Diehl, Matt (2007). My So-Called Punk: Green Day, Fall Out Boy, the Distillers, Bad Religion—How Neo-Punk Stage-Dived into the Mainstream. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.