MYDOLLS – SATURDAY, 4/1 @ 3:00PM
“Mydolls’ music is imaginative, political postpunk
that stretches the boundaries of what
most people consider “punk” and also challenges the status quo.” Osa Atoe, Shotgun Seamstress
Artpunk pioneers Mydolls were a core part of Houston’s emerging and fecund early
1980’s new music scene. As such, they eschewed typical rock’n’roll cliches and aimed for a
more cerebral meld of slanted guitar, bass driven tuneage, frenetic poetry, and tribal stomp
meets Latin style drumming.
Since they didn’t know the musical rules of any particular genre, they were completely
unconventional. One of their early songs, “Breaking the Rules,” in fact, was inspired by the
idea of “How can you break rules if you don’t know them?” Founded in 1978, two things
have not changed: the same founding members remain in the band, and their politically
charged lyrics, first penned and released on CIA Records, are clearly just as relevant in
this new era of strife.
Early on, Mydolls played live alongside other members of the now legendary Texas punk
scene: Big Boys, The Dicks, Really Red (fellow CIA Records recording artists), MDC, the
Degenerates, and Butthole Surfers. In Houston, they supported seminal touring bands,
including Minor Threat, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and one of the best conceived band
pairings ever Mydolls opening for the Cramps.
A band excursion to London included an onair interview with John Peel and a meeting
with Houston expat and musical influence Mayo Thompson of Red Krayola. Their
international experience didn’t end there. Shortly after their return stateside, they were
featured in German director Wim Wenders’ iconic road movie, “Paris, Texas,” which won
the Palme d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.
Mydolls’ stateside tours took them to college towns and small alternative venues. In 1983,
they completed a Midwest tour dubbed “The Dead Armadillo Tour,” which included
shows in Ohio, Illinois, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri, and Michigan and a 1984
Midwest/East Coast jaunt, dubbed the “Go to Fish Tour,” stopped in New York,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Several of the live recordings on
Mydolls’ E.P. “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick” came from these tours.
In 2007, Grand Theft Audio released “A World of Her Own,” Mydolls’ complete anthology
CD, including two CDs and a 24page booklet of song lyrics, photos, flyers, and liner notes.
Houston music blog, The Skyline Network, remarked, “Listening to these tracks, it’s clear
that they accomplished the most important thing – making some great music that holds up
almost thirty years later. To everyone playing in bands today, we wish you equal success.”
In November, 2008, Mydolls reunited to play at the Noise and Smoke Festival in Houston,
Texas, and they have continued to play shows in Houston as well as regionally, including a
November 2012 wildly successful Island celebration show honoring the birthplace of punk
rock in Houston.
In August, 2013, Mydolls became one of only ten Houston artists to be inaugural inductees
into the newly established Houston Music Hall of Fame along with Geto Boys, Gene
Watson, La Mafia, and ZZ Top.
Recently, Mydolls traveled to California to play Fabulosa Festival and gigged in Oakland,
where they opened for the iconic year zero punks the Avengers. They have released their
new CD, “It’s Too Hot for Revolution,” a compilation of newly recorded and vintage works
remixed and mastered. This CD also includes the recently penned song, “Don’t Fucking
Die,” a song written for loved ones fighting the battle of cancer.
Mydolls are: Patricia “Trish” Herrera, Linda Younger, George Reyes and Dianna Ray.