Plato wrote that “our need will be the real creator” in 375 BC, which was later loosely translated to mean “The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention” by Benjamin Jowett in 1892. For Los Angeles alternative band A Doll’s House, sacrifice was as much the mother of their debut studio album as necessity, because they walked away from their dream decades ago to pursue interests far removed from the bowels of the Sunset Strip. They had enough self-awareness to see that, while their talent was there, the timing just wasn’t right.
Fast-forward to 2024 and the release of “Annum” couldn’t have come at a better time. The guys are all successful outside of the industry, so their reason for getting back together was driven by nothing other than the collective love of music.
I caught up with guitarist Dav Petrunich recently to talk about the album and how gratifying it was to have had the opportunity to continue the story after all these years. Because he and his bandmates earned it the old-fashioned way, you know that they appreciate the finished product that much more.
MNOD: Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat. Why did it take you guys this long to put an album out?
Petrunich: Well, life got in the way. We were playing all of the clubs in LA back in the ’80s, but we kind of put the band on the shelf once we realized that the break wasn’t going to come. I think we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, so we cut our hair, grew up, and became professionals. Our drummer, Tony, was still in high school at the time, as well.
MNOD: How do you think you would have handled success had it come back then?
Petrunich: I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it as much. We’re extremely passionate about what we do as musicians, but there was no adult in the room back then when we could’ve used one. We took youth for granted. We have more maturity now, so I think having the album come together when we’re older has made all of us very grateful for the opportunity. We were a late ’80s garage band influenced by Jane’s Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins, and 311. Our sound now has retained some of that, but we picked up other influences along the way.
MNOD: How did Brian Wheat get involved?
Petrunich: I’m a veterinarian in my real life and I ended up treating Brian’s dogs about 10 or 15 years ago now. He has J Street Studios in Sacramento, so I called him up and he remembered that I had a band at one time. We ended up recording this album with Seth, Tony, and I in the same space while David Santos recorded his vocals in LA. The demos we had were pretty specific, but I had still had to let go of some guitar parts that didn’t serve the song as well. Brian would change certain things and suggest that we try something new, so he really helped us get the most out of our time. He’s a good listener and has a great ear to go along with all of his experience. Some parts of our demos were good, some weren’t, but, again, I think we’re all grateful for the maturity that time has provided us.
MNOD: You’ve been described as “chill rock.” What does that term mean to you?
Petrunich: I kind of like that term. I think it’s pretty accurate. I wrote a lot of stuff before A Doll’s House, so I really go in all different directions musically. As a guitar player, I’ve been influenced by The Beatles since I was in third grade. I had a book called The Complete Beatles that had all of the music transcribed. Then, there was Mick Taylor, who I loved as a player. His stuff with the Stones really impacted me and the live album ‘Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!’ was my favorite. I was also into Joy Division and other bands that brought different things to the table. The chill rock thing is OK with me. The fact that someone likes what we created is what really matters to us, because we knew we had unfinished business.
MNOD: How did the name A Doll’s House come about?
Petrunich: I remember playing a gig at the Troubadour and reading The Beatles Sessions book, which talked about how the original name for The White Album was A Doll’s House. There’s a history of bands using throwaways from other bands, so I took that and thought it sounded good.
MNOD: What about the possibility of live shows in the future?
Petrunich: I’d certainly like to, but our responsibilities outside of the band make that difficult. I’m a vet with kids and the other guys all have jobs and families of their own. If we could somehow find the time, it would be really fun. We do get together every now and then and perhaps a full tour would have been a blast in another time. We’re grateful for the opportunity to make an album without having a record contract, so it’s really a trade off. I want to say that I’m a little surprised at the reaction that this album has gotten, but I’m also not. We made the kind of music that we like to hear.
“Annum” is available now in all digital formats.
http://www.adollshouse.bandcamp.com
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