The Dollyrots

The Dollyrots are a legendary punk rock band formed in Florida in 2000. Despite an ever-changing line-up, they have always been based around the unassailable husband-and-wife team of Kelly Ogden (bass and vocals) and Luis Cabezas (guitar and vocals). They have released an incredible nine albums to date, the most recent being 2019’s Daydream Explosion, which was also one of their most successful, making the top ten of the US Billboard Heatseekers Chart. Their biggest single hits include the likes of ‘Brand New Key’, ‘Because I’m Awesome’, ‘Twist Me to the Left’, and a cover of Joan Jett’s ‘Bad Reputation’. They have also toured the world, supporting the likes of Bowling for Soup, The Buzzcocks, Paramore, and Shonen Knife.

Odgen and Cabezas have been friends since high school. Disillusioned by George W. Bush’s victory in the 2000 Presidential Elections, they decided to put their anger into forming a punk rock band, and so The Dollyrots were born. Within a couple of years, they’d decided to base themselves in Los Angeles, the home of America’s entertainment industry. In 2003, they got an unexpected break when they appeared in a commercial for Hewlett-Packard, performing a song from their self-released debut EP. This led to a publishing deal and the recording of their debut album, Eat My Heart Out. They self-released the album but it was soon picked up by the Panic Button label and given a major release.

In the 20 years since, The Dollyrots have become elder statespeople of the American punk scene, releasing an astonishing number of singles, albums, EPs, and covers, touring endlessly, and appearing in and on all kinds of television shows. Punk is definitely not dead.