w/ Incubus and Sublime With Rome | 7:00pm | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 14141 Riverport Dr. | All ages | Tickets from $25
The Aquadolls—singer, guitarist, and founder Melissa Brooks, drummer Jacqueline Proctor, and bassist Keilah Nina—have a very ‘60s vibe reminiscent of The Honeys mixed with ‘90s alternative rock, the latter a perfect fit for their tourmates, Incubus and Sublime With Rome. The southern California trio’s harmonies are distractingly good, making you forget to listen to the lyrics, so you have to listen to the songs over and over to get all of the meat out of them. We spoke to Brooks right before the band comes to our fair, humid, oh-god-so-humid city.
The Arts STL: Where did the name Aquadolls come from?
Melissa Brooks: One of my friends from high school made it up and it comes from rock n’ roll mermaids.
I love this. How many of the band members have a rock n’ roll mermaid tattoo?
Not yet, but we’ll hopefully get that sorted out. We’re only a week or so into our tour so we’ll have to get that taken care of.
When were the Aquadolls born?
I was personally born in 1994 and started singing from grocery carts about a year and a half later to anyone who would listen. 2012 is when I started the band.
A decade – that’s so impressive! When was your “fuck it, I don’t wanna do it anymore” stage of the band?
We had a rough patch I kind of got my shit back together, but since then we’ve been the best we’ve ever been. Not everyone is always on the same page, and it’s hard to find people who want to do this lifestyle. It’s not easy, you don’t sleep a lot and it’s very stimulating. It’s hard to ask folks to do. It took me seven of those ten years to find Jackie and Keilah.
I’m so glad you kept at it. This is joy-based music. What do you want me to feel when I’m listening to your music?
It’s really all of our feelings rolled into our albums. Self-love, breakups, body image, and empowering songs, but also silly songs that are about fun stuff, pizza, and vomiting in people’s cars. Life in general has so many ups and downs and I feel like our music takes the same ride.
I’m so excited for the show because YOU – three women – are fronting for Sublime and Freaking Incubus. Please tell me how the fuck that happened?
Oh, our manager is amazing. He goes surfing with the guys from the bands. We got to meet Incubus backstage at Ohanafest and they were great. And then our manager called and said that he landed us the perfect gig, and he was right.
That’s the kind of thing that people dream about happening – how wonderful for you.
What is the song you’re proudest of writing and why?
Our new record is coming out in the fall, and we have a new single coming out called “Beachy,” but this is the first album that we’ve done as a trio and we really, truly put our entire heart and soul, our whole selves into the nine tracks on this album. They’re all brand new songs, focusing on body self-love and relationships with people, romantically or otherwise. It’s very ‘60s meets ‘90s, inspired by our first record and a piece of all of us is in it. We all wrote songs for it. It’s going to be called Charmed and have this mystical, fairytale energy around them.
This is so exciting for you. Remember to stay hydrated in St. Louis and be present in the moment. Don’t forget that this is such a big deal for you guys. Remember to own it. I’m so proud of you and I don’t even know you.
Have a good concert, AquaDolls. I’m delighted that you’re coming to our town. | Melissa Cynova
Aquadolls on tour with Incubus and Sublime With Rome
08.12 Bonner Springs, KS Azura Amphitheater
08.13 Maryland Heights, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis
08.14 Tinley Park, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago
08.16 Rogers, AR Walmart AMP
08.17 Dallas, TX Dos Equis Pavilion
08.19 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
08.20 Austin, TX Germania Insurance Amphitheater
08.22 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion
08.24 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
08.26 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
08.27 Irvine, CA FivePoint Amphitheatre
08.28 Chula Vista, CA North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
09.01 Ridgefield, WA RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
09.03 Bend, OR Hayden Homes Amphitheater
