The enchanting cabaret band known as The Dresden Dolls have carved their name into music’s heart, inviting those willing into their seductive world of punk meets performance art. The past few years have been appreciative of the Dolls and after a successful sophomore album, Yes Virginia, vocalist/keyboardist Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione released No, Virginia, an album of b-sides and extras to quell the rabid masses as Palmer finishes her solo album.

Beyond Race: So I’m sure all the fans are loving No, Virginia, I just wanted to know if you felt pressured to release something because it’s been two years since Yes, Virginia and if there are any plans for the next one?

Amanda Palmer: No, we felt no pressure at all in fact the whole thing was my idea. We had to kind of talk the label into it, but I don’t know. Our plans for our next record are kind of vague. I felt such a huge project coming up would be the solo record, and that’s gonna take out a significant chunk of time, probably a couple of years while I go out and properly promote it. But the general plan, when I get done with it we’ll start the next record.

BR: What made you choose “Pretty in Pink” as a cover song?

AP: That actually was because we were asked by this record label… [American Laundromat] were putting out a compilation called High School Reunion and asking a bunch of bands to pick songs from their favorite 80s soundtracks. Some people were doing songs from Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, Better off Dead and stuff like that – the whole John Hughes collection. And I love that soundtrack. The soundtrack to Pretty in Pink and Breakfast Club are like two of my staple record albums growing up. So I thought that that would be a really, really quick and easy one for the Dolls to cover. We were in the studio anyway working on the record and we just banged it out in one afternoon and sent it along. I never thought we’d use it after that but we really ended up liking it so we decided to throw it on the record.

BR: The song “Boston” blew me away and I just wanted to know if you could share what it means to you?

AP: Well I was going through a really rough relationship that was sort of at the tail end of itself around that time. It just was one of those things where we were both going a million miles per hour and trying really hard to stay present in the moment and appreciate the time that we had together. But it was really hard for both of us, I think. There were a lot of accusations in that relationship in particular about, you know, just… you know you’re not here you’re totally out to lunch, you’re just not paying attention to this moment. You’re stuck in tomorrow and you’re thinking about other things. That was sort of my summary of that particular problem.

BR: I read that “Mouse and The Model” is a song written when The Dolls were a four-piece. Why did you decide to keep Dresden Dolls a duo?

AP: It just made more sense. The shows that we played with the guitarist and the bassist… it was nice to have a full sound but it actually diffused the energy on stage because it was so obvious that it was about me and Brian. And then these two guys would come on stage and kind of add stuff, but it was so unnecessary that we were like you know, why bother? Why not just keep the band lean and mean and I don’t regret that decision for a minute, it was definitely the right way to go.

BR: Tell me about touring with Nine Inch Nails and how it affected you guys after that tour.

AP: The Nine Inch Nails tour was just another like wonderful staff and learning experience. Being around people who are that professional really gives you some insight into where you can go with your show. It was actually a really cool crowd we were terrified that they weren’t going to like us but we picked up a ton of fans from that tour who we still see out on the road all the time.

BR: Speaking of the fans, I know you guys like to get fans involved as much as possible. Can you tell me about Post-War Trade and how that started?

AP: Yeah Post War Trade started because people were making all sorts of things anyway and bringing them to shows. People were making clothes, making boxes, purses, artwork, and little things, objects, dolls, and stuff. The more and more I saw this I was like this is really incredible, these people are actually fantastic artists, how cool would it be if they could actually, you know, do a small signature line of the things they made and sell it back to the fans? I hatched the idea three or four years ago. And it’s just taken this long to actually organize it and get it together. It’s gonna be really, really cool. It’s not gonna be a for-profit demonstration. [laughs] We’re not gonna lose our shirts on it. It’s worth it because it’s such a cool way to… it’s one thing to have a contest to have your fans do a drawing and it’s another thing to actually give them work and really expose their art to other people. I’m really excited about it.

BR: Why is solo touring important for you and Brian?

AP: Well I mean… I can only speak for myself I can’t speak for Brian. I just think I have this sort of personality where I’m constantly doing and trying new things and I have a lot of freedom within this band. I mean, the band basically… It’s my songs. Brian follows my lead a lot of the time. But you know it’s still a democracy and we still have to make all the decisions together. And I just wanted to try out doing something where I was really calling all the shots. That on top of the fact that, you put any two human beings in a bus together for the better part of five years [laughs] and you’re going to want a break no matter how much you love them. And I think that Brian and I… Our relationship is so intense that people were telling us years ago, “You guys should just take a break from each other” and we were like “No, no, no, no! We gotta keep going. The band is still growing.” And we got to a point where we realized like, “Oh the band is always gonna keep growing, we can kill ourselves this way.” So, a little separation is pretty damn healthy, if you ask me, in any relationship.

BR: So how would you describe your relationship with Brian?

AP: Uh, to whom. [laughs] It depends who I’m talking to.

BR: Well from a fans point of view they think you guys are together…

AP: That’s a common misconception, Brian and I have actually- we’ve never been a couple. In the earlier days of the band we were sort of, you know, fooling around and having sex and stuff but we were never boyfriend-girlfriend. That was a serious no-no, but I’m really glad we stuck to for the sake of the band because that would have been a disaster. But you know, our relationship has been really, you know, concentrated and has evolved a lot over the years. And I sometimes describe us to people as – especially when we’re on tour – we’re basically a husband and wife who don’t have sex [laughs]. Or a brother and sister, who occasionally, you know, like, run around slapping each others asses in a way that’s not appropriate.

There’s a lot of ambiguity because we’re also both just really comfortable people, sexually, and you know like our tour has lots of fucking you know, don’t be surprised if you walk in the dressing room if we’re like jumping around on the couch naked throwing food at each other. Like we’re just total clowns, but part of our relationship is that it’s very… it’s very childlike. I have a lot of relationships in my life and some of them are very adult [laughs] and some of them are very kid. And my relationship with Brian is definitely one of the more fun, playful, childlike relationships. But it is what it is and we love that and we found the space where we need to be when we hang out with each other because if we go too far outside that we really fucking piss each other off and then we get in trouble. So yeah, so we keep things pretty light and fun when we tour and that’s the solution that we found that works.

BR: So tell me more about the solo record.

AP: I’ve been working on it for the better part of a year now. And it’s produced by Ben Folds. Yeah, and he and I sort of collided when he sent an email to the band just saying he was a fan and we started talking about how I was working on my solo record and he offered me his studio in Nashville to record it. And when I took him up on the offer he asked me if I already had a producer lined up and when I… you know would I consider him. I was like “Yeah! Are you kidding me?” So I spent the next couple of months flying back and forth between Boston and Nashville playing with Ben. And we started putting the record together when he had time and when I had time and it turned from what was going to be a very simple project into a real, mammoth, epic album with like strings all over it and synthesizers and percussion and choirs and, you name it. I think I really… I got this fever like, as soon as I realized I could go beyond drums and piano it was like [laughs] all bets were off. The album is just incredible. I can’t tell you how proud I am of it. And Ben is too. We’re really, really excited to put it out. It comes out in September.

BR: Does it sound more like the Dolls or is it different?

AP: It’s totally recognizable as me. I sound like me and I sing like me and I write songs like me. And I play piano like me, so all of those things are really, very recognizably Amanda. But Ben’s production and I think the maturity in my playing and in the… just the beauty that the string arrangements and the orchestrations added, to me it’s like Dresden Dolls plus, because I’ve just evolved as a recording artist and you can hear it in there. And I’m not afraid to take risks and pull back instead of being over the top all the time.

- Janine Rizak