May 22, 2015
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Them Heels is a self-described band of Glam Rock superheroes on a collective mission to bring a fresh and intoxicating breath of excitement, fun, spectacle, and creative liberation to the music they both record and perform live onstage.
Merging strong songwriting skills with killer harmonies and dynamic performances with impeccable style, Them Heels is also one of those rare and kinetic musical alliances possessing a passionate chemistry best understood and appreciated by dissecting the distinct talents of each member who fuels their creative flame.
Lead singer/lyricist Angela Dodge is a force of nature onstage, flanked by a dual-guitar attack of songwriter/vocalist Jess Deal and 6-string lead guitarist, Justin Edward. Rounding out the band is the rhythm section of “Jypsy” James Marcet on bass and John Ritter on drums.
Formed in 2023, this year Them Heels managed to beat out some stiff competition at the 39th Annual REVIEW Music Awards, securing peoples’ choice awards for the pivotal categories of Best Variety Band, Best Alternative Band, Best Original CD Release for their album PUMPED, along with Best Bass Player for bandmate James Marcet.
Recently, I had the pleasure to sit down with four of the group’s members for an in-depth chat about their individual musical backgrounds, how their respective paths converged to create this undeniably passionate musical alliance, and more importantly reflect upon what their goals for the future are as they continue to add a sense of spectacle, purpose, and unpredictability to the all-too-often mundane and mediocre metrics of contemporary rock ‘n roll.
REVIEW: To kick things off can each of you tell me how you first got interested in music, along with artists or influences that inspired you to pursue it professionally?
Angela Dodge: My Mom always said I was born with a microphone in my mouth and I remember singing all the time and doing impressions of Popeye and Gomer Pyle and Ed Sullivan growing up. I played piano for a bit, took tap, baton, and ballet and then got very interested in Theater and Drama Club, which comes in handy when moving around on stage and singing at the same time to engage your ears as well as your audience, which is one of the things I love about this band because we are a spectacle.
I raised my kids and went through a couple marriages and in my early 40s started my first band called No Regrets. We recorded a couple all-original CDs and I played in some cover bands and have written stories my whole life, along with lots of poetry. Now I take my poetry to Jess and ask, ‘Here - can we do something with this?’
My biggest influence is Jim Morrison. My Dad brought all The Doors records home from Vietnam - I was a military kid - and he brought back a lot of music in 1969. I became a Doors fanatic for life, but also like Prog Rock - bands like Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd and get a little weird with Gentle Giant and others, and now here I am doing what I love with my own band.
Jess Deal: My evolution goes back to when I lived in California where I was reborn. I spent some formative time in the studio and my first recording experience was at Master Control recording studio in Burbank. My friend was an engineer there and not only did I have a chance to record my own music there, but was able to hang out with Toad the Wet Sprocket and got to hear some of the first mixes from their album Dulcinea, which were influences that shaped my creative sensibilities.
Another influence that kind of shaped me was discovering the Dandy Warhols back in the early 1990s. I’d kind of forgotten about them for years but then realized they are one of those bands that continue to be vibrant and built their own core of fans independent of the whims of the record industry.
As a band, Them Heels were all drawn together through the genius of Justin Edward, which was a combination of chance and lightning in a slightly shattered bottle. We first came together around the end of 2022, and when we first came together some kind of chaotic energy fused together in a way that we all felt was special.
James Marcet: I was introduced to music through my parents and grew up on piano. My Mom was self-taught on piano and my Dad was a guitar guy who had his own music room. I remember when I was around the age of eleven and he caught me playing his 1970’s Les Paul. He knew I was old enough to destroy something, so he gave me this Sears Silvertone guitar, and the rest is history.
As to what drew me deeper into music and into this group, since then I’ve been ‘teaching at the bar’, so to speak, and doing my damn best not to be in five bands at once, but I want is to see people do more singing, so I formed this thing called Coach Jam, which is essentially a garage band recital where I’m teaching locals to play music and sing. I like to engage with experimental projects, so unknowingly for about 8 years now one student of mine - Coach James - and I are holding down this side project where people come in and play guitar and drums, and every four months or so we perform.
What brought me into Them Heels is hearing Jess performing his songs for years. I only had one project going and it was the right opportunity to get into the band, and I’ve always loved hearing his originals. Every song is so real and different. I let Angela and Jess do their thing with the originals, and suggest different things here and there. I grew up on piano and to me bass playing is intuitive. In terms of musical influences, these guys are my musical influence. I’ve known Angela for two decades and Jess is one of my favorite artists.
Justin Edward: I came up through the Foster care system so being a musician has been important to me my entire life. I started playing string instruments at the age of ten, first on cello and then guitar, and then moved on to playing lots of Punk Rock and Heavy Metal and Rock n Roll. As a young adult I started producing instrumentals for Rappers because none of them knew music but needed music to rap their words to. I went on to get a Bachelor’s degree in political science and a Master’s degree in Public Administration, but after that I got bit big time by the music bug.
REVIEW: So what was the process of the band coming together like and what were some of the pivotal musical goals that you set for the group?
Angela: I was taking guitar lessons from Justin and we were doing some political work together. He produced a video and I wrote the script involving a political puppet and a concession speech, and the next thing I know he’s posting on facebook, ‘Does anybody wanna start a band together?’ The minute I saw that I said, ‘I’m in’. As fate would have it, Jess responded to the same post.
Justin: Bemo’s Bar is right around the corner from my house, so I walk in and see this guy belting out all this Nirvana and Beatles and tell my girl, you’ won’t believe this dude I saw - so I was aware of both Jess and Angela’s talent and wanted to become involved the moment the opportunity opened.
Jess: My former group J.D. & the Salingers had run its course, and I was fortunate to find our drummer, John Ritter. We had a show booked for New Year’s 2023 and our former drummer up and quit Thanksgiving weekend, so we had a little more than a month to get the group ready to play and posted an ad, which luckily one person answered. In the ad I said, ‘No MAGA, please’ which isn’t political so much as we just don’t support it. We’re passionate people and part of that is focused on opposition to some ridiculousness, so I got a lot of snide comments, but one obviously intelligent person responded and we bonded quickly, so that’s how John got involved. Based on that initial connection he learned 39 songs in a month, including a handful of our originals.
REVIEW: In terms of the musical goals you’ve set for the band, what are some of the qualities you feel distinguish you from other Variety and Alternative groups out there?
Angela: I think the biggest factor is that we value the visual aspect of the musical experience. There’s a lot of really good original bands out there in this region and we were up against some pretty stiff competition, but I think the fact we were able to secure both Best Variety Band and Best Alternative Band says a lot about what we do in terms of writing strong originals and performing a wide range of familiar yet under-performed hit cover songs.
It’s like the yin and the yang and a perfect balance in focused anarchy. Imagine somebody coming to our show and listening to our cover of a great Stone Temple Pilots songs, and then going, ‘Holy crap, did I just hear this band doing I Got You. Babe by Sonny & Cher? We want people to wonder what’s coming next, plus we try to focus on songs that promote the strength of our harmonies.
Jess: I find it very gratifying to have both honors because it encapsulates how we pride ourselves on performing out of left field cover selections re-imagined in a way you wouldn’t expect - kind of like the Foo Fighters doing Drive Me Wild by Vanity 6.
REVIEW: Let’s talk about your award-winning original CD release ‘Pumped’, what are you striving for with your originals?
Angela: What we’re shooting for with our original songs is to convey all the Rock ‘n Roll feelings out there that range from kiss my ass to I’m in love but they hate me - you know, rock ‘n roll anguish and passion, because that’s how I live my life.
Jess: Angela has this outpouring of words and poems because she’s writing constantly. We wrote 12 songs in two weeks and have a bit of a backlog going on right now, but it’s interesting because her wording has a rhythmic quality infused into it, which makes it easy to feel a vibe from to create the right music and melody around. Once we have the framework of the song completed, we’ll take it to Justin next so he can add something that isn’t there yet, and then we get the backline involved, so our songwriting and recording in the studio is a very collaborative process.
REVIEW: What I love about your approach is the presentation, which reminds me of the days of Glam Rock and the New Romantics where you saw the blossoming of these androgynous artists like David Bowie, Roxy Music, the New York Dolls, and Alice Cooper adding different visual standards to the music as opposed to watching a bunch of guys in jeans and t-shirts playing on the stage.
Angela: Actually, you forgot to add Superheroes into the mix when it comes to stage apparel, but I agree with what you’re saying. There’s some amazing musicians out there wearing jeans and t-shirts, but for me I feel it needs to be an experience seeing a band. We may all live in the woods but you don’t need to look like it.
Jess: When you think about it, out of those artists you mentioned from the ‘70s that visual style evolved with groups like Poison and Cinderella in the ‘80s, and a lot of young bands are embracing the glam-style. Outside of this band I may be Jason Dean, but inside the band as Jess Deal it gives me the freedom to express myself openly in different ways that fuel my creativity.
We’re going to be doing a Dirty Thursday Summer residency at Bemo’s in Bay City the second Thursday of every month through September, so we’ll be glamming it up and stripping the band down, seeing as our bass player is booked and our drummer lives down south, so we also perform as a 3-piece outfit. We have regular gigs at Mi Element in Midland and get a great audience over there. The whole idea is to have fun with it. It gets pretty hot in the summer, so you never know what we’ll be wearing but you can be sure we’ll be stripped down.
REVIEW: Let’s talk about your award-winning CD ‘Pumped’ for a bit. How’s it been selling?
Jess: Not bad. It’s been on Sonic Coast and Z-93 a few times and the physical CDs are moving good and worth having. I know CD players are mostly only in old cars now, but what better place to listen to it than a car while you’re driving to a different destination. It’s a good representation of what we do.
As for the next CD, we have six songs recorded right now and close to 20 written. We’re limited by budget but have studio time booked with Andy Reed so will be going back into the studio this summer to knock out 2 songs per day - at least that’s the goal, so we’ll start with the strongest of the batch.
REVIEW: With such a collaborative creative focus and divergent personalities and backgrounds in the band, what’s the most challenging thing for the group at this juncture?
Jess: We all have strong personalities and need to always remember whenever differences arise, we can always hash things out in person. A band is like having a serious relationship with five people.
Angela: Everybody feels validated with these honors and strongly invested in the band, which I think comes through in both our music and performances. Our biggest challenge is getting butts in the seats, so the recognition is awesome because it shows we are building a base. We just did two nights in Detroit to a packed house that was amazing.
Justin: We pique a lot of curiosity when setting up for gigs and for me it isn’t challenging to be who you are and celebrate life and have fun. That’s what this group is all about - it’s not a job, it’s simply fun.
James: Everybody is who they are in this band and I love the authenticity because it resonates with audiences. People realize it’s genuine and I’m happy when others are happy.
REVIEW: To close out this interview, can each of you tell me the original tracks you’ve recorded thus far that are your favorites?
Angela: I’m a big fan of On the House. It’s fun to sing and I like the concept because it’s about death and rebirth and it’s my favorite song.
Jess: I like this new song, So Cold because it’s so delicate and ramps up in intensity halfway through the song. Emo Magnet is another new fave. I like to look at these chunks of development in our material. Hey Baby (Dig Them Heels) is one that I’m also fond of, because it was one of our first and it’s kind of our theme song. The last track on the record, Sick Place, sets the tone for what’s to come and I can’t wait to unleash the new stuff on the public.
James: I think Hey Baby is probably our best song; but honestly, I’ve never heard songwriters of this caliber, which is why I joined the group!
You can learn more about Them Heels by visiting their website at www.themheels.com along with their facebook page and listen to or purchase their award winning release ‘Pumped’ on all streaming sites and obtain physical CD copies at their shows.
They also have upcoming shows on June 14th at the Corunna Road Bar and on June 21st at White’s Bar.
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