Lost Lockdown Interview Hello , My Name is Dorothy
DEL AMITRI
Over the years , Justin Currie seems to have survived the turbulent music industry on his shrewd wits alone . And he does not suffer any less street-savvy fools gladly . Take , for example , when the Del Amitri frontman was padding his income a few years ago , working part-time as a bartender in his native Glasgow . If he didn ’ t fancy the cut of your jabbery , self-absorbed jib while serving you , he had a subtly insidious way of letting you know . Nothing blatant and humiliating , he swears . But you got the message nonetheless . “ I wouldn ’ t spike their drinks or anything , but if I didn ’ t like people , I would give them three times the amount of alcohol in their cocktails than they were expecting ,” he snickers while calling to discuss his band ’ s thought-provoking new jangle fest Fatal Mistakes . “ So by the time they came back for their third one , they were basically unconscious — it was very satisfying . They got drunk so quickly because I was giving ‘ em so much booze that they just went home , which was great .” His other pintpulling secret ? “ If you ’ re in a band and you ’ re selling cocktails , give all the other musicians free cocktails so that when you ’ re looking for musicians yourself , they ’ ll work for you ,” he says . You had five jars of Guinness , gratis , during his shift last week ? “ Hey ! You owe me a guitar part !” he reckons .
Such vulpine cleverness could account for why this scrappy Scotsman has survived for nearly four decades in fickle showbiz , as both the anchor of Del Amitri — whose career kicked off with the 1995 hit “ Roll to Me ” — and as a solo performer with four folksy albums under his belt . Of course , a good deal of his perpetual appeal is his truly timeless , whiskey-seasoned warble , easily one of the best — and most instantly recognizable — voices in modern rock . And he sounds stronger and more R & B-assured than ever on Fatal Mistakes , which the bassist recorded in March of 2019 , pre-lockdown , in a concise three-week session with longtime Del Amitri guitarist Ian Harvie . An early single set the misanthropic stage — “ Close Your Eyes and Think of England ,” a solemn piano dirge set in a Dystopian post-Brexit Britain whose title ( a female reference to unwanted sexual advances ) works as a wicked double entendre . But on this seventh group set , Currie still has a way with a chiming , ebullient hook coupled with a conversely morose lyrical outlook that could make a thirteen-step trip up to the gallows feel fairly festive ; “ God doesn ’ t love you ,” he promises in “ Musicians and Beer ,” and the horizon just grows darker , in “ Lonely ,” “ I ’ m So Scared of Dying ,” “ Losing the Will to Die ,” and the climate-change-metaphorical “ All Hail Blind Love .” Is there a lot happening just beneath the serene surface of his sing-along songs ? “ Well , hopefully ,” he replies cagily . “ Bit hopefully , there ’ s not too much happening ON the surface !” Hey — we told you the guy was crafty !
IE : In the new song “ Otherwise ,” you sing about “ keeping the curtains drawn .” But there ’ s a family in my neighborhood that keeps their curtains open , blinds pulled up , 24 / 7 . I saw them in there around midnight the other night , obliviously folding clothes and sweeping . Your song kind of reminded me of how odd that was . JUSTIN CURRIE : I ’ m usually like that , with the curtains drawn . But it ’ s been a couple of years now , and I ’ ve still not replaced the blinds in my living room . And opposite my liv-
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You can blame it , indirectly , on Henry Ford and the assembly-line-enabled industrial revolution . But somewhere along the hurtling timeline of so-called progress , folks just stopped viewing miracles with any sense of wonder . One day we ’ re told , “ Here ’ s the Internet — you may now log on and have instant access to the entire world and all of its information .” And in response , we merely nod casually and step into this unfamiliar but truly magical new portal . As if it had always been there , just lying dormant , waiting to be stumbled upon . Dorothy Martin doesn ’ t like the insensitive way history has been going . And this fiery frontwoman for an eponymous blues-metal outfit Dorothy would like to help humanity reconnect with its lost appreciation for everyday miracles because she ’ s actually witnessed one . And it truly transformed her whole existence and paved the way for her band ’ s latest Gospel-cebratory album , the aptly-titled Gifts From the Holy Ghost .
Martin isn ’ t kidding . She is reverend-serious as she tells the tale — or fable , really — of one post-concert night in Philadelphia three years ago when she stepped onto the tour bus to find her longtime guitar tech not dying but actually dead of an apparent overdose . She could recognize the blue-tinged physical appearance of a corpse , she ’ s said , and she had no doubt — it was most likely far too late to save her friend . But she made an urgent plea to God , the Universe , whatever Higher Powers were out there for mercy , for the blood to start pumping through the man ’ s veins again . And miraculously — she thinks that ’ s the exact appropriate word for what occurred — he sputtered back to life , to the amazement of everyone present . “ And this is a horrific story , but I am so grateful to have had that experience ,” recalls Martin , still dumbfounded . “ Because from that day on , I was like , ‘ God is real , and there is nothing you can say that will change my mind .”
Even spookier , the rasp-throated belter adds , was the fact “ that I was praying the night before , ‘ God , if you ’ re out there and you can hear me , I need You to reveal Yourself .’ And then , the next day , this experience happened with my guitar tech . So I don ’ t believe that there are any coincidences in our Universe or accidents , and we ’ re all on a journey , so I was shown that for a reason . And that kinda planted the seed for the system of hope and inspiration that I wanted to put on this new album .” Missionary mission accomplished . “ Gifts ” opens with huge AC / DC guitars propelling the optimistic , stop-and-smell-the-roses lyrical message of “ Beautiful Life ,” then sweeps low into the Gothic swampiness of “ Rest in Peace ,” and chantalong chucka-chucka anthems like “ Hurricane ,” “ Black Sheep ,” “ Made to Die ,” and “ Top of the World .” Then the set pounds the pulpit a final on the closing title track , which succinctly summarizes the sermon you just heard . “ Let the spirit move ya !” Martin invites ( demands ?), and listeners really have no choice — the music is so powerchord-kinetic , in classic Dorothy style , simultaneously nodding to punk , pop , R & B , and classic arena rock , you can ’ t help but shout an affirmative ‘ Amen !’ Not that she ’ s started preaching from the Bible , Martin clarifies , but she has certainly gone through a conversion of sorts , which she outlines below .
IE : When this incident happened , did you make the usual bargain with God , like , " Save this mam , and I swear – I will NEVER sin again ?" DOROTHY MARTIN : Yes . First , I was completely convinced that there was a God , a Higher Power . And He ' s got different names , but they ' re all different names for the same thing -- the Creator . And we all look different , we all look and think different , but we ' re all here on this planet , and we all come from the same source , which is this creative intelligence that surpasses our understanding . But
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