The Dip Mines Doo-Wop Flavors for ‘She Gave Me the Keys’: Premiere
By Gary Graff
Time and care were the key words for the brassy Seattle troupe The Dip as it worked on its upcoming sophomore album, The Dip Delivers — whose “She Gave Me the Keys” is premiering exclusively below.
“One of this things we tried to do with this whole record was take the time to record it ourselves,” drummer Jarred Katz tells Billboard, noting that guitarist Jacob Lundgren took the lead behind the board. The Dip has its own studio now, dubbed the Mustard Studio after the color of a couch found in the converted clothing store, and that’s also helped the group hunker down on recording the 10-song set.
“The first record we made we recorded in about three days in a studio in Seattle,” Katz says of The Dip’s self-titled 2015 debut. “It was fun but we felt the pressure and that studio clock ticking the whole time. Now we can kind of work at our own pace and experiment with sounds and not be rushed. It really makes a big difference.”
The shuffling, doo-wop flavored “She Gave Me the Keys” is a case in point, according to Katz. “Of all the tracks we recorded for the record, that one took the longest to nail down,” he says. “We did numerous takes of the song. For some reason each time we couldn’t quite get the sound or feel or couldn’t get the right accompaniment. So we started tweaking and trying some different drums and things like that to get a more specific sound. We recorded a bunch of hand claps, tambourine, piano, all to create this sort of fun vibe that hopefully you can hear when you listen to it.”
The lyric, meanwhile, comes straight out of frontman Tom Eddy’s own experience. “It’s something a lot of guys encounter,” Katz says, “especially when your significant other is this awesome lady and she’s got this beautiful car and she won’t like you drive it because you’re kind of a bum and you’re in this rock ‘n’ roll band that’s not doing that well. She has the power and you’re along for the ride. But then when she relents and gives you the keys for that one ride, you feel like it’s a great victory.”
With The Dip Delivers due out Feb. 8, the group will be hitting the road again shortly thereafter for an extensive U.S. tour. And Katz says the group is looking forward to having double the recorded repertoire to play on those dates, especially nearly four years after its last release. “We’ve got a couple singles out that we’ve sprinkled out over the past few years, but for the most part people know us from the first record — and we’re a little tired of playing some of those old songs,” he notes. “It will be fun the implement the new ones and then tweak the older (material) and have a bit larger catalog to draw from.”
The Dip 2019 tour dates:
2/16 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
3/30 – Vancouver, BC – Wise Hall
3/31 – Volcanic Theatre Pub – Bend, OR
4/3 – The Chapel – San Francisco, CA
4/4 – Moroccan Lounge – Los Angeles, CA
4/5 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA
4/6 – Crescent Ballroom – Phoenix, AZ
4/9 – 3Ten Live – Austin, TX
4/10 – The Rustic – Dallas, TX
4/12 – High Watt – Nashville, TN
4/13 – Vinyl – Atlanta, GA
4/14 – Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
4/16 – Union Stage – Washington, D.C.
4/17 – World Cafe – Philadelphia, PA
4/19 – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY
4/20 – Great Scott – Boston, MA
4/23 – Beachland – Cleveland, OH
4/24 – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe – Kalamazoo, MI
4/25 – Chop Shop – Chicago, IL
4/26 – Colectivo – Milwaukee, WI
4/27 – Turf Club – St. Paul, MN
4/28 – Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
4/30 – Globe Hall – Denver, CO
5/2 – The Olympic – Boise, ID
5/3 – Top Hat – Missoula, MT
5/4 – Lucky You Lounge – Spokane, WA
5/5 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR