At a recent performance for KCRW DJ Chris Douridas' weekly School Night series at Bardot in Hollywood, a packed house moved increasingly closer to the stage while Dorothy, whiskey in one hand and microphone in the other, mesmerized the crowd with her powerhouse vocals.

“She's such a badass…like a revved up Adele teetering on the brink of chaos,” says Douridas.

In an age when pop princesses reign supreme, the singer and her blues-rock band of the same name — which also features Mark Jackson on guitar, Greg Cash on bass and Zac Morris on drums — sharpen catchy melodies with a potent edge. With the release of the video for their first single “After Midnight,” the quartet, whose self-titled EP is due out next month, has been quickly building a following on Twitter and YouTube.

“I didn't expect it to take off online like it did, but I was really happy about it being so accepted,” says Dorothy, speaking by phone from a band rehearsal. 

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One would never guess, given her confidence onstage — crotch grabs, F-bombs and all — that she is actually introverted. “I'm kind of shy. I make up for it by trying to be outgoing but on the inside I'm probably freaking out half the time. I try to challenge myself and overcome all of that.” But she admits, “I do have a sailor mouth.”

Born in Budapest, Hungary before she moved to San Diego at three years of age, Dorothy, who moved to Los Angeles several years ago, has been singing since she was six years old. Raised on her dad’s record collection, ranging from Pink Floyd to Michael Jackson, she was further influenced by Nirvana and AC/DC, a combination which she says “blended together and created this form of how I express myself. And when I was a kid, I'd listen to the radio a lot and I didn't really pay attention to the artists so much as the feeling of their songs.”

Dorothy; Credit: Kristin Cofer

Dorothy; Credit: Kristin Cofer

After being held back for years by her anxiety over playing for an audience, she says that she is genuinely surprised at how much she enjoys performing.

“I’ve always just wanted to sing and it was a long journey to get over the stage fright and find who I was,” she says. “If you don't get knocked down, you can't stand up and say, ‘I'm ready for this now.’ I am fucking ready now. This is what I was meant to do. It’s about fucking time. Let's go. This is the first band that has been serious and feels right.”

It’s hard not to be as captivated by Dorothy's model good looks as by her robust voice; with her jet black hair and gigantic blue eyes, she is often described as “Angelina Jolie meets Megan Fox.” But she remains steadfastly focused on her music, not her sex appeal.

“I'm not telling the world, ‘Fuck me, fuck me.' Fuck you. I don't care if you think I'm hot or not, or want me to take my shirt off. I'm not going to. I’m going to grab the microphone and sing. That's what I came to do.” 

You can see Dorothy every Monday in November at the Bootleg HiFi. No cover. More info here.

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