Dreamgirl: A Family of Friends Lost in a Dream

On a Saturday night inside the popular local venue Mohawk, the lively band, Dreamgirl, was leaving their mark on the Austin crowd. As the rain fell outside, inside, the angelic voice of lead singer, Lacey Hopkins snuffed out any discontent brewing in the audience. Pink and red lights cast a moody hint of warmth and romance as the crowd came alive to the first notes of ‘Sweet Thang’. Following the show, I approached the band and they happily gave me some time to talk with them about their music and favorite moments together. Originally from Kansas City, the band Dreamgirl consists of four core members. Lacey, the lead singer, plays keyboard and a shanty guitar. Ian is the drummer who occasionally sings, and Skylar and Austin are the guitarists. While on tour, they welcome bassist Joe and Texas native guitar player, Grady. Their performances are unique because they are so passionate about being on stage together. They focus on doing what they love, being themselves while doing it, and, most importantly, having fun. “We don’t concern ourselves with a lot of visuals and outfits, Ian said, we just like playing rock and roll together.” The members' relationships and moments inspire their heartfelt lyrics. For example, one of their most popular songs, ‘Stranger Feelings’, highlights Lacey's experience with an “asshole” who “never loved her.” While each song holds a special place in their hearts, there are a couple that are especially relatable. “If I had to choose one,” Lacey said, “it’s gonna be ‘Sweet Thang’. That song, I can ride my bicycle to it, I can get ready, do my nails to it, I can be heart-broken and listen to it, I can be happy in love and listen to it, I can have a summertime day to it, I can have a drive in the wintertime to it. ‘Sweet Thang’ to me is really the top of the bops for me.” “‘Sweet Thang’ is not only my favorite, original Dreamgirl song,” Ian said, “but it is also my favorite one that has transformed live. It is a completely different experience now than it was in recording.” He goes on to say he is particularly proud of ‘Weekend 4 the Girls’ “because it was a really big turning point for [them]. We did a little bit of genre-bending in what we were doing at the time, it was also just the first song that we--as in the four core of us--all really collaborated on together.”

The band is really proud that each work features its own unique musical styles and techniques. And with their songwriting process being an entirely collaborative effort, each song is special to each member of the band. “I couldn't say there is one song that encompasses our entire sound,” Lacey said. “Because that is also something that we've always strived to do--is not really sound the same over and over again--but to still have a cohesion that says ‘this is Dreamgirl.’” “It’s easy to do too,” Skyler said. “We have so many songwriters in the band, Lacey writes songs, Austin writes songs, I write songs, that’s what makes it sound different.” “We have ‘Pinch’ that is keyboard-heavy and has some dance beats,” Lacey added. “Then there is ‘Weekend 4 the Girls’ with this guitar thing and then Austin comes in with this keyboard, icing-on-the cake lick.” Having been together for seven years, the band has quite a few memorable moments that they were happy to share with me. “This past summer, 2019, actually it was like September,” Lacey recalls, “we played a show in St Louis, Missouri with our friends. They have this cat that we love and appreciate. Ian was sleeping on his pad in his sleeping bag. He had just stepped out of his pants and gotten right into his sleeping bag, so the cats were right by his face. In the night, the cat came down and defecated on Ian’s pants, and that cat is a big cat, so it really looked like a labrador retriever's feces. The first thing Ian said when he got up was, ‘I thought I just had bad breath’ but it was actually the cat’s feces on his pants, they were large feces, and he had to wear a pair of my shorts until he could go buy some new pants that day. But he did purchase a new pair of pants, they looked great. He really was gonna try to wear the shitted pants, and we were all like ‘noooo, you can’t wear those pants to go get the new pants.’ Doing laundry in this house was not an option, so it's not like he was gonna go clean the pants and then wear them, he was just gonna put them on and then wear those. Ok, looks like Ian has another favorite time because incidentally, that’s not Ian's favorite Dreamgirl memory.” Ian recalled, “The other favorite memory that is also not a favorite memory for me, is the time that they wrote smiley faces on our hand at this venue in El Paso Texas. [That night], I stayed on a really really nice white leather sofa, slept with my fist down and kicked my pad out from under me so the smile [on my hand] transferred directly, and very beautifully on this white leather sofa--it was a Sharpie. I ended up calling my mom at like seven in the morning, just freaking out, still drunk, trying to figure out why I can't get this smile off of the couch. So I went to Walgreens and bought magic erasers and I bought any cleaning supplies that you can imagine, I Googled, I was on Yahoo Answers, I was on anything that could possibly help me get Sharpie out of leather.” “You woke up so early” added Grady. “I remember getting up at like nine and seeing you frantically doing something. And I was just like ‘ugh’, cause I was sleeping on a blow-up mattress right next to the couch and I woke up, I am guessing after you had been doing this for two to three hours already and just thinking ‘oh I guess he is awake, alright’, and maybe an hour later I looked over and he was just defeated. I actually have a picture of him frowning next to the smiley face on the couch that I have been meaning to frame and send to him.” “But yeah,” Ian said, “it was gnarly, and the lady who owned the couch was surprisingly cool about it, I had to ask for her number to be able to text her and be honest about what had happened.” The band ended the interview on a humble note, while they explained the unimportance of comparing yourself to other bands, and the key to being a great musician. “I think [being in a band] is all about finding a group of people that you love and care about and trust,” Ian said, “and once you find that, the music that you make together, is the music you are supposed to make; that's the music you want to make. That's the best part about being in a band. Every band has their own thing, nothing sets any band apart. No matter the success, as long as you are doing it and having fun, that's what makes you a musician.” Even with the rising popularity of Dreamgirl, they stay modest. Lacey expanded on the fact that they are very appreciative that people even listen to their music and thanked me for wanting to interview them. Each member gave a few last-minute words to end the night.“New record 2020,” Ian said, “we’re gonna put it out and it’s a lot of fun. New record’s really cool, old songs are also really cool and we will be on tour again soon.” Grady said, “I am very excited about what Dreamgirl has to come.” And Joe, “still ain’t got shit else to say.” (Click on the pics for their socials and more)