On a clear winter night, four teenage girls are hanging out in a Maple Grove basement, preparing to shoot a segment for local television. It's an exciting process but they don't have a lot of time--it's a school night, after all.
Separately, the girls are Alyse Emanuel of Maple Grove, Haily Jacobsen of Burnsville, Allie Pikala of Minneapolis and Sam Stahlmann of Maple Plain--all typical Minnesota high schoolers. But together, they are Half Demon Doll, on the state's newest up-and-coming bands. After winning an international battle of the bands sponsored by Teen Vogue magazine and Wicked Cool Records last November, they suddenly have to worry about their first record deal and a magazine photo spread, as well as chemistry tests and mid-terms.
"Has it hit you yet?" Sam asks the rest of the girls who are all chilling on a couch before their television taping. "It hasn't hit me yet."
Sonic Youth
The girls, all current or former students at the Eden Prairie School of Rock, met in the summer of 2007 at Women in Music, Minnesota's week long Girl Rock-and-Roll Day Camp. Introduced by Jenny Case, a School of Rock teacher, the girls hit it off. Their first gig outside of camp was at the State Fair in 2007, on a side stage sponsored by 3rd Lair Skateshop.
"Almost straight from the get-go I could tell there was something there," says Liz, Sam's mom, explaining the chemistry between the four girls.
"They complete a puzzle, those four girls together," agrees Linda, Hailey's mother.
Thus began an 18-month whirlwind of basement practices at their unofficial Maple Grove headquarters (the Emanuals' basement), gigs at First Avenue and Trocaderos and official band sleepovers almost every weekend. Though they were diligent, the girls' parents admit they didn't take Half Demon Doll to seriously in the beginning.
"As parents, it felt like, 'This is kind of cute,'" says Heidi, Alyse's mom. "I never felt like this was going to go anywhere."
But that was before the band's trip to New York, and everyone knows things can change drastically in a New York Minute.
New York Dolls
Last October, a friend's mom read about a battle of the bands sponsored by Teen Vogue, seeking young, female-fronted groups; the grand prize was a record deal. She suggested Half Demon Doll throw some songs in for consideration, so the day before the deadline, Sam submitted two original tunes.
Soon after, Sam got an e-mail notice that Half Demon Doll had made the top 10; if they got enough online votes to make the top three, they would be thrown to NYC for a live performance during the Rock Meets the Runway party at The Hard Rock Cafe. The girls began a month-long grassroots marketing blitz, asking everyone they knew to log and and vote for them, even though they were secretly skeptical of their odds.
"[Other bands] had fans--we had family!" Allie says with a laugh. "[We contacted] all of our distant cousins' roommates."
The girls' efforts paid off. Against bands from across the globe, Half Demon Doll won a spot in the top three. The girls and their parents were flown to New York for four days, where they lived the rockstar life, complete with a limo ride and fans who wanted photos with the band. The greatest moment, the girls agree, came after their winning performance: A local radio DJ played one of their songs on the air.
"It was bliss," same says. "it was adrenaline-mania."
Icing on the cake? They were the only all-female band in the competition as well as the youngest. But don't credit that for their success; Half Demon Doll isn't just a novelty act.
"I don't want people to ever say anything that has to do with us being girls--'I should or shouldn't go see them because they're and all-girl band," Allie says.
"We're not out to prove anything; we're just out to have fun," Sam agrees.
Simple Plan
Music is a tough business, especially for young performers. But Half Demon Doll isn't particularly interested in elbowing its way to the top. The band's five-year goal eschews major labels and world tours for the dream of a lasting friendship: "I just want up to be playing together," Sam says, without a hint of insincerity in her voice. "I don't care if we're just playing in the basement on Saturdays. As long as we still love what we're doing that's what matters."
"I always thought when I was little [that] it would be so fun to be famous, but once I started getting into music, I realized that doesn't matter at all, because you're already doing what you love," Hailey says. "Making a living out of it would be awesome, but that's not our goal."
Their almost flippant attitude about fame is impressive, even to those who know the girls best.
"I've even heard things from them like, 'Even if this goes nowhere, this has been the bet experience of their lives,' and I'm like, 'Wow--I can't believe you're saying that because at that age I had stars in my eyes,'" said Jenny Case, the teacher who originally set up the band."They're all really level-headed girls. They're not at the mall buying clothes and giggling about boys--that's not them."
Perhaps because of their "girls just wanna have fun attitude," the members of Half Demon Doll don't seem to grasp the magnitude of their accomplishments so far.
"I don't think she understands this is big," Heidi said of Alyse. "They don't recognize that bands are together for years and years and years and never get a break. They got lucky, and I don't think for a minute that any of those girls think this is as big as we do."
But as much potential as the band has, they are still in high school, after all. And as proud as the girls' parents are, they're still, well, parents.
"Ugh, I hope you don't use that picture," Heidi says, nodding toward a newspaper clipping hanging on the fridge, the girls glaring out at the reader with stern, ready-to-rock faces. "It looks like they just robbed a bank."
As they say, parents just don't understand, and they're OK with that. As Alyse' dad, Dan, says, "I don't know a thing about music. We're just there to drive the cars."
