No doubt you’ve already begun to hear the hype surrounding Boston duo, Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione of The Dresden Dolls. Their whirlwind one-stop-shop tour of Australia in December saw them playing to a sold out crowd in a capital city each night – all on the back of a quirky little track called ‘Coin Operated Boy’ which landed on programmers desks and immediately went into high rotation. Of course, like any other seemingly ‘overnight success’ The Dresden Dolls have been at it for years, honing their craft back in Beantown (the stomping ground for many a great band – The Pixies, Aerosmith, The Cars), gigging tirelessly around the US and Europe, going the DIY route for recording and pulling in favours from friends to make one of the most awesome video-clips you’ll ever see…

Mama always said ‘if you work hard you’ll get somewhere’ – and the Dresden Dolls are proof of that homespun adage. Recently the duo picked up three gongs at the Boston Music Awards (beating out rockers Aerosmith), although touring commitments in Europe meant they weren’t there to bask in the glory – the Dolls’ solution – Amanda and Brian shot a video, and a sock puppet delivered their acceptance speech. Classic behaviour from this theatrical twosome…

When I speak with Amanda, the pair are in the middle of their tour – back to back shows around the US. “It’s physically so exhausting – it’s a definite physical challenge but it’s also so inspiring,” offers Palmer.

The inspiration comes in the form of the many physical theatre artists that seem to gravitate to any Dresden Dolls’ show. The band puts out an open call in each city for performers to play beforehand – the result is a mass of creative energy.

“We go to any given city and we have anything from two to twenty performers – from bellydancers to firebreathers to circus performers. It’s been so cool we get to a different club every night and it’s like we’re the ones getting entertained.”

Palmer believes this simple act of inviting local performers to come along adds a sense of community to each gig. “Ultimately a lot of what we are doing is about finding creative outlets and hooking up with people.” Something she believes is even more important in these politically conservative times. “We tried our best, we registered people to vote at our shows, we cried out against Bush…now it’s like what are we supposed to do…

She pauses, “I think one of the most important things to keep in mind – and I think most artists would agree with me – is that it’s not as important to get out there and make a political statement as it is to inspire everyone to be creative and open and honest in their every day life, because that makes so much more of a difference than voting. It makes so much more of a difference to everyone’s quality of life. As artists I think a big part of what our purpose is, is to get out there and provide a forum for people to express themselves honestly.”

These days though, thanks to a gruelling tour schedule Palmer’s finding less and less time for her creative process.

“That’s been really really difficult,” she sighs. “It’s been one of the biggest struggles of my life recently, coming to terms with the fact that I really have to creatively shut off for a while, while we tour. Because it takes up so much energy just existing on the road, you have to expend so much more energy into maintaining some kind of stability. But I’ve come up with a few little tricks to keep ideas brewing in the back of my head so the creativity doesn’t die.

“It’s one of those things though – you can’t spend your entire life writing – you need to go out and experience life to have something to write about.”

Given the Dolls’ sudden thrust into the spotlight, is Palmer prepared for the possibilities of fame and fortune? Is she glad success has come to them a little later in life?

“Absolutely,” agrees Amanda. “For lots of reasons – the song writing is one of them – I’ve got a back catalogue of songs that could fill up five or six records, though the last one might be a bit crappy” she laughs. “But the other thing is we’ve really had a chance to hone and perfect our live show – and we have a really supportive fan base. And you can see when you watch us play; you can see that we spend a lot of time in each other’s company. We’ve got the Vulcan mind meld. We’re almost psychic on stage – we can predict the other’s next move. And that’s part of what makes the live show so special because we know each other so well – there’s improvisation – there’s a real sense of intimacy and immediacy.”

A Dresden Dolls show is definitely a theatrical experience – the moment they walk on stage in the white face paint and Cabaret style clothing you realise you’re in for a special night.

“You have to understand though, we didn’t start out like that. When the band first started we didn’t have any designs on any sort of aesthetic at all. We just started playing music and there was just a natural evolution to the band,” says Palmer.

“You have to understand when we met (at a Halloween party, where Amanda was belting out tunes on the piano) why it was symbolic. I lived – and I still do- in this beautiful artist’s collective. And I would put on these giant events with 100s of people – that were more like salons than parties, with a band playing on every floor and performance artists and filmmakers screening their films in the garden.

“We really grew out of that scene – so for the first six months the majority of gigs we played at, were at my house. And that was a really important step for us ‘cause we came from a really supportive creative environment. So we were able to be this weird freaky band. We were playing for artists and friends so there was an anything goes mentality that allowed us to hone our craft before bringing it to the public.”

The Dresden Doll self titled CD is out now through Roadrunner. There’s rumours of a tour for March 2005, keep your ear to the ground…