DANDY MAMA

f you only know Zia McCabe of The Dandy Warhols from the award-winning documentary Dig! (2004), McCabe and her band, now in its second decade, deserve a reexamination. The party-psych-rock group (consisting of guitarist and singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor; drummer Brent DeBoer; lead guitarist Peter Holmström; and McCabe) continue to play gigs across the globe, and have just released its 10th recording. McCabe has also been featured in the documentary, Rock N Roll Mamas, which spotlights women who are both working musicians and mothers. In addition to her keyboard, backing vocal, and rhythm duties with the The Dandy Warhols, McCabe belongs to a country band and performs as a DJ. And she speaks-out as an activist on several social and political issues.

The Dandy Warhols was established 20 years ago in 1994. What’s the most gratifying part about still being in the band?

Besides doing what we love (which is gratifying and amazing), this is our career—and I started it when I was 18. I just feel really legit as a musician and as a touring and recording artist. I wasn’t in any bands before this band, so for it to be the thing of my life for the past few decades is pretty amazing to me. I think there’s a pretty deep feeling of pride when one sticks with something for so long—especially something that ties so deeply into creativity, emotion and personal growth. 

The song “Smoke It” is pretty whimsical. It sounds like The Dandy Warhols’ answer to Bob Dylan’s “everybody must get stoned.” 

We used it to encourage people to vote for Measure 91, the successful measure to legalize and tax marijuana in Oregon. We have a few songs about smoking, and it’s good and its fun, and it’s nice to be lighthearted about issues that are dear to you and can get really heavy and make you frustrated.

I can get grass, good grass. Keeping marijuana possession illegal just perpetuates racism and imprisoning people for something that should be legal. 

You’ve been a public face for several political and social issues: Speaking-out as a mom in favor of cannabis reform; backing an anti-water fluoridation campaign in Portland; organizing a benefit for a ballot initiative in Oregon to label GMO foods; advocating responsible gun ownership; and founding a non-profit, Sun Cedar (sun-cedar.com), that provides jobs for people transitioning from jail or rehab back into society. Why is it important for you to take a public stance?

Well, you know, I haven’t for years, and the band had kind of decided to be non-political, and I went along with that, I guess, for as long as I could. And when the water issue came up in 2013, it just wasn’t right: The sneaky way the politics were handled; the misinformation of the fluoridation campaign; and the lack of public outrage and response. And I figured if no one else was going to do it, I wasn’t going to sit by and watch this happen. I had to do everything I could to put the information out there. And in the process, I realized I had this unique access to the artist community, and I had a bit of a platform, both personally and through The Dandy Warhols, Brush Prairie and DJ Rescue. It was really empowering; I feel like I made a unique difference in my community, something that someone else couldn’t have done.