Dresden Dolls look to Muppets for inspiration
By KELLY WILSON
Get Out

What do the Muppets and punk/Goth cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls have in common?

A lot, according to drummer and percussionist Brian Viglione.

“The Muppets were a huge, huge influence on my life,” Viglione, 26, says. “If you look at the plot in two movies — of the first Muppets film and of “The Muppets Take Manhattan” — the essential message and moral in those films is believe in yourself and follow your dream. And here you have Kermit and his sort of like motley crew of friends and freaks and they're off to like make things happen.

“In the first film, they want to move to Hollywood and they're pursuing this dream. It sounds funny, but that's what a lot of musicians go through. It's like ‘I want to go to the city and be in a band and I want to be a performer.’ It's the same thing in ‘The Muppets Take Manhattan’ — they've got this Broadway show and they get the door slammed in their face over and over again. The main message is don't give up on yourself. Keep going and persevere. That's totally what you have to do to survive in this kind of world as an artist.”

The Dresden Dolls, who also feature pianist and vocalist Amanda Palmer, formed in Boston in 2000 after the two met at a loft party. A couple of the group's songs, “Coin Operated Boy” and “Girl Anachronism,” can be heard on KEDJ (103.9 FM). The duo will perform three dates this weekend at Tempe's Marquee Theatre — they'll open for Nine Inch Nails on Friday and Saturday and then headline the venue Sunday.

Viglione says Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor handpicked the band for the tour.

“Trent saw our video on MTV and couldn't decide whether he loved it or hated it but knew he was interested in the band,” Viglione explains. “He watched it a few more times and thought it was pretty cool, so he picked up the CDs and basically said, ‘Yeah, this is definitely something I'm into and the band I want to bring out,’ so he sought us out. We never even talked to Trent until the second night of playing shows with him in London ... He was very sweet. He's a really, really down-to-earth, funny, nice guy. This (tour) has been incredible for us.”