Interview: Say Hello to The Aquadolls

Meet your new favorite girl group: The Aquadolls. Afterglow spoke with them about their origins, being women in the music industry, and their favorite TikToks following their performance on Weekend Two of the Austin City Limits music festival.

Written by Delaney Davis
Photo by Gabriela Ruiz

Hailing all the way from California, The Aquadolls brought the crowd to their knees during their ACL set. Combining heavy guitar riffs and energetic drum breaks with lyrics on topics ranging from relationship troubles to misogyny in the industry, the band certainly doesn’t hold back. It’s hard to believe that lead guitarist and vocalist Melissa Brooks, bassist Keilah Nina, and drummer Jackie Proctor only joined forces a year and a half ago. 

The group released their second album, The Dream and the Deception, on their very own label, Aqua Babe Records. In addition to releasing music, The Aquadolls have opened for Kate Nash, Vivian Girls, and The Raveonettes. 

We chatted with the trio following their riveting ACL performance on all things related to the band… and TikTok. 

So we got a chance to see your set and we loved it, and we immediately thought, “We need to talk to them!”

Keilah: Thank you! 

We want to know more about the origins of The Aquadolls. [To Keilah] You mentioned that you were a really big fan of Melissa before you were officially a part of the band, so I kinda wanted to know how the group came together. 

Melissa: I started the band in 2012 when I was a senior in high school. I’ve had different band members as the years come and go, but I’m the sole songwriter and have been doing it for seven years. About a year and a half ago, I got these lovely ladies to join me in my band, and we became an all-girl band. And that’s something I always wanted. So it all just worked out really well. And now we’re on tour, so it’s really cool and surreal to get to share the stage with bad b-tches. 

Keilah: My sister showed me the “Rich Boys” music video when I was in sixth grade. I was living in Florida, and Florida, I like to say, is five years behind on trends, so there were no like, burger kids, or surf scene there. 

Melissa: Like Burger Records.

Keilah: Yeah, like Burger Records. So I actually moved back and forth because my families are from different sides, so when I came back to California, Burger was huge. And there was Beach Goth, Burgerama, and all these crazy things and I was like, “Oh my god.” So my sister would take me to all these shows and she’d be like, “It’s not a concert. It’s a show.” And I was like “Ohhhh!” 

Jackie: Yeah, I remember that thing where it was like, “It’s not a concert, it’s a show.” My mom still doesn’t understand. 

Keilah: I was so into that. My sister started getting older and moving on in her music tastes, but I had stuck with like The Aquadolls, and Melissa and I just kinda became friends. And I was at Jackie’s house and they were practicing and they were like, “Do you know how to play anything?” I had been playing bass for a while but I was like “Erm...” and they were like, “Oh, can you play keyboard?” And I was like, “No, I know ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb.’”

Melissa: I was like, “Perfect! That’s good enough!” 

Keilah: I learned the entire set on keyboard in like a week, and then I played a show the next week. I had been playing keyboard from that all the way up until like early December. And then I incorporated bass because I love it. And now I play bass full time, which is a lot of fun.

So you mentioned that one of the songs you performed you wrote together. How does your creative process work?

Melissa: Well, that song [“Suck on This”] stemmed from a conversation that we were having. Jackie and I were sharing stories because she was in an all-girl band before. But we were talking about how sometimes when we show up to venues the sound people will be like, “Oh, are you with the band? Are you guys the groupies? Are you here for someone? You guys should be outside.” And we’re like, “No…” — we’re literally like lugging our instruments, like we have a guitar, like we’re the band. It’s about people not taking us seriously. The process just started from the conversation. Our other guitarist, who just went off to college, she made up the riff for it, and I just got inspired from the conversation that we had and made the first verse and the chorus. And then Jackie wrote the second verse and Keilah made her bass part.

[To Keilah] You talked about TikToks during your set. What’s everyone’s favorite TikTok? 

Keilah: My favorite TikTok is the one where it’s like, “Gimme five, it’s a vibe, in the hood like drivebys,” and they’re like dancing. That’s my favorite TikTok. But right now, my favorite trend is the “Stranger Things” one where and they’re like “Goodbye Mike,” and they’re like singing “In another life...” and they’re like yelling in each other’s faces and trying to keep a straight face. That’s my favorite one right now, and I actually make my boyfriend recreate TikToks with me, so I’m gonna make him do that one.

Jackie: I’m not a TikTok person, but I would have to say my favorite one is [makes “We’re Irritating” meme pose] — whatever that is. Because it’s really funny. I don’t know, I like Trillers. Trillers are like my sh-t. I mean, I try. Everytime I look at a TikTok thing I do not get it. I cannot. 

Melissa: We tried to do the “Heathers” TikTok, but Jackie couldn’t do it. 

Jackie: I don’t know what it is. I feel so bad.

Melissa: My favorite one is, of course, one that I made  — because I’m so full of myself — and I’m really proud of it. It’s the “Puff Guy” one, the Billie Eilish one. It’s just really funny. I made a pretty good “Puff Guy” TikTok. 

I know Megan thee Stallion just cancelled her set, but is there anyone else you’re really excited to see at ACL? 

Jackie: Lizzo! Guns N’ Roses.

I saw Guns N’ Roses last night. They were so good.

Jackie: How was Slash? 

Keilah: Is he still sexy? [laughs] 

Jackie: I wore a Guns N’ Roses shirt the first time we were here, last weekend. Ugh… one day, one day. 

Alright, this is our last question. What’s next for The Aquadolls?

Melissa: We’re on tour, baby! We’re on tour until the year ends. So come catch us all over the U.S. And when we’re done with our tour in December/January, we’re gonna start writing and recording. So expect new music next year! 

Interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length.
Listen to The Aquadolls on Spotify and find them on Twitter and Instagram @theaquadolls.