Dorothy Martin: The Way to the Limelight

“I’m sure a lot of people can relate to tattoo nightmares,” said Dorothy Martin, the powerhouse vocalist from the band Dorothy, when discussing her reasoning behind lasering a “bad tattoo.” “You know, when you’re young and just want to get a tattoo to be rebellious or whatever, it doesn’t always get planned out like it should. I learned a lot since then.” What was once a sunset with flowers is now a fading memory that she will eventually cover with a sleeve.

Removing a tattoo entirely takes time, which is something Martin doesn’t have a lot to spare, with perpetual tours, travel, and volunteer work consuming the bulk. Yet, her brush with bad workmanship didn’t stop her from getting more ink — her ankles bare the words “Holy Ghost,” Jesus hides behind her leather pants, and angels watch over her on her back, to name a few — and plans for more are underway.

But fresh ink wasn’t top of mind for the Budapest-born star when she shared her story with Inked in October 2024 as she was a week away from appearing on “country’s biggest stage,” the Grand Ole Opry, with Creed singer Scott Stapp to perform their duet “If These Walls Could Talk.”

Over the past year, Martin collaborated with several other artists, including Nita Strauss and Slash, while recording fresh tracks for her newest album, “The Way,” which debuts spring 2025. “We kept a lot of the Southern swampy, gothic sounds that are sprinkled throughout my music, and we really elevated those elements on this,” Martin said of the album. “We even give it an outlaw country feel a little bit without being too much on the nose and without deviating from hard rock because we know our fans love that. We want to give them an album that they’re going to really enjoy. But yet, there was still a little more of an evolution.”

Her path to “The Way” was an adventure with many peaks and valleys. Martin shared her path to the spotlight, shifts in the band’s development, and an idea to cure her “tattoo nightmare.”

Your effortless and powerful voice is getting high praise with comparisons to people like Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. One person called you the female version of Chris Cornell. How does it feel to hear that?

It makes my heart melt because I love all those artists and it’s mind-blowing. I definitely learned from people like all those artists, so it’s the highest compliment to be compared to people you looked up to growing up.

How did how did your vocal range come about? Is it a natural-born talent, training, or a combination of both?

I think it’s a combination. You mentioned Janis Joplin. My stepdad had a huge vinyl record collection, and he had several Janis Joplin records. That’s one of the first voices I really resonated with and gravitated toward. She’s very dear to my heart, and I love the blues.

There was a little bit of self-taught stuff, especially country music. Trying to learn how to yodel because I thought, ‘That sounds really hard to do, and if I can do that, I think I can do anything.’ So, I set the bar really high {laughs}. My dad had Pink Floyd and a lot of Bob Dylan and then Creedence Clearwater Revival, which became one of my favorite bands of all time. I think you could hear a lot of that Southern influence in our sound.

This teacher I had, who trained me in bel canto technique, really laid a strong foundation for me vocally. And then the character — every voice is unique, like a fingerprint — is something I think comes from your soul and your life experience. As a teenager, there was no heartache and pain behind that voice because I hadn’t experienced anything yet. And then life happened, and it really showed itself in my voice. No one likes to go through anything painful, but it’s a gift because it gave me character and it gave me stuff to write about.

So, when did it dawn on you that you could make a living as a singer?

I think when we released my first album (Rockisdead). A lot of the songs started getting licensed on the Gatorade Super Bowl commercial, which was a nice paycheck, and on different Netflix shows and TV commercials. It was like, “Oh,cool. You can make a living doing this,” and so that gave me a lot more confidence.

What was the catalyst that made you start a band?

The real catalyst, I think, was I really had no direction in life. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I had been in several very abusive relationships. I loved to sing. I didn’t know that I loved to write, and I didn’t know that I could write until I actually got in the studio with my first producers.

What happened was my stepdad was very sick with cancer for a year, passed away, and I came home. I went through my things and this piece of paper fell out. It was almost like meant to be. It had all these music industry contacts. I don’t even know how I ended up with it. I’d gone to Musicians Institute in Hollywood, I had taken lessons, I dabbled here and there, and nothing really came of any of my endeavors. Then he passed away and I feel like this was kind of like a divine moment where this piece of paper appeared in my hands. It fell out of my MI binder, actually, and I looked at it and said, “You know what? I have nothing left to lose. I’m going to go contact some of these people and try to get into music because I need to have an outlet for my feelings.” That’s how I met my first manager, George Robertson, and my producers, Mark Jackson and Ian Scott.

We shot a very gorilla-style, low-budget DIY music video for “After Midnight,” and then George got me a meeting at Roc Nation. Rihanna’s manager, Jay Brown, saw the video and he actually said, “Would you give this song to Rihanna?” And I was like, “Sure.” I mean, I didn’t know what the end goal was at the time. And then she said, “I can’t sing that like her. I think that song belongs to her,” because you can tell when a song is meant for you and when it’s meant for someone else. I thought that was really cool and respectful of her to acknowledge that. This is a song I wrote, and I think that it fits me.

So, he wanted to sign me as an artist. Then we just set out to finish up the record, and it led to us going on tour with bands like Halestorm and getting touring experience, which was very eye-opening and very challenging. But here I am, it’s been 10 years, almost 11. I’ve been touring and writing albums since, so I think it all worked out like it was supposed to.

How do you compare Dorothy the band in 2014 compared to today? Have there been any significant changes along the way?

Oh, yeah. There’s been a lot of life experience. I think I’ve really grown as a person because I’ve been seeking and trying to become a better person and a better songwriter.

The band and I on the first record parted ways, and then Linda Perry began managing me, and Eliott Lorango, my bass player, was a part of that. We took a big risk with our sound, and I kind of leaned on Linda for her guidance and mentorship; she’s a great songwriter. We went in a little bit of a softer, more psychedelic direction on the second album, and I think it’s good. Artists should take risks and try things. Eventually, it all shakes out, and you find out what really belongs and what doesn’t and who you are as an artist at your core.

The third album, I went back in the hard rock direction a little more. I reached out to friends to co-write and write songs, and I wrote ‘Gifts from the Holy Ghost’ at a sound check. That’s my favorite song off the album — I named the album after it.

Then I met Scott Stevens, who is my producer now, and I think now we’ve really solidified. This, to me, feels the most genuine and the most comfortable with who I am. And I understand the assignment, as in, I understand the responsibility of being a songwriter, having a microphone, and having a platform. You can use it for a lot of different reasons. I’ve realized, if I’m not helping people find some hope, inspiring them, and trying to open their eyes and help them in some way, then I’m wasting the opportunity and the responsibility that I have as an artist and a songwriter. So, I put a lot more thought and intention into what I’m writing about now, and it’s become very spiritual for me.

About that sleeve, do you have any ideas about what you’ll do? Is there a particular tattoo style that you’re intrigued by?

I really love the traditional Japanese sleeves. They look so clean, and I feel like that would cover anything that’s leftover. I think they look beautiful. I might do something like that, but I’ll just have to keep lasering it and see. I’ll know it when I see it.