Zia McCabe: Full Life Interview

In this oral history Zia McCabe discusses her personality, musical growth, and the financial aspects of being a rock star. She talks about her early exposure to the Portland music scene and joining the Dandy Warhols with little musical experience and tons of enthusiasm. McCabe delves into her experience with being signed to a major label and then running the band independently. She also talks about motherhood, activism, and starting her second band The Bush Prairies. The interview concludes with McCabe’s thoughts on women’s visibility and representation in the music industry, the gender binary, and the accomplishments she is most proud of.
Zia McCabe is an artist who plays bass, percussion, and keyboards. She is most well known for playing in the Dandy Warhols and her second band the Bush Prairies. McCabe works in real estate. She currently lives with her partner and her daughter.
Learn more at: WomenofRock.org
Interviewed by Tanya Pearson for the Women of Rock Oral History Project
The Women of Rock Oral History Project is a collection of digital interviews and written transcripts, housed at the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College-one of the oldest women’s history archives in the United States. Started by Tanya Pearson in December, 2014, WOROHP documents the lives and careers of women in rock whose work and careers have been underrepresented or omitted from rock journalism and historical scholarship. With a collection of publicized and accessible primary source documents, the Women of Rock Oral History Project seeks to facilitate a more comprehensive, inclusive, and accurate cultural history.
#rock #punk #interview #music #history

[@stevevicious6911]

Great interview. Thank you. As a self taught musician myself, been playing for over 30 years being a drummer and vocalist. Its flipping hard especially now. I have a day job to help to keep my living. Just. My passion is playing drums. I love this channel. Thank you.

[@gidgetmaurer123]

Such a great example of how sometimes it's not about what you know, but how you fit and work together.

[@thomassullivan1526]

1st live gig I ever seen 24 years ago ❤ always and still have the biggest crush on ziam 😊 good times 🕺

[@amyg.333]

Tanya, Zia & Dandys Rule! This was a great interview. I thought the questions were interesting & I loved hearing Zia’s stories. The interview really flowed, beginning to end. Thank you for sharing!

[@ecnaruaL]

This is a brilliantly hosted interview that largely steers clear of the usual inanities and reveals Zia to be, as i'd long suspected, not only a goddess, but the sharpest knife in the drawer.

[@boyfromoz7]

She maybe the most well adjusted human on the planet from that interview. Talk about having your shit together and a healthy perspective on all things.

[@michaelburns5961]

Zia is super cool! I had the opportunity to meet her after her band played in Detroit. She is 100 percent down to earth and relatable!

[@kevind4850]

Great interview! Smart, level-headed, informative, and most of all, interesting.

[@MegaApistogramma]

Yes, a great interview. Zia shows so much happiness while playing on stage with Dandys, she is a true person, she can be proud to practice music in a very "artistic" band !! j'ai toujours du plaisir à la voir sur scène. From Brittany France. Thanks a lot.

[@daisydaisy0121]

She is one amazing woman

[@alexisarrizon6083]

I legit understood what she said about technical well adjusted artists versus the long-suffering maladjusted artists. I am apparel designer/pattern maker by trade and always been very technically inclined. My younger sister was definitely one of those starving artists that were maladjusted and definitely was very creative

[@Talentedtadpole]

Maladjusted is pejorative. Very often these folks are neurodivergent and have mountains of prejudice and misunderstanding to contend with on top of heightened senses.

[@LiamW42]

Funny and cool how much she sounds like Jenny Slate at times! :) I'm always so afraid to see interviews with people I'm a fan of, often discovering they're... disappointing. So glad to discover Zia is smart and clever and a decent person!! ^_^

[@mguti82]

I am so excited to have stumbled up on this interview. I developed a crush on her back in highs school when I first saw that Dandies video on Last Junky, and completely forgot about them after that. What a beautiful person she has grown to be!

[@oldservantrecordings]

Absolutely excellent and enlightening interview!

[@ivannio8519]

One of the four dynamos in a top fantastic group;) Bravo!

[@DonRush]

Great interview

[@NellSaintJohn]

Great interview!

[@mopar4656]

Great interview. Always thought there was something special about her from the time I saw the first Dandy's video. I was right on the money!!

[@chopperwitz]

Lovely! Great hearing Zia's stories. Thank you.

[@shanemolloy7862]

Zia is awesome on the key bass. Shakes the auditoriums to their foundations. Some of the older theatres in the UK I've thought bloody ell is the roof gonna hold!!! Great band, though. 👌 ❤

[@aaronyarlas3553]

Fascinating interview!

[@SanFranciscoFatboy]

love her energy and musianship :) i just saw the dandies in sf oct 14th and it was a doze fest...she was the only one who was rockin....... she was the whole show really, sang a janis song acapela at the end and invited the crowd to kiliowatt bar........ still, the men in the band were asleep....

[@revolutionday1]

They're all like in their 60's now, and their fans are aged wine snobs. I mean...were you really expecting anything else?

[@conorlarkin1111]

What an insightful and brilliant interview.

[@angusmcfarlane1225]

Well, well, well, this is a lot different from "What's your favourite colour?" Loved it.

[@TheRaptorXX]

TOP stuff. Real, interesting and extremely human. Thanks to both of you. XX

[@boheem3451]

I'm gonna yell over 3 chords - that's it! My latest album title.

[@jakedouville1254]

Awesome interview. Zia is so funny and brilliant. Zia rules! Dandys Rule OK.

[@travisgray8376]

Anton Newcombe helped the Dandy's early success. Anton showed the Dandy's to everyone before they sign with Capitol

[@Buckseed]

No. Anton became part of a scene already developed by band like Camper Van Beethoven, Maximillian Motorcycle Club, American Music Club, Donner Party, Pavement, Cake, early Jellyfish as well as the shoegaze bands copying what was coming out of England: Lush, My Blood Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain. Even the Paisley Underground scene had a movement in Sac, the Bay Area and LA just a few years before. I'm the same age as Anton and he wasn't in the Bay Area scene until the 90s....alt-rock was becoming mainstream. The Dandys were a bit after but companies were snagging these psychodelic shoegaze bands as well as Deftones, Papa Roach, Korn too. There were a lot of punk bands playing the East Bay Punk Gilman St music who took off just being around. Anton is a goofy adderall type who also got picked up regardless of their musical talent.

[@MeanManu]

Awesome interview, Zia rules !

[@davecherkas1505]

I absolutely love zia❤

[@mel3948]

Brilliant, generous and oh so magnanimous lady.

[@curtisneff9464]

I was a huge fan up until I watched Dig! I felt like they were pretentious dorks. I saw them on 13 tales and had it out with friends of the band over the southern flag on the cover. I didn’t like their music after 13 Tales. This interview restored my love for the band and shows Dig! Only captured and portrayed that story. What a fun and interesting person! DANDYs Rule Ok! Come Down holds a special place in my heart and is great to this day. They should have been huge from that album. Capitol

[@samaireoctober5584]

I totally agree. While I do love some of their music, most of it is unlistenable (to me). I also saw Dig! and the Dandies really fell out of favor with me as well. Yes, I still love a few of their songs and that will never change, but Zia was so nasty with some of her comments regarding BJM. What disturbs me, is I've heard her say it could have been way worse (referring to her comments).

[@nicholaskruger9460]

@@samaireoctober5584nasty about blm?? That they destroyed Portland attacking local businesses ? Is that the nasty thing ?

[@thomasbarchen]

Lovely lady right there!

[@rigocolas]

I dated a girl named Zia in 9th grade for like, a couple weeks.

[@frankie6490]

You guys should be worth way more with over 10-15 hits. That’s hall of fame status.

[@WomenofrockOHP]

They've been a major influence on me, personally. And I agree with you!

[@fredmantani3611]

Te quiero ❤ Dandy Warhols

[@gregdahlen4375]

good strategy to be extra nice to record company employees, sorry it didn't work because of turnover. wonder if there were other strategies that would have been successful. i suppose the first rule is to have good music (not saying dandy's don't). Just like they say the first way to get youtube views is to have good content

[@martinehugenel452]

Briilliant Zia

[@hernanbet7768]

👑

[@TerriYoung-fc2yh]

I hurt my knee dance funny that everything isn't coming with you. That's cute. I had strict parents. I love Zia Records so much. I love a variety of music. Especially Punk old punk

[@libertypills5580]

She's totally correct about not wanting any "Interventions without consent" in regards to water fluoridation in Portland! A cause I certainly stand behind! But I wonder what her stance is regarding the mass coercion of Covid vaccination. I know a lot of people who lost their careers due to not submitting and a lot of other people who did submit but now thoroughly regret it.

[@xiandavis]

I was wondering that as well. As for fluoride, they used to give it to us in cups in grade school once a week in San Francisco Bay Area . I don’t know if they had to get our parents’ consent, but I will say I only ever had one minor cavity and have all 32 teeth in great shape. No complaints here.

[@stevefisher2553]

HUGE CRUSH ON ZIA!!

[@cricket3715]

This is one of the greatest interviews I’ve seen. Thank you. 🙏🏼

[@frankie6490]

Funny and smart, what a life she’s had!

[@gmotionedc5412]

She seems so cool and unjaded.!!

[@girolamo5637]

Love you Zia!

[@csurname]

only one Patti Smith, plus a Patty Smyth

[@christopherjohnson4276]

She seems like an amazing personality.

[@pavlos8844]

Enchanting woman

[@billfrater1948]

Love Zia and The Dandies. If Queen, four highly educated young men can get ripped off anyone can.

[@WildBoy4FunTime]

What a sexy, positive, beautifull girl. It's everything i like in women, wish i had to meet such a girlfriend. Love her energy, she's so chill and energetic at the same time.

[@jasondesselles9168]

I stopped at 2 minutes in after she said her sister is lesbian and has a trans partner. So she's a lesbian but got with a man who transitioned into a female? Way too much WTF in there for me to wrap my head around.

[@xiandavis]

You’re selling yourself short by not hearing what Zia shares. She’s really articulate and smart on top of being talented and a good human being.

[@michaelzell5905]

Welcome to Portland.

[@Eric-Indiana]

And she said her MOTHER is with a trans person, not her sister.

[@williamc8801]

Seriously? Jfc... 😂

[@revolutionday1]

Their whole family is an absolute disaster, really.

[@Misscollage]

How can you be an interviewer and mispronounce the word “realtor”

[@WomenofrockOHP]

Awesome feedback

[@xiandavis]

Because she doesn’t do it as a side hustle like Zia.

[@Lo-mw8dk]

So hot ❤️

[@arricammarques1955]

DIG! remains an unbalanced music documentary.

[@revolutionday1]

There is nothing really "documentary" about it. It's a MOVIE, and that came from the man himself.