Alley Girl: "I've Always Felt Kind of Scruffy and Unruly, While Very Calculated and Considerate in Other Respects"

In a Hollywood scene buzzing with rising stars, jangle-crushed popsters, and home-recorded cassette visions, Alley Girl stands out like a flickering candle in a backstreet full of sodium streetlights — low-lit but luminous. The project is the brainchild of Doris Stanić, a Netherlands-born, Bosnian-rooted artist who channels personal ghosts, outsider philosophy, and lo-fi grit into something raw, melodic, and unmistakably her own. Her new solo release, Peregrine Rambler, plays like a bedroom broadcast from some future-past radio tower — tape hiss, diary confessions, and enticing melodies colliding in a haze of homemade glamour and psychic resolve that's reminiscent of Little Girls, The Shivvers, and The Last. Raised between Rotterdam concrete and Balkan summer mysticism, Doris brings an ear of fractured '60s beat pop to her current Hollywood output with tales of resilience, romance, and reel-to-reel tape wizardry.

Hot Sounds: Hi Doris, first tell me what you've been up to as of late? Any new music or books you've been digging into you'd like to share with readers?

Doris Stanić: Hey Joe, I'm a big fan of your magazine and have discovered a lot of good stuff thanks to you, thank you for having me! Lately I've been rediscovering a lot of Stiv Bators' music and finally started digging into Denny Laine's solo stuff. I've been returning a bit to my roots as well, digging back into Yugoslavian (synth) punk and a lot of the bands that were big in the Rijeka underground. I've also been enjoying the music my friends have been making, recently catching some Quad Super Six and Sunday Mourners shows I liked a lot! As far as books go... I'm going through a bit of a non-reading phase, but the most recent book I've started is the Bardo Thodol and the last ones I've read include the Soul's Code by James Hillman and some of Manly P. Hall's lectures!

HS: Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?

DS: I was born and raised in South-Holland, in the Netherlands to Bosnian immigrants escaping the Yugoslavian civil war in the 90's. The town I grew up in is called Spijkenisse, a suburb of Rotterdam. Lots of gray concrete out there, there was never much to do growing up. I'd go back to Bosnia with my folks every year, spent all my summers there and in Croatia. I've always perceived that part of the world as quite magical and feel strongly connected to it. My childhood was pretty turbulent and unstable but I'm grateful for the experiences I've had, they've made me more agile in other respects and I'm in the everlasting process of using those experiences as something I hope to use to my benefit. Also, Rotterdam is currently having a little bit of a resurgence musically I think. I went to see Harry Merry last December whom I'd always wanted to see play, that guy is a genius and a total Rotterdam original.

HS: What sort of records or books/magazines would we find if we would travel back in time in your teenage room?

DS: It's so nice to flash back to what I was into when I was in teenager mode! The first rock music I was introduced to was a lot of ex-Yugoslavian bands like Bijelo Dugme, Prljavo Kazaliste, and Plavi Orkestar, but I never had those on LP format, those have become quite collectible now. Around age 13 and 14, I got a cheap record player at a flea market and was finally able to listen to the small stack of records my dad had left me. I wish I could impress you by mentioning cool and rare records he had but he had mostly Modern Talking records (haha I secretly love them), and some Stones and Beatles LPs. I really loved (and still do) Abba at the time and I hung Styx's 'Crystal Ball on my wall; say what you will about Styx but the songwriting on that title track can pull at my heartstrings like no other! I was super broke as a teen so I'd buy these scratched up one Euro "Best Of the '60s/70s" comps and that prompted me to find out about a ton of stuff. The only money I had was from working at McDonalds on Beijerlandselaan for 2,40 euros an hour but I got fired because I couldn't pay attention to people's orders. They made me weed the front outdoor entrance until I finally got sacked. Looking through my records at the time you'd probably find The Remains, The Kinks, The Zombies, Small Faces, the Nuggets comps, as well as the late 60s/early '70s San Francisco bands like Jefferson Airplane. I practically worshipped Grace Slick and Janis Joplin and hung a gigantic poster of them together above my bed. I became really interested in psychedelic rock, listening to a ton of Love, West Coast Pop Art Experimental band, 13th Floor Elevators, etc., which then evolved into an interest in hard rock, punk, proto metal, prog rock, and synth pop. At one point I got really into hair metal even! Then I grew an obsession with third generation rock, or late 70s/early 80s power pop. As far as literature goes, the first thing that comes to mind is the stack of Yugoslavian Alan Ford comics my uncle gave me. He was a huge Alan Ford buff. I didn't read books much at the time, but I loved comics. I liked Asterix and Obelix comics, and the Dutch comic Jan, Jans en de Kinderen. 

HS: When did you first become aware that you wanted to play music and what made you want to go in this creative direction? What was the scene like where you grew up?

DS: I think I had an interest in it early on but thought it was unattainable, thinking the classic self-sabotaging thoughts like ''you need a real studio for that'' or ''you need a band to do that." But there really are no rules! Especially with the perks of home recording, you can do anything you want, no idea is unwelcome. When I was a teenager I definitely did not have the confidence to play anything for anyone. Actually, I was really scared to play anything for anyone until my early 20s (I'm 27 now), because my third piano teacher of three months, Walter, a jazz pianist (my previous teachers were classical teachers), told me one day when I showed him an idea I had for a song after laughing right at my face, that ''I think you should consider trying something else because you're just not musically talented." I'll never forget that moment as long as I live. That made me really withdraw from any type of music making, it took me years to get over that. That was the first time I ever showed anyone any of my ideas too, so that really sealed me shut. I liked playing the piano by myself on my headphones at my dad's place though. But I never really played with anyone until much later, which makes me that much more appreciative when I do jam with my bandmates, especially since they're incredibly sweet, encouraging, and talented people. I really open up when I can work synergistically with people, something beautiful happens. But that artistic withdrawal in all my teenage years/early 20s has made me sort of inherently independent when it comes to fleshing out musical ideas, which is probably another reason I like working on music by myself so much. So I was never part of the scene in Rotterdam as a participating musician, but I did attend a lot of my friends' gigs, who were all in hardcore punk and metal bands. I was actually a scene kid in the early days! I really loved attending Baroeg Rotterdam and a place called TexMex in Spijkenisse which is shut down now. 

HS: What's the story behind Alley Girl and your new release Peregrine Rambler and what can you share about how it was recorded? Was there a particular moment that made it all happen in your Hollywood home?

DS: I've always felt kind of scruffy and unruly, while very calculated and considerate in other respects. So I thought the word ''Alley'' would reflect the tattered version of me, and ''Girl'' would reflect the more polished version of me. But I'm both at the same time I think. Peregrine Rambler came about because I had a bunch of song ideas I wasn't sure what to do with; the output wouldn't be able to match the pace a band could keep up with. Bands require a lot of coordinating and consideration of other people's time and scheduling, which is obvious, but I felt very ready to develop some of these songs and thought I'd give it a shot on my MT50. I also have a Tascam 388, which is currently living at Good Dog Nigel's spot down the street because he lives in a house where you can make some noise. He gets to use it at his place in exchange for me periodically coming by to record stuff with the full Alley Girl band. I have two full band singles that were recorded there coming out soon which are properly produced and mixed by my bandmates actually! I think the catalyst for this record being recorded on my living room floor is just that I had an itch that only my 4 track could scratch.

HS: What was it like using a Yamaha MT50 for the songs?

DS: I love that thing! I bought it in Amsterdam from my friend Patou, he also gave me a ton of used cassette tapes from the 80s which I used for this record. The machine is very easy to use. It's like any other 4 track really, but the quality is surprisingly good. The only reason my record sounds like shit is because I don't know what I'm doing, but if you do know what you're doing, the recording quality is surprisingly high and it has incredible noise reduction. It's nice using it, it's very compact and light. I just turn it on and plug in my drum machine after fleshing out a song idea. I record the drum machine first, always. Then it's usually a guitar track or bass track, sometimes piano. Once I fill up three tracks I just ping pong once or twice until all the main instruments and vocals are recorded. Then I bounce it into my computer and add more vocals and harmonies, which are layered usually. I then bounce that back into my tape machine and literally turn some knobs until I like the way it sounds which is why people have commented that it's mixed, well... ''interestingly" [laughs].

HS: Diving into some of my favorites, how did the opener "Earth's Widow" come about?

DS: I actually came up with that about a week or two ago because I sat down trying to record Class Clown if I recall correctly. It came about after feeling like an outsider, just feeling estranged from the world in general and thinking of what I've been dreaming about a lot lately. I go through phases where I dream a lot and others where I don't dream, but I've recently come to believe that I always dream but just don't always remember in the morning and the trick is within learning to remember. I think life is just a series of remembering what is true, not necessarily always learning new information; just remembering what information already resides within all of us, although that could also be perceived as ''new information.'' Anyways, don't get me started. I just think there's a lot of things to be learned from dreams, it's the alternate reality immediately accessible within our day-to-day lives. I've come to believe that it's an access point to the subconscious mind which contains a wellspring of information and answers to questions we might not even know we have yet. But the lyric Earth's Widow came about from a random stream of consciousness that maybe wasn't even me, but I've always partially felt like collateral damage of a broken world, not in a victim way but in a genuine way, which in other words makes me feel like I'm ''Earth's Widow." I'm just kind of mourning what I see could potentially be a better world, a better way to live and to treat one another.

HS: How did "I Love Him Nevertheless" come together?

DS: Well, to give you the honest truth, it came about after I came to like a boy who portrayed himself as a very busy guy, but I learned that this is a pattern a lot of people experience. I think everyone is somewhat busy but you make time for people and things you care about — it's just what you prioritize, you know? But the song came about after things ended, and part of me was really frustrated, but in this song I'm saying despite all that I love him anyway; it's like a stubborn and perhaps a bit of an angry kind of longing for someone and refusing to give up loving them. It's a way of expressing my love is unconditional.

HS: What inspired "Nice Try"?

DS: It's the other side of the coin of "I Love Him Nevertheless." It's the angry part of me saying ''nice try, asshole'' and I really wanted to create an anthem for that feeling. I kind of hate texting. I hate dating, too. In Eastern Europe there is no dating. You just like someone and when they like you back, that's it. I hate the anticipation of it, I hate checking my phone a million times to see if someone has texted, I hate no one making moves, and I especially hate "feeling things out." I'm extremely simple that way. I'm kind of like a cavewoman, or my brain is just wired into old world European romantic mode I suppose. I feel like in love, you just gotta go for it, or not. And hell, if you miss your shot, so be it. It'll only make you into a better shot I suppose. It's really so simple in my eyes, but people can make it so complicated for some reason and it bothers me and makes me angry and makes me write songs. 

HS: What's the story behind "Class Clown"?

DS: When I was in high school, before I dropped out, my attendance was so sporadic that it became a joke when I'd show up to class. It made me feel like the ''class clown'' because all my classmates would make a big deal out of it if I appeared to class; I was like an enigma and they'd question me, asking me where I'd been the past week, and they'd interrogate me all the time, which would just make me show up even less. But when I would show up, the kids would make me feel like a class clown, but I knew I wasn't the class clown, I'm actually quite the clown with class. But to answer their question; I was usually just stomping around town or cycling to the Rotterdam harbor or this island called Noordereiland smoking cigarettes by myself or hanging out with some homeless people. Or I'd go to the Turkish bakery down the street. I just couldn't stay home because my dad would know I wasn't in school but there came a point where he stopped caring too. It's really just a song for the kids that don't fit in!

HS: What was it like putting together "Salvage City Stroller"?

DS: I came up with that bass line one morning and wasn't sure what to do with it actually! As time went on, I'd stroll around my neighborhood at night with the same melody in my head and one night I was thinking about people who I deem ''corrupted'' — not in a literal sense, but more in a ''I know to stay away from them'' kind of way. It's like a strong intuitive hunch I get from some people. Sometimes I feel like you can just tell which people are your homies and which aren't, you know? And the people who aren't, to me they live in a figurative Salvage City, they stroll it, and you ought to stay away from them. They're harmless, as long as you stay away from them and have your walls up, and with your friends you can leave the walls down. But it was fun putting the song together because a lot of the melodies came to me over time, which usually doesn't happen. Normally I just have the whole song fully written in my head, but this song is somewhat of a musically chronological patchwork. 

HS: What can you tell me about "It's Not Over Yet" and how this one came about?

DS: This is where my repeated and unrelenting stubbornness comes back in when it comes to wanting to make things work romantically. But as I've gotten older I've learned to let things go when they're just not working. It's mostly about the inherent refusal that occurs inside of me when things start to fall apart, not wanting to believe that something that you previously deemed to be great could possibly have come to an end. I'm a little bit childlike when it comes to these types of things I think!

HS: Are there plans to put a live group together to play these songs out?

DS: Oh yeah, absolutely! We actually have some full band singles coming out soon. I'm really excited for those, they're sounding really good and properly recorded. They're more poppy and well rounded if that makes sense. There's a lot more material reserved for the full band as well. Most of the songs on Peregrine Rambler are songs that can be recorded on a 4 track at home, but some of the other songs I have just absolutely need a full band, so I'm excited to bring those out, and I hope to see everyone at the live shows! We intend to party and I can't wait.

HS: What are some other future plans for this new project and the other groups you're involved with?

DS: Hopefully continue to work towards recording a full length album with the full band and perhaps another 4 track "just me" album. The material is definitely there and ready to go! I also have a project cooking that is more synth/keyboard based that should be coming out later in the year that's just me mainly experimenting with instrumental sounds in the same vain as Space Art, Mort Garson, Mike Oldfield, and Rick Wakeman. I'm also hoping to find a band to play keys in that I'm not involved with when it comes to writing — I'd love to just tour and see the country or play in Europe and play some live shows with bands if they need me!

HS: Any advice or last words you'd like to share with readers and fans of the new release?

DS: My advice is: music is the mission! Or whatever else it is that you like doing. But whatever it is, just make it your mission. If you can see it or hear it in your mind, birth it. I have to follow that advice too, I'm not necessarily one licensed to speak this way yet. But you get what I'm saying, I hope... at least that's the common thread I'm attempting to follow. I also want to thank everyone who has reached out with kind words or has listened to it! It means so so much to me. 

HS: Lastly, what's your opinion on the Hollywood scene right now?

DS: Oh both I am and we all are incredibly blessed with it! I'm surrounded by talented people left and right which is immensely inspiring. It helps that they're my friends too, but I really admire all of them musically. It seems like there's a lot of good stuff brewing lately. I really like Gold Star Gold Star, they're my two friends, Adam and Adam, they sound great live and sound like if The Beach Boys went baroque pop. The Uni Boys and Billy Tibbals, Sunday Mourners, Tom Henry, Quad Super Six, The Freebies, Good Dog Nigel, The Private Eye, I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton, too... I recently went to see a new band called Bad Animal which is just two friends on two guitars and a drum machine and it sounded so good. Essential Forever is a great band too, their music sounds like something that you'd discover driving through a light rainstorm in Colorado somewhere flipping through AM radio gold. Semi Trucks are great and I've also been enjoying this band called THiQ. Oh and not to forget Bounce House and Young Savage Parks! As you can see, there's a lot going on out here these days and I'm excited for it all.