DollHouse Murder

Dollhouse Murder (DHM) is an American rock band with a subgenre of hip hop. Shortly after the band was formed in December of 2008, DHM performed its first show at the Emergenza Festival on January 10, 2009 at Fontana’s in New York City. The Festival is a four-phase musical showdown where bands compete in cities all over the United States for a chance to represent USA in Germany against bands from all over the world, all in efforts to gain a winning title that will earn them an once-in-a-lifetime production deal.

Prior to its initiation, DHM’s five band members were separate music entities, all with vast experience in the music industry. Guitarist, Anthony Rajo, and drummer and brother Hansel Rajo, were both former members of Lip Service and once signed under Eyeball Records. They joined vocalists Barry Hansford, better known as ‘LVB’, and Issa Waldron, better known as ‘Fresh’, to create a new sound dubbed ‘hip-rock’. Both LVB and Fresh were former members of FB Union. After auditioning a number of bassists, the band enlisted the help of another former Lip Service member, Keith Burton, to join the band, thus completing the lineup. Following a more modern music trend, DHM focuses on hip-rock music - with the full, energetic beat of rock and lyrical content of hip hop. They have a sound that has since been classified as a 2009 version of Rage Against the Machine and ‘Jay-Z with Nirvana backing him up’. The band’s energy and lyrical dynamics has reached thousands of fans in simply a short span of time.

Regardless of the band’s recent conception just four weeks prior to the first show, DHM still managed to secure a slot in the next round of the Festival competition. DHM celebrated yet another victory as they locked in as first place at the second round of the Festival at Bitter End, as well as at the third round at Crash Mansion in late May. DHM finished 4th at the finals in thier performance at Webster Hall and took their music to another level, and share with the world their true passion for music.

In between Festival performances, DHM has booked a number of shows at lounges in New York and New Jersey to drive awareness of the band. With increased popularity, word got around quickly, and soon the band found itself in New Jersey on William Paterson University’s music showcase, ‘Jammin’, a televised event that was simultaneously broadcasted on the University’s radio station and streamed live online. The show led to offers from indie labels and other show promoters.

DHM ranges its lyrical messages from addressing political issues, as in the track ‘System’, or relationship adversity as in ‘Jealousy’. The band’s music manifests from many visions, resulting in creative sounds and strong hooks which developed HIP ROCK!