Saving Jane
Marti Dodson of Columbus pop-rock band dishes about MTV, MySpace and her gig at Taste of Cincinnati
KARI WETHINGTON | CIN WEEKLY
You've heard "Girl Next Door," right? You know: "She is the prom queen, I'm in the marching band ..." It's all over the radio and MTV (it's even the theme song for the new show Tiara Girls). Even if you don't listen to the radio or watch MTV, you've probably heard it. The band behind the single is Ohio's own Saving Jane, a Columbus-based pop-rock group fronted by Marti Dodson. "It's really cool," Dodson says of the national exposure. "We spent a lot of time getting the songs out on the radio, and to see it on MTV is really exciting." The band's debut disc, Girl Next Door, was released on Toucan Cove last fall. But after radio play, a major label came calling. The band signed to Universal and re-released the disc in April.
THE HIT SINGLE
"Girl Next Door" is incredibly catchy - you'll find yourself singing along even if your high school drama is years behind you. But Dodson says those juvenile feelings of inadequacy sometimes creep up on women who are all grown up. "Life is a lot like high school," Dodson says. "That song is about growing up, and it's also sort of inspired by this night we were playing and I had seen this girl in the audience that was one of those beautiful girls, and I was thinking I just wish I looked like that," she says. "(But then I thought) that's so stupid that I would spend my time and my energy (thinking that)."
THOUGHTS ON FAME
While Dodson appreciates the attention the band has gotten recently, she realizes there's still a lot of work ahead. "I want to be around in five years or 10 years so I hope things keep moving forward and that we keep making names for ourselves," she says. Dodson keeps in touch with her growing fan base through the band's MySpace.com blog. "I try to do it on a weekly basis," Dodson says. "I get so many e-mails and stuff from people so I can't get back to everybody (but through the blog) I'm letting people know what we're up to and giving people an inside peek as to what it's really like." She's also had some intense real-life fan moments. "There was one time that a little girl came up to me and sat in front of me and was just screaming and she says, 'Oh my god, oh my god, it's you!' I turned around, and I was like 'Oh my god, she means me,'" Dodson says, laughing. "It was neat."
TASTE OF CINCINNATI
When Saving Jane takes the CiN Stage on Saturday night, expect a set full of songs from the debut disc, and also some new tunes. "We always just do our thing we have a good time and the people that come to see us theyıre just hanging out with us," Dodson says. And she's pretty pumped to play at Taste. Her husband's family is from Cincinnati and the band recorded some of its disc here - so she's heard rave reviews about Taste. "Everyone talks about how awesome it is," she says.
