Dirty Money Discusses Single, EP Debut, and More!

 

Classic modern day rockers DIRTY MONEY have recently released their first single, and are hard at work currently upon what will be their debut EP. They have even had some time to do some shows, with a lot else in the works already. The band discusses all of this and much else below.

 

1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.

We're an originals rock band from south Oxfordshire consisting of John Hudson (Spud) on vocals, Mark Walker on guitar, Ross Hutton on bass and Luis Silver on drums. Mark and Ross had a band together for a lot of years and around that time Ross also was a pub landlord. I (John), lived in LA at the time and had come home for Christmas and was staying with my mum who lived in the same village as Ross' pub. So being a grown man staying with parents I did the only sensible thing and went to check out the locals and happened to walk into the Cherry Tree, (Ross' pub) which had various guitars and bass' adorning the walls and met them both. We all just hit it off and I think I didn't leave for about 3 days. Anyway I went back to the states but we kept in touch and when I moved back 3 years later my wife and I stayed with Ross and his wife while we were looking for a place to live. Mark lived down the street so we just picked up where we left off. Then when their band broke up just before lockdown Mark called me and said they were looking to put another band together, would I like to be the vocalist and I jumped at the chance. I'd got up with their old band a couple of times and we'd gelled and we'd talked about putting something together before but it took a while. Trying to find a drummer was a different story altogether. I think we had about 5 sit in with us that either we didn't feel fitted or they just disappeared off the face of the earth so we really struggled and it was like trying to find rocking horse shit if you'll excuse the expression. Then Ross, being the salesman that he is, struck upon the ingenious idea that he'd look through the classifieds for people looking to sell their drums and that was how we happened to find Silver. Poor guy was trying to sell his drums and instead Ross convinced him to keep them and join the band

2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?

Ha! The name was something we went back and forward on a lot but nothing was quite right. Spud was having one of his grumpy days and was sick of being broke and muttered "Dirty Money" to himself and had a Eureka moment. Hence Dirty Money was born

3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?

We're sort of scattered around Oxfordshire. Ross and Silvaa are out in Bicester, Mark is just outside of Thame and Spud is in Henley on Thames so we sort of cross a few local scenes and really we play all over the country. Foals are pretty good. Ross went to school with their drummer Jack and Spud's childhood friends and ex bandmates are in Cable Street Collective and Porcelain, both worth checking out.

4. How would you describe your style?

Bold, brash and ballsy. Our sound is a unique blend of classic and modern rock, with catchy hooks and powerful guitar riffs. Our real strength though lies in our live performances which are raw, high energy and completely unapologetic. We feel that we always manage to build a bond with our audiences and that we're very good at making an experience for all involved out of a gig.

5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?

We've recently released our first single "If". We've been getting a fantastic response and it's been getting some great radio play on different stations across the country so, for a debut single, it's been phenomenal. If is a fusion of high-octane rock n roll and introspective lyrics that delve into the depths of human experience. It captures the emotions of longing, loss and desire, packaged in a sonic experience . It's definitely on the softer side of the spectrum to what we normally do but it's still fairly indicative of our sound.

6. Do you have any new music in the works?

Yep, we're in the studio to record our debut EP next month and we're nearly finished writing the album so watch this space

7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?

Yeah we've had some great gigs of late. We played with The Foxies while they were over here on their European tour. We're playing at MK11 in Milton Keynes on July 16th, we're supporting The Meteors in Manchester on July 17th, we're at The Stag's Head in Hoxton on August 4th and then at The Phoenix in High Wycombe on September 16th

8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?

World domination...just kidding, (sort of). We're in our early days as a band so we're planning to release the EP and get on the festival circuit for next summer.

9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?

You can find us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5yJBuUrqIBSHWCxWmX5ij1?si=Vky95uyLSumibm4hQLrj6Q and you can buy our stuff on itunes, amazon music and all those good places that sell quality music

10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?

Where they were. If someone can remember where they were the first time they heard a band or a track, you know its a good one.