Interview with Dirty Money

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Music has been such a massive part of all of our lives since we can remember that it’s hard to imagine really doing anything else. We’ve all done a myriad of other things on the side. Ross used to run a pub, Mark worked in software sales, Spud seems to have had every type of job you can think of for small periods of time from label splitter (yep, that really is a job) to accountant to honey salesman to bingo caller and Silva was a tiler but music has always been our number one and probably the most consistent.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Believe it or not we tend to go to a lot of gigs. We’ve all got a hugely eclectic musical taste so we catch a lot of different bands that come to town. Spud writes, acts and does graphic design too. I think it’s always good to be inspired by other people’s work and it different discipline’s help you to create in different ways. Lyrically I, (Spud), tend to write in pictures if that makes any sense. The lyrics tend to be a description of what I visualize when I hear the tunes.

How long has your band been around?

We’ve been together now since February 2022. We were trying to get something together earlier than that but that little pandemic thing kind of got in the way.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

We’re all scattered around different parts of Oxfordshire. I wouldn’t say that’s particularly influential to our music or our style in general but I suppose there are other influences. Silva’s from Madeira and Spud lived in the states for about 10 years so there’s some different life experiences in there somewhere

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

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

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

We played with The Foxies back in June while they were over here on their European tour and that was a great one. They were just an awesome band both musically and personally and were really supportive. Was a great show.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

We just love playing so we love all the venues. We’re grateful we get to play. As for venues we want to play…Wembley? Hollywood Bowl? We’d actually really love to play The Whiskey a Go Go in LA.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

GnR, Blackstone Cherry and The Stooges. Maybe throw MC5 in there too.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Don’t be too hard on yourself and stop being afraid of failing. Nothing perfect all the time and certainly not the first time you do it. Failure is not a destination unless you make it one by giving up. It’s just a lesson along the way

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

I think Play to win because its our first born so to speak. That was the moment when we sort of looked at each other and went you know what? This could work

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Ego is so much fun to play and the crowd’s seem to love it. Its just one of those tracks where we just get to let loose

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

We don’t try to force it but thankfully because we all enjoy it we tend to spend a lot of time playing or writing when we’re not together as well as when we are so someone will always bring an idea they’ve been messing with and then we flesh it out together

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

We’re not really ones for messages. For us songs are really about expression and an audience being able to connect with that. If you don’t have the vulnerability in your work from exposing a piece of yourself then its not genuine and you cant expect anyone to be able to connect with that.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

No, not really. If we do, the word’s, “stop being a twat” tend to work quite well

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

World domination...just kidding, (sort of). We're in our early days as a band so we're planning to release the studio EP and get on the festival circuit for next summer. We are actually mixing a live EP at the minute from our gig with The Meteors in Manchester. We’re also playing at The Stag in Hoxton on Aug 4^th, MK11 in Milton Keynes on August 27^th and The Phoenix in High Wycombe on September 16^th if you want to catch a show