BandNation

Dirty On Purpose guitarist/singer Joe...…

Why don’t we start with you guys introducing yourselves.

I am Joe, I play guitar and try to sing on occasion, and I will be answering these questions because no one else is around right now. Doug is our drummer and sings as well, DJ plays bass and George plays guitar and sings too.

How and when did you all meet to form the band?

George and I met at a bar called the Pourhouse that we both lived near. Neither one of us had any real life to speak of at that point, so we were always there, and we eventually ran their open mic, which was often hilarious. We started playing guitar together, mostly droney delay pedal crap that only we enjoyed. Then after a while I moved away, then moved back, then we found a space that was supposed to be an art studio for us, but ended up being a practice space. We built it with Ryan from the Mazing Vids/Baby Shower, and he said his roommate played bass. That was DJ. Then DJ said he knew a drummer. That was Doug. It all happened pretty quickly, and the first couple of times we all played together, we could tell it would work out. Erika was a friend of George's from school, and initially was singing on a few songs, then became a full member. Then she started another band and now is devoting all her time to them, so we're totally manly at the moment. We practice with our shirts off now, it's gross.

How would you describe your music?

I would describe it as the type of thing you would hear if four people who can only agree on one thing (getting together to play music) got together and played some music. We obviously like a few of the same things, but if one person ever decided to have a coup and take over the direction of the band, it would be pretty interesting. For instance, I would turn us into a Creedance cover band, and George would have us so noisy that only kids in Japan would get us.

And where did the name for the band, Dirty On Purpose, come from?

The name is a reference to the point in time that we all started playing together. It was during the first big wave of young post college kids to hit Williamsburg and sort of take over, where everyone was starting a band and wearing ridiculous clothes and trying not to appear as well off as they actually were. It was a funny time, and the name was a joke that we never thought much of until now, when people ask why our name doesn't fit us at all. But I still like it. Brings back fun memories.

Musically, who's inspiring to you guys?

I think at this point, personally, I am inspired by all of our friends who are making music right now. George and I live with Oliver from A Place to Bury Strangers, and I think they are an awesome band. If you can tolerate the volume. And my current favorite at the moment is VAZ. They are amazing. Check them out; you'll be glad you did. Others that I know and love are Knife Skills (Anna is one of the most original guitar players I have ever seen) and Say Hi to Your Mom (Eric writes songs that you wished you would write someday, but you can't be mad about it, because he makes them sound much better than you ever could). Outside of New York, I have a lot of friends making music as well that inspires me: My friends Garo and Rob are in a band called Outline Kit in Oakland, and Garo is the reason I can play guitar (and also the only reason I have heard Drive like Jehu). And in DC there are the Lucky Bastards, who are good friends of mine and the craziest audiophiles I have ever met. These guys came to our show and knew ever piece of equipment we had on stage, rattling off the year they were made, the wattage of the amps, it was crazy. They inspire me to make things sound good above all else. It’s all about tone with those guys. As far as bands I don't personally know that have inspired me, Bedhead was a huge influence on how I play guitar and how George and I wrote a lot of our early songs before we even had a band. The best live show I ever saw was Neutral Milk Hotel, and Spiritualized is a close second.

Can you please tell us about your Debut EP? Who came up with the album title? What were your inspirations in the writing of the songs on thisalbum?

The title was one of a many that we were all passing around.That one just seemed to fit the songs well, so we went with it. As far as inspiration goes, Doug wrote Cheat Death, and I am sure there's a long story behind it, but I don't know what it is. We write all the music together most of the time, so the inspiration for it is usually just the fact that we all agree on what parts to keep and what to get rid of. I wrote some lyrics on that ep, but I wouldn't say there was much thought behind them. They were for Spider Eyes, and I thought the song sounded like some sort of invasion or something, so I wrote about that. Which is sort of stupid, as I have never experienced an invasion of any sort, much less one on the scale of what I am singing about, but it just seemed to go with the music.
Tom Waits said all songs should be about either the sea or the weather, so I wrote abut an invasion from the sea, possibly by vikings or pirates. Kids dig pirates.

My favorite song is "Cheat Death". What is your favorite song on the album and why?

I don't really know, but yeah, Cheat Death is a beautiful song. My favorite one to play on that EP is All New Friends, but it's not my favorite to listen to. Rod, who produced the ep, made a track of all the songs playing at the same time, and I like to listen to that sometimes. It makes you realize all the patterns you follow unconsciously when you write stuff.

What has been your favorite venue to play at thus far?

We like to play at the Mercury Lounge a lot. It has good sound, and they are the nicest people. We are a hard band to do sound for I think, but they usually get it right. Southpaw is a fun venue to play, they are really nice to bands there. We played at Bowery Ballroom once, and the sound there is awesome. They have a sound booth off to the side of the stage as well as in the back of the room, which was great.

Where do you see Dirty On Purpose in 5 years?

I think as a band, we are all pretty realistic. None of us are talking about which ferrari we're going to buy or anything. Our immediate goal is to put out an album before next spring, and then finish our studio that we just started building. We want to be around for a while, even if it's just for ourselves. Oh, and I would like to see George marry a playboy playmate.

What do you think sets you apart from other bands out there?

I think we just have a different belief of how to get things done, whether it's writing a song or planning a tour or whatever. I think a lot of bands that came up at the same time as us made the decision to make music for right then and there, and sort of cash in on what was going on at the time. We weren't smart enough to do that I guess, so here we are writing stuff that maybe takes a little longer to get into. There are a lot of people that don't get us, but I think the only way to stay together as a band is to stay true to what you think sounds good. Maybe it will take a bit longer for it to catch on, but if you believe in it, it's worth the wait.

What crucial things have you learned about the music business?

I haven't learned a damn thing. The music business is like any other business. Be respectful to people and hopefully you'll come out ahead. There are people who will take advantage of you, and that happens in any business. The unfortunate thing is that sometimes you can be successful by screwing over everyone you meet. But I think in the end, those people get theirs in one way or another. And if you never make it, at least you can sit on your porch and water your lawn and know that you weren't a total asshole to people. Imagine though if you did make it, and you still had friends from when you were playing for free beer in a little bar. That would be the best. Yeah, I'm a total hippie, so what.

What can we find you doing when you aren't touring or working on music?

Doug likes to sit in his awesome backyard and read big thick books.
DJ likes to go out in the woods and walk for hours carrying 80 lbs. of stuff on his back. George fixes guitars and dreams up little projects involving new and strange ways to make noises, and I hang out with my daughter and teach her that chewing gum is delicious, but not if it's on the bathroom floor at the playground.

Any embarrassing on-stage moments?

Many. Personally, I have been having a lot of moments where my voice will just give out, and it becomes very apparent that I am still going through puberty. Also, sound checking in front of my dad when we played in a city where he was working at the time was pretty embarrassing. "Is it supposed to be that loud?" "This place is pretty crappy, huh? There's no chairs in here, doesn't anyone sit down?" My dad is awesome.
Another good one was recently when someone shouted "Where's Erika?" and it made us realize we had better think of something to say instead of just hoping no one would notice. We're idiots.

What has been your most memorable moment in your career so far?

There have been so many little moments, but my favorite thing so far has been meeting all the people and other bands on tour. It's just fun meeting people who are into music and being part of this network of bands. It's a fun little world to be part of.

Anything else you want to tell our Bandnation.com readers before you go?

Thanks for reading, and if you bought the EP, thank you so much. Hopefully we will have a full album for you soon. If not, we'll just put out that same EP again with some yodeling overdubs and a different cover.