The Dirty Americans

Oct. 12, 2008

The Detroit rock and roll music scene built its reputation in the ‘60s with a raw, high energy industrial sound. Bands like the MC5, Iggy Pop, Ted Nugent and Bob Seger led the way. That legacy has carried on through the generations as Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker and The White Stripes, among others, have blended the Motor City’s musical heritage of rock, Motown and blues to to take them to the top of the charts.
Now along comes The Dirty Americans, another Detroit-based band exploding on the national scene. They will be in Kalkaska at Whitetails (formerly The Fireball Lounge) for an EP release party on Saturday October 18.
“We are out touring in support of our self-titled EP. It is five songs, and we hope to use it as a calling card to landing a deal with a record company,” said lead vocalist Myron. “We are looking not just for any deal but the right deal. We have been in the ‘take anything just to take it’ situation before, but not anymore.”
What Myron (the guys just use a nickname or their first name, with Freedom on lead guitars, Pete on bass and Jeremiah on drums) was referring too was his previous band, The Workhorse Movement, that evolved out his days as a college student in the mid-‘90s in Mt. Pleasant. The name of the band was adapted from the Tom Wolfe book, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and meant “committing oneself 100 percent to both work and pleasure.”

PARTIED LIKE ROCK STARS
“We moved to Detroit after college and before we knew it signed a deal that evolved, and basically we just took anything to get our name out,” said Myron. “We just started touring and taking any opening slot we could; and we partied and toured non-stop like rock stars. But now, we are being more selective in our approach not only with a major label deal, but who we tour with. We are picking and choosing our opportunities.”
The Workhorse Movement lasted five years, building a following around the U.S. and Europe. Despite not touring on Ozzfest, they still had a song on the 1999 Ozzfest album. Their blue collar work ethic led to many playing opportunities, but after several years of non-stop touring and partying the band burned out and broke up.
A few months after the the band broke up, Freedom and Pete called Myron to let him know they were going to get together to write songs and form a new band. He joined them and they decided to search for a drummer.
“Basically, Freedom placed an ad on a Detroit music; website looking for a drummer wanting to play big sound rock and roll original music, and while he was doing that, Jeremiah was posting, looking for the same thing. Five minutes into the audition, we knew he was the one,” said Myron. “At that rehearsal we asked him what kind of band he wanted to play in and he responded ‘just some kind of dirty American band. So in five minutes, we found a drummer and a name for the band.”

IN THE STUDIO
That was 2001 and Myron, Freedom and Pete still had an in with Roadrunner Records from The Workhorse Movement days. So the Dirty Americans found themselves in the studio and, eventually, released a demo. Before they knew it, they were on the road and opening for bands such as Metallica, Green Day and Jet. But, for the boys from Detroit, it was a real treat opening and touring with the hometown legends such as Alice Kooper, MC5, Ted Nugent and Iggy Pop (they performed in front of 30,000 people in Italy for the Stooges reunion tour).
“We grew up listening to these bands. these were our parent’s bands. This was the music our dads listen to while working in the garage,” said Myron. “So it was like being in the twilight zone being on tour and opening for these guys.”
Recently the band has been touring with Kid Rock, including this summer’s show in front of 15,000 at Boyne Mountain.
“There is a real rock and roll revival going on in this country right now and bands like the Dirty Americans are right in the center of it,” said Kid Rock. “They have opened up several shows for me and the fans love them.”
Is there a rock and roll revival out there? Myron believes so.
“I think we saw some diversions from straight-up rock and roll and now everything is coming full circle and that is why these bands from the ‘60s are hot,” said Myron. “There is a real hunger out there for no-nonsense rock and roll and we have stayed true to that sound from our inception.”

WORK ETHIC
The Dirty Americans have hung onto one philosophy that worked for the guys during The Workhorse Movement days: “work hard.”
“The industry has changed a lot and there are no more sweetheart multi-million dollar label deals anymore,” said Myron. “But the principal of working hard is still there. This business is about networking and building fans one at a time.”
It is that mindset that has the band just as pumped up for the gig this weekend at Whitetails in front of a few hundred people, versus the thousands they are accustom to.
“I have people ask me if it is hard to get excited for these small shows,” said Myron. “Actually, several years ago I saw Monster Magnet at this club that could hold easily 1,000, but only about 30 were there; an these guys could have copped and attitude, but they rocked out as if the place was full. When you play in front of 15,000 people, the energy from the crowd is already there, when you go in front of a few hundred, you have to work harder to create that energy and I like that.”
While the group is touring in support of some new material, they have already enjoyed success with previously released songs and their 2005 album Strange Generation.
Their song “Jet Black Holy Water,” was heard a lot at Comerica Park when Sean Casey was a member of the team.
“It was pretty wild because Sean Casey, of the Detroit Tigers, took to the song. so, whenever he came to bat they would play the song,” said Myron, the band’s lead vocalist. “I would get some e-mails from friends saying they were just at the Tigers game and our song was being played. Some of the guys that worked for the team used to play our stuff in the clubhouse; and so some of the players took to it.

BURN YOU DOWN
While The Dirty Americans may not be a household name as of yet, their music has found its way into a lot of homes. The band signed a deal with Playstation 2 and several of their songs are featured on popular video games. Games, Wayne Gretzky Hockey and ATV 3 feature the song, “Burn You Down” while Grand Tourismo 4 has “Car Crash.” The Dirty Americans have also provided the sound track with their song “Chico” for the popular game, American Chopper.
“We have some fans that work for Playstation, so this has been pretty cool,” said Myron. “It has helped connect us with new fans, as well, because we will get e-mails from people who have these games who love the tunes and ask if we are coming to their town anytime soon.”
The Dirty Americans list themselves as a Detroit/Ann Arbor/Stanwood Michigan band. The latter community is near Big Rapids where Myron has bought a home along the Muskegon River.
“It is very peaceful here. I love Detroit, but living in the woods is good for the creative mind,” said Myron. “Northern Michigan is a great place and we are looking forward to the show in Kalkaska. There were so many people at Boyne it was hard to go and talk to anyone at the show (though Myron did walk off the stage during the show into the crowd who kept him elevated on their shoulders). We plan to hang with the people after the Whitetails gig.”
If you missed or “miss” the ‘60s Detroit rock scene, this is your chance to live the 21st century version of that sound. The Dirty Americans sound will whack you upside the head, rip the enamel off your teeth and knock you on your ass. Catch them Saturday night at Whitetails (formerly the Fireball Lounge) in Kalkaska. For ticket and show information call 231.258.6800. To get a taste of the Dirty Americans myspace.com/dirtyamericans.