“Can you feel it?  I'm like, six damn strings never sounded so appealing...” - The Dirty Heads, "Believe"

Norfolk -  It's always cool when you hear some awesome music for the first time when you're least expecting it.  I was riding with my friend Elaine and her friend Danielle on the way to Elaine's college graduation.  As I got in the car I tossed a mix CD to Elaine for some traveling music, as is my normal modus operandi.  It's not intentional, but I do have a tendency to be a bit of a “music nazi.”  Elaine started to comply when her friend Danielle said, “Hold on.  I got this new CD I've been listening to.  Do you like Sublime?”

Now usually a set up like that doesn't exactly reel me in.  I've heard way too many bad wanna-be bands trying to be the next Bradley and Company.  But I try to be the most open-minded person I can be when it comes to music, so, despite that intro, I said, “Sure.  Whatcha got?”

To this she replied, “The Dirty Heads.”

It was a burned CD, and the first track just happened to be the track with Rome, “Lay Me Down”.  Within five minutes, I became a fan.

The Dirty Heads were founded in 1996 by guitarist/vocalist Dustin “Duddy” Bushnell and vocalist Jared Watson in Huntington Beach, California.  They were both still in high school when they met.  What started as a reggae-flavored acoustic act grew to include drummer Matt Ochoa, percussionist Jon Olazabel, and bass player David Foral.  With a strong grassroots base in California, the Dirty Heads took the next step and began to record.  The fruit of their labors?  Any Port in a Storm.

Now every time you see a band for the first time that you've been listening to for a while, there is that moment of uneasiness.  Yeah, they make a good album, but how much of that is some producer spending hours going over and over tracks, tweaking shit, going through a hundred takes just to find a good one to use?  As the lights dropped and the crowds voice rose in that unmistakable roar, I felt my stomach drop.  Nothing sucks quite so much as that feeling of disappointment when the band fails to live up to expectations, or worse, just plain sucks. 

This was definitely not the case here.

The show opened with “Hip-Hop Misfits.”  From the first pulses of Matt Ochoa's bass drum, my mind was set at ease.  Jon Olazabel on percussion added a whole layer that can only be appreciated live.  David Foral provided a throbbing bass line that simply made your body vibrate along with Jared Watson's seamless flow and Dustin “Duddy” Bushnell's soulful singing and seamless guitar.

The crowd roars its approval, and the band segued into their next track "Neighborhood," the intricate guitar and vocals providing a smooth blend of soulful reggae.  The last time they were here was the last show of their tour - this time was the beginning.  They were fresh and ready to rock out at maximum levels.

The hits did not stop as they smoothly went into "Taint," the crowd echoing the refrain of “Resonate” bringing chills to my spine.  Again the pumping bass and drums and killer percussion led to the crowd returning their love even louder.  To quote directly from the next song, “Dirty J on the mic, he's a murderer...”  Just a continuation of the flawless flow tripping off his tongue, the clear ring of the guitar solo just held me on until it ended. 

Next came a lesser known song "Rub-a-Dub Style," a very reggae, very peaceful groove.  The next few songs came way too fast - “Everything I'm Looking For” and “Check the Level” - not because they were rushing anything, but more because I just didn't want each song to end.  And then came the surprise awesomeness...

There are certain songs that have an unmistakable intro that catch hold of you no matter if it's the first time you've heard it or the hundredth...so here I was caught off guard hearing the opening of what?  It can't be the Rolling Stones' "Paint It, Black"?  But it is.  Now there are two ways to cover a classic.  There is the straight up reproduction approach, and there is the barely recognizable make-it-your-own approach.  Dirty Heads successfully pulled off both.  What started as a dead on cover quickly turned into a super reggae rendition complete with an original rap bridge.  I was enthralled, and so was the entire crowd.

"Insomnia" came next, followed by a new song from the as-of-yet unreleased new album Until We Die.  It's a slow groove with a sweet sax solo provided by Todd Forman from Sublime.  The song's most memorable moment came from Jon's sick conga rolls.  Without hesitation they returned with the tried and true "Move On", followed by "Shine", with its breathtaking, interweaving percussion.  As the show started to draw to a close, the money songs had to come out.  "Stand Tall" came next, and the crowd ate it up with a spoon, but there was something else that everyone knew was coming but made it no less spectacular

From stage right Rome enters and they kick off a cover of Bob Marley's "Hammer."  The pinnacle of the show was shortly to come.  It was a smooth transition into "Lay Me Down" - the crowd knows every word, and everywhere you look around you could see everyone singing together.  A flawless performance with a show stopping final song, the Dirty Heads delivered.  And no one was disappointed.

DirtyHeads.com

MySpace.com/DirtyHeads

By Director, Genre Lead, and Editor: Andrew Wolfe

The Wolfe was born to a small litter in the mountains of West Virginia and transplanted to suburban Virginia Beach in the iconic year of 1984.  Left to the public school system, he soon became immersed in the varied subcultures of suburbia. Quickly he became a connoisseur of the rich substrata of disaffected youth in post-Reagan America.  Having to leave corporate tool-hood behind, the Wolfe prowls the silent alleyways in search of the next great spark of local music - the incendiary device that will reignite creativity in a music world gone wrong (apparently in the throes of Bieber Fever).

And other fun facts ...

Age: 33
Place of Birth: Parkersburg, West Virginia
Gender: Raoul Duke
Religion: Gonzo
Likes: Good music.  Drinking.  Smoking.
Dislikes: Ignorance.  People who take themselves too seriously.  People who say "I just wanted to touch bases with you."  It's "base" asshole, not a baseball reference.