Myron : Vocals
Jeff Piper: Guitars and Vocals
Pete Bever: Bass and Vocals
Jeremiah Pilbeam: Drums and Percussion
When a band hails from the outskirts of Detroit Rock City you can bet your ass that band has rock 'n roll pumping through every ounce of its being. From the sounds of Dirty American's Roadrunner Records debut, Strange Generation, this Michigan quartet lives to rock and rocks to live.
The four members of Dirty Americans came together in January 2001 under an auspicious set of circumstances involving the breakup of The Workhorse Movement, a band once signed to Roadrunner Records. Contained within the ranks of Dirty Americans are three former members of the offbeat rock and hip-hop influenced group. The backbone of The Workhorse Movement consisted of Myron (Vocals), Jeff Piper (Guitars), and Pete Bever (Bass). Throughout 2000 they toured across the United States and United Kingdom with groups such as Disturbed, Slipknot, Pitchshifter, Kittie and Fu Manchu. After an endless cycle of touring in 2000, they broke up in December of that year. When the emotional debris of the break-up had been cleared, Piper, Bever and Myron came together and decided this was not going to be the end of their musical journey together.
Piper placed an advertisement on a Detroit music web site for a drummer. The ad asked for 'Big sound, no metal, just someone to equal out this bizarre equation'. Within a few minutes of Piper's post an aspiring rock drummer, Jeremiah Pilbeam, contacted him. Pilbeam, a multi-instrumentalist who played in rock, soul, and Motown-style bands, had also posted an ad on the very same Detroit music web site seeking to do time in a band that played all original music. "They contacted me because we were posting the same exact ads on the Internet", says Pilbeam, "They were using the same references that I had posted, looking for musicians playing the big rock sound". Piper hastily scheduled a rehearsal with Pilbeam so the four of them could meet. It was during their first rehearsal that Myron, Bever and Piper knew they had found their missing link. "It clicked, personally", says Pilbeam, "When we got the full band together to jam in Pete's basement, we played for two minutes, and his neighbor ended up calling the cops! We got shut down in two minutes, but in those two minutes, it was instant and bad ass!" Another success that came out of Dirty American's first rehearsal was the group's name. Myron had asked Pilbeam what kind of band he wanted to play in and his reply was, "Just some dirty American rock band".
The straight up vintage rock that Dirty Americans dole out isn't anything like the pretty and polished commercial rock that clogs most of today's FM dial. Rather, Strange Generation is an album influenced by artists such as Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, Bob Seger and Cactus. Fans of rock outfits like The Cult and Queens Of The Stone Age will be magnetically drawn to Strange Generation's bombastic arena rock sound and classic rock vibe. Their music conveys a broad and familiar spectrum of sounds within the realm of Rock. From the band's more melodic songs such as 'Burn You Down', to the laid back acoustic groove of 'Deep End' it is apparent to the listener that Dirty Americans embody the true essence of what it means to be a rock band. According to Piper, "Dirty Americans was created in the wake of a long and trying quest to succeed and survive, musically and emotionally. Lyrically, that is the core of what our songs are written about. Musically, we focused on just being a fuckin' rock band again". With chemistry and vision fully intact, Dirty Americans set out to make an album with enough turbo-charged rock to unhinge a house from its foundation.
Since the band's debut show in the spring of 2001 they remained busy playing around Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio while continuously writing new material. The band's big break came in the summer of 2002, when the band met up with producer Paul Ebersold (3 Doors Down, Sister Hazel) in Memphis, Tennessee. The band and their producer hit it off immediately and all four members of Dirty Americans were confident that Ebersold was the one person that could bring to life their vision of what rock music should be. In February 2003, Dirty Americans began recording what would become the album Strange Generation. The band and Paul had an arduous task ahead of them having to weed through over 50 songs the band had written and plucking the best tunes for the album. The result is a cache of songs that any self-respecting, red-blooded rock fan will shake their ass to. 'Car Crash', with its vicious love gone wrong vibe, was recorded in one take. The band scribed the catchier-than-a-cold-in-January 'Burn You Down' literally on the spot. The sweaty title track, 'Strange Generation', is an ode to Cheap Trick as the song twists and writhes through escalating guitars and syrupy backing vocals. 'Time In Space' will inspire listeners to spark up a spliff, chill out, and remember that we're all out here in the world just trying to survive.
In a world of prefabricated, preconceived so called rock bands, Dirty Americans are truly a breath of fresh air: they kick out the fucking jams with reckless, ruthless abandon, with little regard for trends or pretense. Strange Generation shakes, rattles, and rolls, and will grab the attention of modern rock and classic rock fans alike. You have been warned, the bar is about to be raised. Artists such as The White Stripes and Kid Rock may have put Detroit Rock City back on the map, but it is Dirty Americans that are going to keep it there. Fuck Generation X. To Hell with Generation Y. Who wouldn't want to be a part of this Strange Generation, with Strange Generation as the soundtrack? Follow the Dirty Americans credo! Let there be rock! |
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