Hiya Ian and Mandy from Dirty Liars, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
What made you decide that music is a thing for you?
Ian McDirt claims: It’s all about Sex and drugs and Rock n roll! I saw Lemmy singing for Hawkwind on “Top of the Pops” with Stacia dancing part naked when I was a kid and it blew my mind. My dad was a drummer, my mum sang and my sister played keys so I was always at a loose end till I could make a noise. I realised there was life outside the drudgery and the wet grey of a bleak Northern winter, music was an escape, and I wanted a front row ticket.
Introduce us to you all and your musical history.
Mandy says – My Dad introduced me to rockabilly and Elvis on his “stereo music centre “which had a turntable and tape deck. He cherished that thing. Not only did it sound amazing and it even smelt good. He was always having his mates over for beers and a BBQ ,the music blaring out of the loungeroom window onto the deck. It was a great source of endless raucous entertainment. I made my first mix tapes on that machine.
What’s the live music scene like in Brisbane right now? Anyone we should be looking out for?
Brisbane is very different to Glasgow and London where I am from. It’s a lot smaller so all the venues tend to be in close proximity which means you can go out for a night and venue crawl, like a pub crawl except miles better cause you get to see a heap of bands in one night, so the choice and variety is very healthy. Last week I saw Brisbane band “Dad Fight” open for COFFIN from Sydney, both brilliant. Check out Eat City, Fun with Explosives, Copius, and WAAX from Brisbane. The Cosmic Psychos can’t’ be missed, Stiff Richard, The Stripp and The Miffs from down south all prove that Brisbane / Australia is taking off in the background. Lemmy would love it here !
I’ve seen a lot of people struggling for support recently online. What’s your view on the industry?
My view on the industry ?
Musos like to turn on an amp and plug in a guitar or hit a drum for instant gratification. The online promo machine though just isn’t that simple, there’s an element of having to comply with a marketing software executives train of logic and reason to get traction. Musos I reckon are mostly emotional creatures, we like sex and drugs and rock n roll, but to participate in the “industry” we must face the awful struggle and connect with our frontal lobes. It’s not ideal, but just as long as the industry is driven by chaos and beauty before logic, the world shall have meaning.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
We’re on the outside looking in, like the guys at a party hanging out the back, pleased to be there but we don’t really take ourselves seriously, we’re just happy to play music.
Tell us two truths and a lie about you.
I saw Van Halen open for Black Sabbath, Joy Division open for The Buzzcocks and Suicide open for the Ramones
Do you ever worry about people taking things the wrong way or cancel culture? Discuss….
I’ve always been misunderstood. I was given a turbo charged Joi de vivre gene, my enthusiasm and passion for life and music is often doubted and misunderstood. which is fine cause I’ll ignore or cancel culture the doubter. So worry about it, ? no way. Worrying isn’t a thing of mine really. Marc Bolan said, “be nice to people on the way up cause you may meet them on the way down” If you do that you’ll be cancel culture proof. Just be nice dude !
Do you sign up to any conspiracy theories? If not, why not?
Most of them yes. I want to believe.
Prince Harry is not the son of King Charles
Aliens come to Australia for holidays.
Loch Ness is a portal that the Monster uses to transcends realities
However, if anyone says we did not land on the moon, I’ll fight them. Cause we did.
What was your best experience on stage?
That has to be on stage The Big Day out 2011standing in between James Williamson and Rock Asheton as the Stooges played. I was in the force field between them between projecting Iggy Pop, in front of 30,000 people. I did it again in 2017 when they came back, this time I took Mandy with me and she got on the stage alone with Iggy for a while, that was awesome fun.
What was your worst experience on stage?
Bad things happen that aren’t planned, I’ve broken my jaw, an amplifier, and few guitars on stage but just as long as no one is too badly hurt, and nothing gets totally wrecked we always have a great time.
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about.
There’s a chaotic unpredictable theme all Dirty Liars share, so nothing we do tends to surprise people.
What are the next steps you plan to take as a band to reach the next level?
Definitely have some films made. We’re really driven to get some good films out to go with our songs. We have some very amusing, unusual and entertaining story boards ready to go, featuring; aliens, acid, spies, fast cars, Aussie pubs on a hot day, spitting camels and goats in trees, just to give you an idea!
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
As a three piece, there’s a condensed urgency that you can’t hide from. Everyone has to be 100% all the time, there’s’ no hiding, you have to embrace the full throttle from the start and that is what we have tried to catch in the recordings coming out now.
What was the recording process like?
Our recent stuff is the most polished. We’ve booked studios and recording engineers before for a defined period which means there can be a bit of rush to get as much recorded in the time allowed. This time we recorded and waited two weeks so we could, listened with fresh ears and kept on recording and waiting till each song was 100% right, no rushing. It was lengthy but hopefully the finished songs sparkle brighter this time
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
Keeping it simple like a true garage punk band from the mid seventies, only faster. That’s it.
That was our mantra, don’t get carried away and keep it simple and fast.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
I don’t believe it is finished, cause we’ll continue to release more throughout the year, but Dirty Liars, finished, never!
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Dirty Liars would like to share peace and goodwill to all mankind, available from all our socials.
FOLLOW THEM HERE
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