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DIRTY-HEADSEFM

Like any good Southern California band origin tale should, our story begins in an Orange County garage where then-high school freshman, Jared “Dirty J” Watson and vocalist/guitarist Dustin “Duddy B” Bushnell played their first songs as The Dirty Heads in 1996.

The two friends originally met at a house party. Dustin was already a musician in a punk band at the time, but it was Duddy B’s first hip-hop style demo type that inspired Watson to begin working on music himself.

The two friends started making music with hip-hop in mind, but with Dustin’s background and the southern California backdrop, the sound inevitably began to incorporate punk rock and reggae influences as well.

The band’s sound was further defined when percussionist Jon Olazabal, drummer Matt Ochoa and bassist David Foral joined the group.

After a short and ill-fated stint at Warner Brothers, the band released their debut album “Any Port in a Storm” in 2008 with Executive Music Group (Fontana/Universal).

The album features guest spots with artists including, Slash and Josh Freese, and boasts a pretty mean production crew as well, including legendary Beastie Boys producer Mario C.

The album was a hit in the Rock/Reggae scene, but it was the single “Lay Me Down” featuring Rome that made the Billboard Hot 100 in 2010 and launched the band into the national spotlight.

The group followed up on the success of “Any Port in a Storm” with “Cabin by the Sea” in 2012. Then followed a period of intense touring, with the band taking their unique Ska and Reggae fusion show on the road with bands like O.A.R, 311, Pepper, Kottonmouth Kings, Unwritten Law, and Sublime with Rome.

Dirty Heads have played just about every venue and festival in the States and abroad since their debut, and the madness has paid off.

They went back to the studio in 2014 and emerged with their most professional and artistically sound album yet, “Sounds of Change.”

Since their latest release, the band has been doing what they do best, touring and playing shows, including the current trek that will bring them to the Monterey Bay area for shows at the California Roots Music and Arts Festival in Monterey and The Catalyst Club later this month.

With a schedule that crazy, it was especially rad of them to take the time to chat to SantaCruz.com about hangovers, Mexico, and their impressions of Santa Cruz audiences.

While you are no strangers to the road, this current tour is a pretty beastly 4-month trip that will take you across most of the United States. Do you have any tricks to help keep you sane on the road?

DIRTY HEADS: It’s one of our longer tours, but we always do a two to three month run in the summer, so it’s pretty normal. The summer tours are a lot more fun than the fall or winter ones because it’s nicer outside and you can do more — explore the city, skate, golf, and fish. My laptop and Xbox are absolute essentials. Podcasts have really been killing down time.

You cut your teeth playing live shows and festivals throughout Southern California and Mexico in your early days. Those shows south of the border can get a little wild – any stories?

DIRTY HEADS: We once made a 13-hour drive back home from Mexico in a 4-seater Subaru with six dudes, hung-over, and with barely any money for gas and beer. That was pretty interesting. Sorry, Mexico stories stay in Mexico. Don’t want to get anyone in trouble.

You have worked with some impressive and talented acts, including Billy Preston, Josh Freese, and Mario C. Are you listening to any artists right now that you would want to work in the future?

DIRTY HEADS: I loved that Hozier album. He would be a killer artist to get on a hip-hop track. Also Run The Jewels [Hip-hop duo rapper/music producer El-P and rapper Killer Mike] is the best thing that’s happened to hip-hop in years.

You have played in Santa Cruz before. Have you noticed any changes in the crowd?

DIRTY HEADS: Oh man, it’s taken awhile for Santa Cruz to warm up to us. We used to play the small room [The Atrium] at The Catalyst with maybe 20 to 30 people for years. Then we began opening for acts like The Expendables. We love it now. The shows are always crushing.


Dirty Heads on Saturday, May 23 at California Roots Music and Arts Festival and in Santa Cruz at The Catalyst Club on Sunday, May 24.