Stephen gets personal with Limerick rockers Dirty Diamonds
“Larger than life” is an overused epithet in this day and age. For Dirty Diamonds it just about suffices.
Ask them about their first rehearsal or first gig and the general reply is “I can’t remember”. You see Dirty Diamonds don’t live in the past and they certainly don’t dwell on the future, for them it’s all about the here and now. You’ve seen the over the top Kiss gimmicks, you’ve read about Motley Crue’s insane antics but answer this question…Is there any REAL rock n roll band in this country or are they all back in bed half an hour after their gig? Dirty Diamonds incorporate everything we love and miss about REAL rock ‘n roll. They don’t just write songs about dating strippers and totalling cars (3 at the last count), they live it!
I caught up with the band for a quick chat before their upcoming tour.
(Me) How would you describe Dirty Diamonds’ sound to a complete stanger?
(J, Drummer) Balls out Rock n Roll!!
(P, Singer) Elevator Music!!
(J, Drummer) Hellovator music, it goes straight to hell.
(Band) collective laughing
(Me) Was there a vision for the band?
(J, Drummer) I think the initial idea was like…what de we say? Oh yeah, we actually wrote it down..
“Balls out rock n roll with big catchy choruses, screaming guitar solos and soaring vocals…..oh yeah and pounding rhythms” (band break out laughing)
(P, Singer) We try stick within those realms.
Dirty Diamonds broke on to the scene with their lavish debut EP Leaving Town in May. Approved with a solid high five from the tastemakers, it literally raised the bar for rock music in Ireland. However, the high fives didn’t stop there, the double d’s bounced their way on to radio too. Everyone from RTE and Phantom in Ireland to BBC Radio 1 and XFM in the UK have championed the revolution. When a song (‘Let’s Get Loud’) opens with the line “It’s time to raise the Deci-Bell” you know you’ve just stepped on the DD express, first stop, rockville! The train has also ventured through the UK and Ireland with the likes of The Answer, Crashdiet and Warrior Soul. Introducing the band to rabid rock fans at every stop along the way. Even the tabloids love em – “Rock n’ Roll is back with a bang” – The Sun.
(Me) Do you all listen to the same kind of stuff?
(J, Drummer) ‘Last Chance For Love’ is quite different to ‘Let’s Get loud’ so yeah there is a bit of diversity.
(P, Singer) We are a bunch of guys who listen to a lot of eclectic music, except for John he’e very one sided. With everything in his life
(J) Oh yeah, sure I am…
(J) When i was starting to write for this band particulary, I deliberately listened to only 80′s glam metal, the osmosis effect. I thought if I listened to it enough I’d have enough influence.
(Me) What kind of stuff gets played in the van then?
(J) We listened to The Answer on the way down. Fanstastic guys.
(Me) Any guilty pleasures?
(P) Our bassist Shane who isn’t here has loads. Glee, Mariah Carey, all that kind of stuff. He puts his iPod on shuffle and thinks we won’t notice. A heavy diet of Justin Beiber ya know.
(J) A heavy diet of auto-tune.
(J) Me and Jimmy (the quiet guitarist) love Queen and me and Alan (Guitar) love Judas Priest.
(Alan) You’d hear a lot of Thin Lizzy aswell. A lot of dual guitar bands too.
(J) Whitesnake, Chuck Berry, Motley Crue, all those awesome bands.
(Me) Do you think the different influences make for something unique within Dirty Diamonds?
(J) I think dd is pretty unique in itself anyway because we’re always looking for other bands of our genre to play with. In Ireland they’re hard to find. There isn’t that many bands doing the same stuff we’re doing, here at least. I mean over in the UK there is a lot. We do like to get over to the UK but we do like to be a big fish in a small pond (band breaks into laughter) or at least an original fish (the laughing gets louder).
(Me) What kind of stuff would influence you to write then, where does the inspiration come from?
(J) Ah, biros (without missing a beat, band start roaring laughing again)
(P) Bic in particular
(Alan) Eclectic
(P) I suppose general life really, I mean “Last Chance for Love”, we’ve all been in that situation at 2 in the morning.
(J) I mean look at our song ‘Leaving Town’… what’s the opening line again?….
“Wake up everyday the same routine, drag my ass outta bed, try to make a scene, I just wanna rock and party all night long”
It’s a song about getting caught up in the 9 to 5 when all you want to do is play in a band and rock out.
(Alan) With Jagermeister in vast quantities
(J) Yeah and make a fool of yourself on stage.
(Me) There was a concious desicion for the band to be fun then?
(J) Yeah, there’s fun to a degree but the songs are serious. Not dreary serious but at the same time it’s not a piss take band like Steel Panther.
(Me) If ye could meet one person dead or alive and spend the day with them, who would it be and what would ye do?
(P) Hitler! (hysterical laughter once again)
(J) Do you mean when we meet them they’re alive and then when we’re done with them they’re dead? (band are in hysterics)
When the band are not touring they are holed up in Bow Lane {Def Leppard} studio, where they are putting the finishing touches to their debut album. The working title for the album is Let’s Get Loud, with a 2013 release date pencilled in. Only minimal reports have leaked from the studio on its progress.
(Me) How are you finding the album recording, is the producer bringing much to it?
(J) it’s always difficult doing it with the band for the first time (everyone erupts in laughter). It’s weird hearing the songs back for the first time. It’s fine for everybody else who can see us live and that but when you’re playing you’re kind of concentrating on what you’re doing. Even when you know the songs well. You’re on auto-pilot, concentrating on what you’re going to do next. So, you can’t really listen to the song as an overall thing from start to finish. Even on the live videos you don’t get the actual impact of being there. So really it’s our first time hearing the songs and in fact he did a really great job.
(Alan) He really liked the music we were doing too so he put himself in our shoes a lot. He also put in a lot of long hours.
(J) At times it was a bit of a nightmare but then again there is nothing else we’d rather be doing.
(Me) Can I ask if there is a Dirty Diamonds motto?
(P) Just have a really good time I suppose.
(Me) What would Dirty Diamonds do if they won the Euromillions?
(long silent pause)…………
(Phil) Vegas?
(J) Fuck yeah!!
(Alan) Vegas, fucking yeah!
(Me) One last question before I wrap it up.
If someone was to write a book on the life and times of Dirty Diamonds, what would the title be?
(P) “Let’s Get Loud”
(Band) oooooooooooohh
(J) “Let’s Get Laid”
(Band) ha ha ha ha!!
(J, Drummer) Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott had some great advice “Don’t take yourself too seriously. You’ve got to have a sense of humor, You have to be strong-willed to put up with all that bullshit that goes with the job. You’ve got to consistently write good songs, and have the right rock-roll-attitude. The Stones are a perfect example. If you could last that long, you’ll be very happy“.
