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Interview w/ Brian & Tracy of Joe Graves & the Dirty Left Hand
Joe Graves & the Dirty Left Hand. You know ‘em or at least you know OF them. If anything you know Mr. Graves and the merry men (and woman) who make up the Dirty Left Hand. Most of these guys have been tearing up the scene for your in bands like Mary Jane Jones, Turtleneck, Ghost Script, Neato Torpedo, etc. But that was THEN. Joe Graves & the Dirty Left Hand are NOW. Sure their sound in many ways reverberates with sounds of indie bands of yore but this is a whole other animal, a new hybrid, a modern monster altogether. Singer Joe Graves and his Dirty Left Hand, guitarists Furman Fowler and Henry Wynn III, bassist Tracy Steele and drummer Brian Allen, are definitely a five-headed beast. With a new CD on the verge of being dropped on the musical masses (there are so masses!!!!) in Augusta, we took the opportunity to hit up the Dirty Left Hand’s rhythm section of Brian Allen and Tracy Steele, who also just happen to be a legally monogamous pair as well!
LL – First of congrats on the new CD “We’ve Hit Ground”, that you guys are gonna release on April 12th. Any special plans for releasing this new “dirty handful” of tunes?
BA- Nothing out of the ordinary….we did wanna sort of mark the event as a jumping off point…..hence the show that evening at THE FIREHOUSE…….of course that and the numerous woodland creatures we plan to sacrifice prior to showtime….you know, to ensure the success of the record……
LL – Any chance of Joe breaking out the John Deere cap?
BA- Are you talking about the Redman cap?……it’s hard to say…..Joe rarely warns us regarding his fashion choices…..he just sorta springs em on us……much to our chagrin…….because really and truly the rest of the band feels strongly about color coordination……
LL – Should be an interesting combo with JG&DLH sharing the stage with Dirty Sons of Ireland. How on earth did someone come up with the ingenious plan of putting together two such radically different yet fun bands?
BA- Well I got Dirty Sons because I like em alot…..reason number two was the marketing implications what with both bands being dirty and whatnot……..and thirdly, their drummer Joel is like a really tall doppleganger of me…..and as we were informed by a whine in The Metro Spirit this week, this music scene is controlled by balding guys in their 40’s with shit taste in music…….DAMMIT……the local music illuminati has been exposed!………did I say that out loud?…….
LL – Well this is not the band’s first foray into releasing recorded material. Between early studio tracks, some live tunes recorded at Sector 7G not to mention a track ON the Live at Sector 7G compilation, you guys have a good catalog of recorded material. What would you say is the most different/same about the tracks on “We’ve Hit Ground” when compared to those previous efforts?
BA- I’d say these new tracks have a good bit in common with the live stuff we did at Sector 7G……at least in the sense that we managed to capture the immediacy of the tunes….we had Phillip Baldy(drummer from SICKSICKSICK) set up his digital studio in our rehearsal space and pretty much recorded a large portion of the instrumental tracks live…….which is a great way to bridge the gaps between the deficits inherent in recording a live show(flawed performances) versus going track by track in a recording studio(stuffy)…… we were able to go back and correct the rough patches, yet still had the urgency of the performances on the basic tracks………I think the songwriting has evolved quite a bit since our earlier efforts as well…..
LL – Now I’ve strayed away from asking this question of bands for a while now in an effort to try and stray from “typical” interview questions but you guys are one of the more different sounding bands in Augusta that I just had to ask: who or what over the years has gone into influencing a band with such a unique sound as Joe Graves & the Dirty Left Hand?
BA- I’ll let Tracy handle this one……..
TS- Well there’s several of us with wide tastes in music; the obvious answer would be the 80’s indie/alt/punk bands. We’ve got songs that clearly reflect Sonic Youth & the Pixies. We cover an Archer’s of Loaf song. The rest is kind of an amalgamation of all the bands we’ve collectively listened to - the list is too extensive to name, I’ve tried it out, it’s exhausting.
LL – Getting back to the CD, what track(s) do you think listeners will latch onto the quickest?
BA- The leadoff track “1965” will probably be the initial favorite…..but there are a couple of other tracks on the record that I think are just as tasty…….
TS- There’s an old time favorite (of DLH fans); “Call all the Fellows”, that didn’t make it on to the “Foibles” recording. It’s our audience participation song plus it’s the most smokinest song on this recording.
LL – What about for the band? Any of the tracks stuck in your heads yet?
BA- I’m all about “Call All the Fellows”……..
TS- I didn’t read this question before I answered the last question - my bad, I’m stuck on “Call ‘Em” too.
LL – How do you guys feel your release stacks up against the sudden barrage of new music that has overtaken Augusta so far this year?
BA- We think it’ll be a fine complement to all the new stuff coming out…….and we think it’s maybe gonna sell more than anyone else in town……..because we have the leverage of all that woodland creature blood we’re gonna spill……
TS- I think we picked a great time to release this; I’m excited about all the new music. It’s a little bit of a competition, but you can’t have a movement without brothers in arms.
woodland creature’s blood belongs to the coyotes.
LL – Speaking of new, there’s also a ton of new bands hitting the scene as well. How does a bunch of long-time rock vets keep up with all these new young bands?
BA- While all of us (Tracy excluded) have been playing original music around here for lots of years, we’re not worried about keeping up with the young lions……….you see, we’re all well preserved…….and we can outdrink, outsmoke, and outprocreate any of those cats……..what the fuck did I just say?……truly we are encouraged by the recent growth of the local music scene……
TS- I’ve always liked seeing more cool bands before I’ve played in a band & nothing’s changed, now that I have a kid the only way I get to see new bands is to play shows with them. So, New Bands, I want to play with you.
LL – Well if there’s any Augusta vets that can do it, it would have to be you guys. Any personal faves among the army of new artists hitting the Augusta scene?
BA- I like both of Kurt Garin’s new bands, EAT LIGHTNING and LANGUAGE ARTS…….
TS- TBUC & TURF WAR.
LL – So there’s a new CD about to drop, a huge show on the 12th…what happens after that?
BA- We’re sort of looking to make a bigger footprint regionally…….lots and lots of college radio play is in the future…….and the usual past that, shows out of town and such……
LL – So when you guys sit down to toast the success of your CD release, and it surely will be successful, what will be the choice of toast libations?
BA- Jager Bombs!………and PBR……..
TS- p.s. Miller Lite, Yuengling, Melon Balls, Patron, Scotch, Appletinis.
LL - …and the myspace addy?
Brian- http://myspace.com/joegravesandthedirtylefthand hit us up………..
LL – Well thanks guys and good luck on the 12th!
Brian & Tracy- Thanks Stoney, we’ll make ya proud………..
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