Dirty No.9

Please Vote For Us At XFM UPLOADED!!
In 2006 a bond was formed upon the dance-floor of London’s infamous nightclub, The End. It was the clattering future beats, the conversation of incompetent music, and a collective vision that brought them together. On the dark winter Sunday morning walk home that followed, Dirty No.9 was born. Sinking deep into the squats of Hackney and St. Pancras an almost scientific effort to balance reckless nightlife with the boredom of post-education living followed. The band enrolled in this vibrant academy of influence and noise that bred their sound. Procrastinating with colourful and provoking thoughts, touching subjects that other writers don't, and bored with every "new band" on your saturated radio.. something had to be done...
Thanks to the decent promoters and those who support us. We appreciate you more than you will ever know!

The rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle of Dirty No.9
For the Informer by Nicola Fagan.
“I don’t like shower curtains and Karl sounds like Eeyore when he speaks”
Four city boys playing punk and indie inspired music, Dirty 9 are a force to be reckoned with. Their sound is unique and their artwork? Well, let’s just say it involves either skulls and microphones or naked, svelte ladies. Enough said.
The foursome consists of Matt Murrey, vocals/guitar, Todd Bates, bass/vocals, Karl Stoddard, guitar and Cookie on drums.
Matt Murrey took time out from his holidays to catch up with IO to talk clarinets, first gigs and drug rehab centres.
“My first instrument was clarinet, but I rebelled against it because I wanted to play the sax and my parents said the sax was too big for me. So I gave it up- wish I hadn’t. Then I picked up guitar,” he recalls. When asked about song writing, Matt says: “I started song writing from a really early age- about 12, I think- but at 12 they would have been very dodgy!”
The band’s list of influences on their Myspace page is varied, from Led Zeppelin to Elvis, Nirvana to Motown and everything in between.
Matt mentions that “one of the first songs I heard and liked were the Bruce Springsteen songs my mum used to play.” He was a fan of rap in the 90s, but claims that “rap is dead now” and was also influenced by grunge, jungle and drum and bass.
When remembering Dirty 9’s first gig, Matt laughs. “Our first gig was, stupidly, a ‘Battle of the Bands’ in Covent Garden. It was pretty funny because we were all really f****n’ nervous and Karl stood with his back to the crowd the whole night and I was really pissed, but we did OK I think, for our first gig. And no, we didn’t get through to the next round,” he adds.Dirty 9’s first “proper” song, as Matt calls it, was “How Many of You?” which was recorded “in this little studio in a drug rehab centre”. Rock ‘n’ roll.
“It went down well at gigs,” says Matt, “and people like the live recording, but it’s our early stuff so a bit different. It’s not an ‘official’ track yet, but I’m sure we will take it into the studio - not the rehab centre - to make it official.”
When asked about major labels, Matt replies: “I don’t think major labels are the way to go anymore.
“But on the other hand, there are good points about being on a major. It depends on what they offered us- terms, percentages...”
Heads screwed on and success on their minds, Dirty 9 have just completed a mini UK tour to promote their new EP, which was recorded at Stakeout Studios near Hampton, South London. What about the guys themselves though? Surely there’s more to the four-piece than music and promotion?
Matt reveals that Karl “sounds like Eeyore when he speaks”, Todd “is called “party boy” ‘cos of the way he thrusts hips when recording vocals” and Cookie “can go a week without proper sleep, going to squat parties and shit.”
What about Matt? “I don’t like shower curtains or water with hair in it...erg!” What about the band as a whole- pet hate? “Shitty indie music,” states Matt. There you have it, then.
To catch up with the band or keep track of gig dates, check out their Myspace page on www.myspace.com/dirtynumbernine...