You’re not going to find a band like Dirty Mae anytime soon. The band, whose sound defies both genre and expectation, is one of the most truly unique sounding acts I’ve heard in the decade of this site’s existence. Blending an old timey N’Awlins with an undeniable sense of modernity, Dirty Mae is a band that needs to be experienced.
We spoke with Dirty Mae two weeks ago about their record Holy Mama, their wild sound, and what they’re looking for in the future.
Dirty Mae Is (Band Members & Instruments They Play): Ben Curtis (banjo/guitar/harmonica/
We’re Based Out Of: New York City
Year We Formed: 2016
Story Behind Our Name: We wanted a name that personified our sound. We first looked into vaudeville language, as some people have described us as “neo-vaudeville.” We loved the old words and fun phrases. Our attention was drawn to Mud Towns and bands who toured them. Between that and old-world names like “Mae,” our name emerged. We have an old-world sound with a new world edge. Furthermore, it has both a masculine and a feminine voice. From there (and hours of discussion) came “Dirty Mae.” Once we landed on it, it was a no brainer. It’s hard to agree on a band name but we all agreed on this. It felt right, and it felt like it captured our sound: a little dirty and a little sassy.
You’ve Seen Us In Other Bands Before Such As: The answer varies by band member:
Ben Curtis: The Condition, Bankrupt & The Borrowers, Samvara, Sassafras, Danny Fingers & The Thumbs.
Cassie Fireman: Sassafras, The Pantry Droppers.
Robin Frost: Danny Fingers & The Thumbs, Myrna & The Bulldog
Cory Metrick: Solid Gould, Sunflower & The Seeds, Mother’s Wine, Buckwheat Groats, Zewdy Awalom.
Eric Quinn: Father Nicotine, Stephanie Osmond, OURBIGBAND.
Our Sound Has Been Likened To: The one phrase everyone uses to describe our music is “New Orleans.” We’ve also heard: “Paris after dark,” Vaudeville, New world cabaret, folk rock, folk funk, ghost folk, Indie folk, rockabilly, and Americana.
Bands we’re likened to: Dr. John, The Dresden Dolls, Jefferson Airplane, Andrew Bird, Norah Jones, Regina Spektor, Mazzy Star, Country Joe & The Fish, Talking Heads, Man Man.
Famous/Awesome Bands We’ve Shared the Stage With: Maddy Walsh & The Blindspots, Driftwood, Western Centuries, Keith “The Captain” Gamble, Della Mae, Donna the Buffalo.
You have a wildly unique sound. Can you talk two things — First, what bands/singers/acts inspired your sound? Second, since this is such a unique sound, how did all come to the realization that this “is the sound” of Dirty Mae?
Thank you. We pride ourselves on being unique, but true uniqueness comes from just being ourselves. We really inspire each other. However, the music that influences us is Dr. John, Tom Waits, Andrew Bird, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Fleetwood Mac, Janis Joplin, Jewel, The Cranberries, Alabama Shakes, Indigo Girls & Norah Jones and much much more.
We realized that this “is the sound,” when Robbie, Cassie and I came together and this music came out of us. It happened almost immediately.
You have more than one lead vocalist in the group — does this fact allow the band to be more creative when coming up with songs and vocal arrangements? And if so, why?
We consider Cassie our “lead vocalist,” but being that we do alternate lead vocals, it allows the space for all of us to be fully self-expressed and creates much more diversity and creativity in our music. As for the vocal arrangements, sometimes we bring those to the table with whoever wrote the song but mostly we enjoy creating them together.
You dropped your album Holy Mama in September. Can you talk about the theme of this record? What type of ideas were you addressing/tackling with your lyrics? Or was this more about making a definitive statement about the band’s unique sound?
This record was about capturing our essence as both musicians and people. We weren’t trying to make any definitive statement. We just wanted to capture our true sound, with a dream team of musicians, and pull out all the stops. As for feel and lyrics, between being newlyweds and the loss of Robbie’s father along with several close relatives and friends, the state of our country and mother nature, the last few years have come with much love and loss. We embrace the dark and the light and dancing in between. We feel that our album does too. We also believe that life is short and it’s important to live it to the fullest. That comes with up and downs and never taking ourselves too seriously, but also capturing heart and soul. We definitely feel everything we do, and we hope the listener does too.
Dirty Mae had a song on The CW recently — can you talk about the experience of hearing one of your songs on TV, and what show was it for?
Hearing our music on TV was super exciting. We actually got to play live on a CW network show. Live TV isn’t as connected as live theater as you can’t see your audience, but there’s still a rush and a thrill. We also just got to play live on the world-famous Blue Plate Special on WDVX and Memphis’ very own WREG Live at 9. One of the highlights of our live sessions has also been meeting and playing for Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) for his underwater sunshine sessions.
You’ve been touring this record around the country. What’s the wildest time you’ve had on this tour, and have you learned anything about yourselves, or about the band with this tour?
The wildest time we’ve had on tour so far has hands down been the post-show at The Purple Fiddle. It was a full moon, Friday the 13th and the day we dropped our album. We met some wild characters who significantly altered our existence. The story is long & weird, but we’ll just say that it involved moonshine, an old man with a flute & one-eyed dog, skinny dipping and an all-night jam.
What we learned about ourselves is that we tour really well together. It’s our first major tour and we weren’t sure how it would go, being in close quarters for 6 weeks straight. But we’ve actually gotten closer and so much tighter as a band. We’ve learned that we all love adventure, nature and that we’re all sensitive loving souls who really care about making a difference with music. We also discovered that while we’re very confident in our music, our band is maybe better than any of us even realized. We’ve been invited back to every city we’ve been to and more on bigger and better dates with more exposure. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and the crowds have been super supportive and numerous. It’s unlike any tour any of us have ever been on before.
What’s a definitive goal you have for the band in the remainder of 2019?
Representation. We are booking and being invited to play an overwhelming amount of shows all over the country and beyond. We would love to have an agent and manager to complete our team and take us to the next level.
We’d love to be invited to tour with and/or be a support act for Amanda Palmer, Andrew Bird, The Violent Femmes or any other prominent band. We’d like book a spot at SXSW, Bonnaroo & Coachella.
What do you love about being in Dirty Mae?
We love each other, having fun, being wild, theatrical, creative and quirky. we love sharing our music and connecting with people through music.
