With the inaugural Fort Fest looming (September 2nd – 4th in Bedfordshire), we thought it would make sense to track down some of these up-and-coming superstars and let them tell you a little about themselves. Time to grab one of the bands pretty high up the bill – Friday’s second-toppers The Dirty Youth.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We hail from the Valleys of South Wales!
How did you meet?
We met through the local music scene in our area. We were all in various bands and had a mutual respect for one another so we decided to join forces on world domination.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We’ve been playing together for 9 years, when we started we all needed fake ID to play some venues!
What are your influences – individually or as a band?
We have a varied range of influences throughout the band ranging from Elvis and Queen to The Prodigy and Slipknot!
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We don’t nestle into one genre, we have elements of rock, pop, dance and everything in between. We’ve played in so many different countries and with so many different kinds of artists and it just seems to work. It’s a good situation to be in as there are no limits on what we can do.
Which is your best bit of merch?
We have a really cool T shirt design called GTA vs TDY which incorporates us as Grand Theft Auto style characters. It evens has a cameo from Luke’s dog. As far as T-Shirt designs go, you won’t beat this one!
What’s your live show like – why should the baying hordes troop over to the stage you’re playing on to watch you? What can we expect?
Expect big tunes and ridiculous amounts of energy! We like to bring the party, especially in a festival atmosphere.
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Fort Fest and what have you heard about it so far?
Our agent informed us we was playing a few months back. As it’s a new festival we hadn’t heard of it before but as soon as we saw the location and line up we knew it was going to be big!
Which band (other than you guys obviously) is going to kick up a storm this weekend? Who are your top picks of the weekend?
We’ve toured with InMe on a few occasions so we know they’re going to blow people away, they’re an incredibly talented band. Young Guns and Lonely the Brave are obvious stand outs but Black Peaks are another one to keep an eye out for, a very cool band indeed! To be fair, there are so many great bands playing over the weekend, there will be something for everyone.
What are you working on at the moment and when/where can we expect to hear from you?
We’re currently writing our new record so it’s an extremely exciting time for us. Fort Fest will be a day out from the studio so we may even slip in a few exclusive new tunes.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen fans do at a gig?
We’ve had police riot vans turn up to a show as things got a bit out of hand. One guy was dressed in drag swinging from a chandelier and the rest is history.
What advice would you give to a young band just starting out today?
I know it sounds cliche but never give up. Spend plenty of time together discovering your sound and gig as much as you can to gain valuable experience, you won’t get any stuck in your bedroom and most of all have fun!!
If you could be part of any 3-band line-up who else would you have on the bill? One band above you and one below – a chance to plug a smaller, unsigned act!
It would have to be Muse above us as there’s no band in the world currently doing what they do live. They are such formidable band! Opening up would have to be a really cool upcoming band from Eastbourne called City of Ashes who are really making waves on the underground scene.
What stage / time are you playing at Fort Fest (if you have your slot yet!)?
We’re playing the Main Stage on the Friday night!
You can get The Dirty Youth’s latest album Gold Dust as a [amazon text=digital download from Amazon&asin=B00SJQQ6FA], or as a CD from their own online store.
The Dirty Youth: official | facebook | twitter | youtube
