Dirt Merchants
Scarified (Zero Hour)
An interview singer Maria Christopher, guitarist Mike Malone, bassist Alex Kirsch, and drummer John Malone
by Jen Beatty
The Dirt Merchants, will be releasing their first full-length CD this month, entitled Scarified. The foursome, comprised of brothers Mike Malone (guitar) and John Malone (drums), Alex Kirsch on bass, and songstress Maria Christopher, have been making a name for themselves since their college days in the early 1990s. All that hard work has paid off, as the group has signed with Zero Hour Records.
Prior to signing with Zero Hour, the Dirt Merchants released two singles on their own label, V-hold. These singles received airplay on various college radio stations. But it was entering and winning WBCN’s Rock-n-Roll Rumble last year that earned them the exposure, money, and recording time that they needed to go big.
It appears as though the Dirt Merchants are well on their way to success. They just performed at the renowned South by Southwest Music Festival. Despite having played under a tent in a parking lot with Giant Sand playing simultaneously next door, the Dirt Merchants put on a stellar 50 minute set. The band are also slated to play in Northampton’s Loud Music Festival and at a Montreal festival later this month.
The band is still undecided on which song to use for their debut single. Alex explains, “We’re looking into doing a video now. It’s in the works and probably will be done in the next few weeks. I think once we definitely decide on what the video will be, we can decide on what the single will be.” For the video, the quartet will employ the talents of director/producer David Barish, who has done work for the Beastie Boys. While we anxiously await Scarified, inquiring listeners can call in requests to local stations to hear their promo-single “Bullfight.”
After South by Southwest and a long haul back to Boston, I flagged down the Dirt Merchants for a little Q and A.
Where did the name Dirt Merchants come from?
Alex: The name just comes from when I was a kid. It’s just a name-calling thing.
Maria: It’s a kiddy swear word.
Maria, you must hate being the only girl in the band?
Mike: Well, we dress up as women, so it’s not really…
Alex: We’ve all been castrated… We’re all really eunuchs.
Mike: We’re girly-men.
What level do you wish to take your music to?
Mike: The moon.
Maria: Eleven. Our amps don’t go that high, though.
If you were not in music, what would you do?
Maria: We’d open up our own waffle house.
Mike: Everybody would want to get a job at Swoosher.
Maria: Swoosher is the sanitation company that cleans bathrooms all across America.
How’d you discover this?
Mike: We make it our duty.
