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Dirty White Lye: The Truth Will Set the Music Free By Robert E. Martin Dirty White Lye (left to right) Jim Yates, Steve Kretz, Mike 'Moose' Reed, and Chris Walker Attempting to distinguish oneself in the world of local music can be challenging given the proliferation of new groups coupled with the competition from established acts, but for the band Dirty White Lye, competition takes a secondary seat to the joy of creating music coupled with the fun each member has making it. Born four-and-a-half years ago by guitarist Jim Yates and drummer Steve Kretz, the group went through the obligatory changes of various singers and bass players before finally adding bassist Mike (Moose) Reed and vocalist Chris Walker into the fold. After paying their dues working at some of the best & worst clubs in the area as a cover band, coupled with their full daytime job schedule, the group gradually built up their fan base to the point where they received many significant votes in last year's Review Music Awards Ceremony. Through that experience, the band made a conscious commitment to start shifting their focus towards original material, and now they are poised to enter Wagner Music Studios to record their first full-length CD of ten to twelve original compositions penned by guitarist Yates. "Originally, we were content to become the best cover band that we could be," explains Steve," but after four years of competing with everyone we finally got our chance a couple years ago to come into the area and show everybody what we could do. After last year's Awards Ceremony, I went to Jim and said, 'You've got some original material. Why don't you take that and turn it into something we can use." "Prior to the Awards, we only had about two originals," continues Yates, "but after that I started writing very heavily. Now we have all the songs and music down and recently played the Battle of the Bands at Drifter's and were knocked out at the applause and enthusiastic reception we received." With a sound that is stylistically diverse and a musical songwriting style that borders on the heavier side of Pop melodicism, Yates says his creative inspiration comes from "memories, women, and the experiences I've had in life." "I told myself, If I can't groove to it, nobody else can," comments Jim. "Some of the songs I've showed to the band they've said are too heavy and not us, so I go back and rework them to keep the material on track. The first song I wrote was about 8 years ago, but I've discovered that if I try to hard to write a song, it doesn't happen." "Our genre is a cross between alternative rock like Creed & Pearl Jam coupled with a ton of different influences," notes Chris. "The material he comes up with is amazing and geared towards more of a heavier pop/rock sound. We want airplay and want to be played on 102 and Z-93 and whatever stations are out there, and if someone is going to listen, we want the songs to be diversified so everyone between the age of 18 and 65 will listen. From a marketing standpoint, we want to be able to sell this music." "The whole thing to me is that you need confidence about what you're doing, plus you have to enjoy it," adds Jim. "If you're not enjoying your music, you might as well throw it away. But it's funny, because one song that I wrote and didn't particularly like that well has earned the best response. What I found most interesting about this band is the versatility." Being a singer, is it difficult for Chris to interpret lyrics to songs that he didn't write? "It is and it isn't," he reflects. "If I add one word in one single line, it can screw the whole song up, so I don't have a problem with that. My expression comes from putting my own emotion into the song. I can relate to all of these guys, and that's the whole point. We can make all these songs our own in a personal way, and I'm proud of the work I do with Jim's material." "Even though I can't sing, I'll show Chris the melody as best I can," adds Jim, "and then a magical thing happens. Each member takes the song where they want it and I allow them that freedom. Still, if they're too loud on a quiet part, I will tell them." As for the CD project at Dick Wagner's Downtown Digital Studios, the band says they looked around at numerous studios. "Recording is a business decision," comments Steve, "and in terms of convenience we had to look at everybody's schedule. Most of the studios around town are top notch, but we decided on Wagner's studio because of all the space, it's not claustrophobic. Plus, being our first time in, we wanted to make sure everything was right. Ray York will be engineering the disc and giving us guidance with artwork and packaging. Each of us is busy all day long and we walked into that studio and it felt like home." The band intends to spend two weeks laying the material down in early December and hope to have the disc out by the top of the New Year. So how does the group envision themselves amidst the bulk of music out on the market? "I think we're a breath of fresh air," notes Jim. "We're going to bring a little life into the scene through our songs because they aren't mainstream and you don't get the feeling that you've heard it all before." "I agree," adds Chris. "A lot of the bands out right now are very heavy & radical, which we're not. We are making fun music with a lot of thought behind it." "I listen to a lot of bands," reflects Jim, "and everything I've heard is great. But there is a certain time and place for everything. People hear our material and see us and feel the contradiction - that we take these heavy metal riffs and then have something sweet sounding coming out. People often tell us, 'That's not the band that I pictured." Given their position in life with full time jobs and families (with the exception of Moose, who is still single girls!) what is it about music that makes Dirty White Lye want to take this step at this point in their lives? "Everything about music," states Jim. "Ever since I was a kid, if I was in a bad mood and heard music it would turn my day around. I love everything about it." "We've been together for almost five years," interjects Steve, "and we're like brothers. The strength of each member pulls us together as a group. Moose came in at least two nights a week for rehearsals when he first started, regardless of other considerations, and we never let our guard down." The entire band agrees that discovering Chris as a vocalist was a godsend. "I put a sign up at Rit Music and drew a big smiley face that said 'Lead singer looking for work' and Steve phoned me the next day." "We went down to the Baywood," continues Steve, "and saw Chris singing Karaoke and both Jim and I saw the potential in Chris and knew he was what we were looking for. "Plus, he liked to drink beer," states Jim. In terms of public perception, the band agrees that a love/hate relationship can develop with audiences for any cover band playing before young and old audiences that want to hear different material. But with their course chartered for their original project, the future only looks brighter and stronger. So how did the group decide on their name, Dirty White Lye? "We were sitting around back in the days we played The Watering Trough," Steve recollects. "We were in my basement and had to try a couple different singers prior to Chris, and we started talking about all these lies circulating about us that we weren't able to gig. We had our ups and downs, like everybody, and were looking for a name. Then Jim came up with all the 'dirty white lies' circulating. I suggested we change the lie to lye, as in the type of soap you wash your mouth out with. So it works on many levels. What comes around, goes around, and we need to clean up our past closet ghosts." As they embark into the studio, does the group have any final thoughts? "Just that we'd like to thank everybody that's ever booked us and supported us throughout the years." "You can't go wrong if it comes from the heart," states Jim. "We're seeing a culture change right now from cover to original bands, and I think we have something to offer." "Neil Diamond and Polka," jokes Chris. "That's the key to survival. If you can hit some Neil and do some polka, you're all right." |
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