Dirty Sweet’s Nathan Beale

People can’t seem to figure out Dirty Sweet.

This atypical rock band with very little connection to the south has been labeled a ’southern rock’ band. Not to mention defying convention, blurring the genre lines and creating a comparison frenzy between them and bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Black Crows. But there’s a good reason for that.

While the act might have been unintentional, Dirty Sweet has created a look and sound that’s sitting on the fence between the past and present. It’s almost as though they’ve taken everything that was good about the 70’s and 80’s era of music and made it new all over again.

When you look at their pictures and posters and you see the long hair and hippie style of dress it puts you in mind of the rocking and free love of Woodstock (even if like me, you weren‘t old enough to be there), but looks can be deceiving.

Dirty Sweet’s sound teeters back and forth between classic rock and hard rock, from light and easy to heavy and menacing. This unique sound is made up of the eclectic and intricate guitar work of Lead Guitarist Nathan Beale, Guitarist Mark Murino and Bassist Christian Schinelli and perfectly held together by Drummer Chris Mendez. But it wouldn’t be complete without the soothing and soulful voice of vocalist Ryan Koontz.

Since forming in 2003 Dirty Sweet has been working hard and keeping busy.

In 2004 they toured with Jimmy Eats World. They have been voted San Diego’s Best Rock Band three times, not to mention creating quite a following in Europe. But there is much more to be done, including finding a record label and deciding on a release date for their upcoming album, ‘American Spiritual’.

Dirty Sweet will be playing their first Atlanta show on June, 14th. But we had a few questions for the northern, southern, classic rock, alternative, grunge, rock band from San Diego and we got plenty of answers courtesy of Nathan Beale.

TST: How did you come up the name Dirty Sweet?

Nathan: It was taken from the T Rex song “Bangagong,”. It seemed to fit the music so we just went with it.

TST: How did the band get started?

Nathan: Chris and our old guitar player Mark knew each other for years and then it all just feel together from there. Ryan walked into Mark’s restaurant and over heard about the band and our new bass player Chris just feel into our lap. He’s a great addition to the band.

TST: How do you feel about DS being compared to bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd?

Nathan: I don’t really see it. I think it’s cool, but I think that people tend to hear with their eyes and we look like we could be in Lynyrd Skynyrd. In the end of the day you can’t worry about you’re perceived as long as they like the music.

TST: Who are some of the band’s musical influences?

Nathan: We listen to a wide variety of music. We are music fans. A few of our influences are The Stones and Zeppelin. Classic bands that have stood the test of time. I’m personally big into Motown, Blues and R&B, but I also like bands like Bob Dylan and Radiohead.

TST: I’ve also read where people have called you a “70’s throwback band”. Do you feel that’s an accurate description of Dirty Sweet?

Nathan: We didn’t set out to be a 70’s throwback band. The new album, American Spiritual is more current and branches past the 70’s. We realize that a lot more music happened after the 1970’s and we hope that those other influences come through.

TST: Now that American Spiritual is finished what next for DS?

Nathan: We’ve been touring a lot. We have a summer tour coming up and we’ve been playing a lot of festivals.

TST: What do you prefer, touring or being in the studio?

Nathan: I like both. Being in the studio is always cool because traveling isn’t the easiest lifestyle, but its nice to go on the road. It’s like a traveling circus. Everyday is an adventure and you get to finally get to play all the music you’ve made.

TST: Who’s the songwriter in the group?

Nathan: It depends, we all do it. Ryan usually writes the lyrics. I’ve written a few and we just usually go with the best ones.

TST: Five guys traveling together, do you ever just get on each other’s nerves?

Nathan: Actually six of us travel together and we’ve been together for a long time. We know each other’s personalities and quirks and we’ve mature enough to know how to deal with someone that might be a bit moody, which most of the time is me (laughing).

TST: When preparing for the interview I wasn’t able to find a lot of information on you guys which is surprising considering how long the band has been together. So tell me, do you or your band mates have any addictions to speak of or DUI’s floating around out there or have you just manage to stay out of trouble?

Nathan: We definitely get into trouble, but we keep it on the down low. We like our party and our whiskey, but music is our one true love so we won’t jeopardize that. But we’ll try to do more in the future. Maybe Ryan should date a few celebrities.

TST: Currently Dirty Sweet is unsigned. Is there any particular reason that DS hasn’t been signed to a label yet?

Nathan: It’s not that we haven’t found one or been asked to sign to one, but we’re trying to keep our options open. And these days it’s so easy to put out your own music with the help of the internet that we’ve just decided to take our time and find the best home for us.

TST: Despite not being signed to a label, do you feel that DS has been successful as a band?

Nathan: That’s a good question. Well yes and no. Yes we’ve been successful cause we get the chance to do what we love and go on tour and we have fans that love our music and no because we’d love to be on a tour bus and not in a van. But there are different levels of success.

TST: You had the chance to open for Jimmy Eats World. What other bands, if you had the chance would you like to open for?

Nathan: Jack White’s Band and maybe a band like The Stones just to have the honor of opening up for the Stones. But I don’t think that bands that open up for big bands get a fair shake.

Everyone is there to see the headliner and most of the time people are walking around talking and getting a drink during the opening acts so I think that opening up for larger bands has it’s drawbacks.

TST: What would you like to see happen for Dirty Sweet next?

Nathan: I would love for us to find a great label that loves what we’re doing and gets behind us 100 percent. To tour and open up for some cool bands and I’d also like to get diamonds on my teeth?

TST: Really, diamonds huh?

Nathan: Yeah, in fact I’d be happy with just the touring and the diamonds.

Dirty Sweet will be making their Atlanta debut on June 14th at Smith’s Olde Bar and The Silver Tongue will definitely be there. So make sure you come and show DS some southern hospitality as only Atlanta can.

To find out more about Dirty Sweet check them out at www.DirtySweetMusic.com or at www.MySpace.com/DirtySweetMusic. And don’t forget to pick up a copy of their Album Monarchs and Beggars which is available now on Itunes, Amazon and other online retailers.

SiN, Senior Contributor

Related posts:

1. Riley Jantzen Sings So Sweet
2. Lynyrd Skynyrd Release Two Free Downloads!
3. Madonna’s ‘Sticky & Sweet’ Concert to Be Released March 30th on DVD, Blu-Ray and CD