Preach no more

Dirty Nil guitarist praises getting out of the comfort zone

Hamilton trio The Dirty Nil recall a series of unfortunate events during one evening of touring where no one showed up to their show and they were denied the free burritos they were promised.
Image by: Supplied
Hamilton trio The Dirty Nil recall a series of unfortunate events during one evening of touring where no one showed up to their show and they were denied the free burritos they were promised.

Love him or hate him, Morrissey has a following.

And The Dirty Nil’s Luke Bentham says nothing irritates him more than that.

“I fucking hate Morrissey,” he said. “The Smiths are infallible and nobody questions their greatness, but Morrissey fundamentally pisses me off.”

Bentham said the band finds their influences from other 80s rock and roll groups like the Replacements.

Now, the Hamilton trio is returning to Kingston to play songs from their new 7” split. Bentham said they were lucky enough to record the compilation with their friends Northern Primitive.

Listening to the songs, the straining vocals and muddy melodies added to the rock sound the band prides themselves on.

Bentham said the recording’s crunchy vibe was a consequence of the amps being cranked during recording.

“That was the craziest recording session I’ve ever been a part of. It was in a basement and it was so loud.” Bentham said. “We came in, listened to it and it was madness.”

Bentham had a lot to say about his fellow musicians, complimenting them by declaring them the best band going in his personal opinion.

“Just to be able to share a slab of plastic with them is an honour. They’re our friends, but we respect them a lot as a band.” The mutual love between The Dirty Nil and Northern Primitive is shown in their new music video for “Positive Bondar / Zombie Eyed,” where the two bands met in a barn with Mitch Fillion, a filmmaker for the YouTube channel Southern Souls.

“That was a lot fun. We did it in a desolate barn in black and white on the coldest day of the year. It totally suited Northern Primitive’s song,” Bentham said. “We played on their song and they played on ours too.”

Now the Hamilton trio is on tour without their friends from Northern Primitive, and Bentham said not every show on tour is what he hopes.

He recalls the band running into penny pinching promoters and criminals when they played a show in Montreal.

“Me, Kyle and Dave played at Burritoville for discount burritos in Montreal one time and nobody showed up. The discount was revoked because nobody showed up. It was a brutal night,” he said.

Fortunately, Bentham views gigs like these as minor fallbacks. Instead of keeping comfortable by constantly playing in their hometown of Hamilton, Bentham sees touring as a big opportunity to gain more fans.

“It’s easy to play Hamilton in front of a sold out crowd over the holidays or summer, but it’s another thing when you take the dog and pony show on the road to see how many people you can get out to a gig in a whole other county.”

That’s why Bentham said it’s important to get out of their comfort zone.

“In Hamilton, it’s like preaching to the converted.”

The Dirty Nil plays the Mansion next Friday at 9 p.m.

Tags

Hamilton, Interview, Northern Primitive, The Dirty Nil

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