Dirty Lenin

"Dirty Lenin's energy and enthusiasm are contagious." - LA.com

Beyond pop, beyond punk there exists another realm of artistic expression that I am going to tentatively dub "party rock." If such a category actually exists then Dirty Lenin could be considered pioneers in this potentially fascinating but often overlooked musical genre. I got a copy of their new 2% Faster CD at their release party, which was held at the Galapagos Artspace in Brooklyn. Somehow the title of the CD seems to capture the essence of what these guys are trying to create with this band.

Did I say create? Yes I did, according to Tate (keyboard, saxophone and vocals) all of the members of the band have theatrical backgrounds and so everything about the group from their name to the costumes they wear on stage to the music they play has an intended effect from a more theatrical standpoint than many bands. That isn't to say they are not serious about their music because they are but it just has a whole different and expanded sort of reality to it. Their music and lyrics can easily stand alone without the props as fun punk/pop music but it is laced with the same subtle sense of humor and double entendre' that punctuates their stage show.

Where did they come up with the name Dirty Lenin for example? According to Tate, back in the day when the band first formed they had this running goof going where they told everyone they had all emigrated from some nameless former Soviet Bloc country... And the "Dirty" part? Well let's just say it is "adult" party rock.

The band consists of Cosmo (Bass, vocals) who goes about 6' 2" and a solid 230 + pounds. He wears biker boots and black leather pants and charges around the stage (and occasionally into the audience) like a bull pausing every now and then at a microphone long enough to bellow out his parts in songs. Metro (drums, vocals) who, with his shaved head, manicured moustache and goatee and glasses looks like someone from maybe Weezer or We Be Scientists or maybe like he does scientific research on the side. Renee (guitar, vocals) is the perky "blonde" of the band and exudes a great deal of enthusiasm when she sings.

Finally there is Tate (keyboards, saxophone, vocals). She is a pretty redhead with this fresh faced, almost innocent look to her that makes it seem kind of deliciously wicked when she is singing "my body your party..." Tate was my interview source for this story.

I suppose I should get back to the "Dirty" part because no doubt I have aroused the curiosity of more than a few readers and so, without any further teasing, I will give you the mental release that you want. Perhaps I can best illustrate the "tongue in cheek" (ahem) sexiness which pervades almost all of their songs by sampling some lyrics from their 2% Faster CD FOR YOU:

(1) FROM Breakup Song: "MY body your party"

(2) From Candy Boy: "C'mon and put out, put out, put out like a man"

(3) From Are You Hot?: " Get the ice, let's make a mess...use your teeth, now your tongue, let me show you how it's ... done"


Now imagine those lyrics set to an upbeat score (think maybe B52's) and being enthusiastically sung by two pretty girls and you have an idea of what Dirty Lenin is. Serious performers doing what they love to do in their own unique way and that, my friends, is what art is all about. I can see these guys becoming sort of a "cult" band like the Rocky Horror Picture Show was a movie. Check them out on their website HERE or their myspace page HERE. If you just want to skip all that foreplay and get right down to it you can order their CD HERE.

- Blogcritics.org

This energetic crew is entertaining to watch. Their frenetic sound and amusing onstage antics certainly
demand attention. - AM New York

"Dirty Lenin do the boy-girl, harmony-laden pop thing very well, with an attitude that calls to mind the B-52s and even, at times, Sleater Kinney." - L Magazine

Dirty Lenin's upbeat pop songs come dangerously close to being hokey, yet they never cross the line. Their restraint is to be admired
- L Magazine

They live up their motto: "We Rock You".
- AOL.com

"Not many bands can pull off a song like the ridiculous "God Bless Skirts," but the coed nuts in Dirty Lenin - a little bit punk and a little bit lowbrow cabaret - do just that." - Time Out NY

"Pop songs for the wry and witty." - L Magazine

"Leave your troubles at the door people, and come meet the sauciest band in town....It works like this: Dirty Lenin is fun. And there isn’t anything wrong with the f-word. Fun is watching DL’s lovely ladies – Tate and Renee – command center stage while the boys content themselves with back-up beats. Progressive is in. And it well serves their live shows. There’s absolutely no use trying to duck the XX energy. And why in the whole wide world would you want to? That’s right, the girls play real hard like; hard and fast and sweaty. They even smile when they do it so that we may smile when we witness. And it works. Privy to a recent Knitting Factory gig, I grinned through the entire set like the Cheshire Cat on uppers. Grinned ‘til my face hurt....I’ll call them a tightly packed jolt to the jaded. DL’s newly released album 2% Faster may go heavy on thinly veiled sexual metaphor (“I want your sugar, baby”) and silly lyrical musings (“Our love is like the USSR, it just don’t exist anymore”), but when you find yourself bouncing along the streets instead of trudging through them, something is going very right in your ears. And that’s evidence to the musical prowess at the heart of each track. So don’t let the PopRocks on your tongue party fool ya. This group knows how to write a hook. Couple that with their let-loose attitude, and you’ve got a band that makes rising and shining seem a little less daunting than before." - Trigger Magazine