Dirt&earthyvibes

Being the director of your own music school can have its
positive results outside of work, especially if you front a band
in your spare time.

Details:
Dirt and Earthy Vibes
perform Friday, February 1,
at The Green Elephant.
Subject(s):
Dirt and Earthy Vibes

"I make music all day long with
children and adults, and the
enthusiasm from that energizes me to
jam all night," says David Hall, who
prefers to be addressed as Dirt when
he's leading Dirt and Earthy Vibes.
Hailing from Grapevine, Dirt and crew have been performing
together since 2003, releasing a debut effort that same year.

The band's varied sophomore release, Messages2Mine,
released early last year, is the result of a more concerted effort.
Boiled down from more than 40 songs, the extra work proved
well worth it. Throwing together influences as diverse as
Hendrix, Marley, Beck and Outkast, Dirt and Earthy Vibes
succeeds with such a mixture when many bands would end up
noodling their way to a deadhead nowhere.

"If you want to corner us in a genre, we'd say outlaw soul/
reggae," says Dirt, clarifying nothing. The 10 cuts on Messages
joyfully cross genre boundaries without hesitation, putting the
emphasis on just having a good time. Tracks such as "Zimori's
Song," "The Lobster Train" and "So Fly" are potent revelations
of grooves and humor, songs that evolve from show to show.
"Every performance is different," Dirt says. "We don't make a
set list until 10 minutes before playing because we detest
boredom and monotony."

Dirt and Earthy Vibes have plied their wide-ranging craft at the
typical locales (Dada, Clearview and the Green Elephant) and
some unusual spots including Central Market and a Dallas
Public Library.

"We had a four-hour gig a few years ago," says Dirt. "We didn't
feel like taking a break, so we didn't."
Obviously, endurance isn't a problem. Neither are chops.
Drummer/vocalist Bamface and bassist/vocalist The Doctor
lay down a rock-solid pulse for Dirt and his tasty guitar to
maneuver on and in between. Add in holistic healer/
percussionist China Maze and it's a bizarro world jam fest of
the highest order.

"Earthy vibes are the sound waves of the Earth," explains Dirt,
matter-of-factly. Although he comes across as a bit too New
Age for his own good, Dirt's charm, and the band's as well, lies
in his devil-may-care persona. Even his explanation of the
band's name and his own nom de plume comes across like
words from a cool hippie uncle.

"Once upon a season, I became obsessed with how the sun
shines upon the earth and animates it into life," Dirt says. "I
carried on about it so much my friends started calling me Dirt - Darryl Smythers, Dallas Observer

As their name suggests, Dirt&Earthyvibes rely on some down-home growling and
rowdy hippie-style hand drums. Surprisingly, though, on the Grapevine
foursome’s second album, Messages 2 Mine, the grooves are even more intense
on the pleasant, poppy numbers.

The varying degrees of passion and restraint
here complement frontman Dirt’s sweeping, emotive lyrics and his immense vocal
range. He can go from a guttural shout to a falsetto, Prince-like wail seemingly at
will (and he’s also a heckuva harmonica player).
Dirt’s virtuosic readings aren’t show-offy. Rather, they serve a vital purpose —
sometimes the way in which he delivers a word or phrase is the difference
between angry and happy or reverent and just plain zonked.

The guy certainly knows how to pen a tune. Most of the tracks here pivot on
strong hooks and have an undeniably catchy singalong quality. The leadoff song,
“Welcome 2 Our World,” features a repetitive chorus and is not gussied up by
slick instrumentation — everything is straightforward and bereft of flash. The
quick-hitting “Sunshine” also is a bare-boned toe-tapper, thanks mainly to Dirt’s
rumbling, bluesy, arena-rock guitar and drummer Bamface’s Brit-Poppy beat.

Guess you could say the song is trad-rock for ADHD sufferers.
Special kudos to percussionist China Maze, whose congas take a delirious
beating here but never fail him.
Though the album includes several carefully crafted tunes that reveal solid songwriting skills, other tracks could have used a little more
structural complexity. However, there’s no denying that Messages 2 Mine is full of enthusiasm and maturity, a rare but blessedly
welcome mix. — Caroline Collier - Fort Worth Weekly, Caroline Collier

November 1, 2009 - AustinMusic.com

May 13, 2009
By Ethan Nahte'

Southlake may not be the first place that springs to mind when a band searches for a production studio, but the small, unassuming studio in the basement of the Byron Nelson Offices is making that a reality.

The studio, Hall Music Productions, is operated by David hall (a.k.a. Dirt). With such a moniker, one might expect the 29-year -old, London-born transplant to be covered in tattoos or at least sport the 'grunge' look popular with many musicians.
WHen asked where 'Dirt' comes from, Hall's jovial reply is 'the ground.'
In truth, it's because of his philosophical views. 'I was taking a philosophy class in college [at UNT]' he explains. 'I talked about how dirt worked in the world and everything was connected. You either eat the cow that eats grass that grows in the dirt, or you eat the grass, depending on who you are. [Eventually] my friends started calling me 'Dirt.'
And 'dirt' is reflected even in the Name of his Grapevine based band: Dirt & Earthyvibes.
He met most of his band at UNT while majoring in jazz guitar, including The Doctor who plays bass on their newest release, XY, as well as percussionist China Maze. His UNT mates go back to earlier days, though, in the case of B-Maniac, one of the four drummers on the full-length CD.
'I went to UNT jazz camp in eighth grade and got kicked out with Brian (B-Maniac).'
Musical influences for Hall run the gamut.
' I was learning every lick and lead part by [jazz guitarist] Wes Montgomery until I could play all of his stuff.'
Other influences: Van Morrison, The Beatles, The Police, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke and Hank Williams Sr.
Being a Texas band, whose lead singer is also the lead guitarist and plays harmonica, people might first believe that Dirt & Earthyvibes is a blues band.
'I wouldn't call [XY] a blues album. It has elements of blues and jazz. It's very eclectic. 'Texas Soul' is what we call it.'
The CD includes original songs, as well as three cover songs on the 10-track disc.
The disc definitely has a more organic sound compared to the band's first two albums (Right Side of, 2003; and Messages 2 Mine, 2007) while retaining the band's style and identity.
'It was recorded live --no overdubs, synthesizers or even metronomes on some songs, so it had a real human feel,' said Hall of the latest album.
The remaining drummers include Alan Eckert, Jon Mosig and former Maylee Thomas drummer, Matt Thompson.
'I wanted to use different drummers for different sounds,' Hall explained.
The band recently finished a short tour of Texas and Oklahoma.
Find Dirt & Earthyvibes on CDBaby, and on iTunes. The band will be playing at Grapevine's Main Street Days on May 15. For details, see myspace.com/dirtandearthyvibes. - Southlake Journal, Ethan Naute

May 13, 2009
Gritty
Dirt&Earthyvibes put across a unique - and real - brand of Texas soul.
BY CAROLINE COLLIER

Having released a third full-length album, XY, late last year, the local singer-songwriter who goes simply by Dirt feels 'confident' about where he is now - he and his band, Earthy Vibes, a probably the only purveyors of Texas soul music around. Recorded live and not significantly altered by technology, the album is 'imperfectly beautiful,' he said. ' I wanted to be different . . . get the spirit and energy in the music.'

Only a highly trained ear might detect the spots where the time lags slightly or when Dirt's vocals waver from perfect pitch. Most of us might hear just a real group of guys making real music.

Dirt started playing guitar as a child, copying Beatles songs. He eventually studied jazz guitar at the University of North Texas, where he started writing his own music. A fan of musical simplicity, he flitered all of the theory that he was fed at school into an ethos that could be applied to any form of music, including Texas soul. After filling up notebooks with songs and feeling confident in his ability to keep on writing, he recruited several players and launched Earthyvibes in 2003. The Right Side Of was their first album and also the only one to include a horn section and drum machine. A foursome, Dirt said, ' was easier to manage.'

Dirt began concentrating on crafting solid hooks. 'If people haven't heard your music, they won't pay attention,' he said. If they don't at least feel as if they know it, 'they won't make a connection.' On 2007's Messages2Mine, Dirt offers two real keepers, 'Sunshine' and 'Dream.' Both have solid hooks and stand apart as old-school hits.

One of the ways Dirt encourages listeners to connect with him is by shamelessly offering up stories about his life. Another way that he and his band win over listeners is by simply grooving. (Through an assortment of percussive instruments, China Maze, who doubles as a holistic healer, applies a busy undercurrent to songs that might otherwise be somewhat barebones.)

The cohesiveness may also be due to an easy fmiliarity. "we get along remarkably well,' Dirt said. Even though he writes and arranges all of the music, he is no egomaniac. Instead, he encourages his bandmates to play 'what they want and what they hear.'

When they're not writing, playing or recording, Dirt holes up in his Southlake school and studio, Hall Music Productions, teaching and recording. XY was laid down there last summer.

The group is gung-ho about hitting the road. Over the past couple of years, Dirt & Earthy Vibes have done a good job of expanding their fan base into parts of Oklahoma and the rest of Texas. The band is committed to doing music full-time for well-considered reasons. "Music is expression, atmosphere, stress relief, and a distraction from mundane things,' Dirt said. 'You become a student of life when you write songs.' - Fort Worth Weekly, Caroline Collier