DETROIT HAS given the world sweet soul music through Motown and the genesis of punk with The Stooges. For The Dirtbombs, it was natural to combine the two musics spawned by their home city.
The Dirtbombs were formed in 1992 and are the brain child of Mick Collins, an important figure in the Detroit garage punk scene. Collins had previously been in the band The Gories, who were a major influence on The White Stripes.
However as Detroit was the city that produced Motown as well as The White Stripes, Funkadelic as well as The Stooges, Collins wanted to form a band that reflected the city’s seminal black music heritage - specifically soul - as well.
In order to truly make sure The Dirtbombs bring the funk and put the rhythm in, Collins enlisted two bass players and two drummers to get the groove going.
Since that time the band have won the praise of critics. They have been named in Spin magazine’s Top 10 best live bands in the world and had their cover of ‘Chains of Love’ picked by artist/director Julian Schnabel to be featured in the soundtrack to his critically-acclaimed film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
In 2001, the band released the album Ultraglide In Black, which celebrated the Motor City’s soul and r’n’b scene through Motown covers. This was followed by 2003’s Dangerous Magical Noise, and most recently We Have You Surrounded, which Mojo described thus: “The giddy chaos of fuzz-noise and thundering drums ensures these eclectic experiments sill sound like no one else but the Dirtbombs.”
The Dirtbombs play the Róisín Dubh this Tuesday at 9pm. Support is from Galway new wavers Disconnect 4. Tickets are available from the Róisín Dubh and Zhivago.
