Weenie Roast 2010 Artist Spotlight: The Dirty Heads

“Come here you little dirty heads!”

The infamous phrase, shouted at a group of guys after stealing a 12-pack of beer, would soon become the name for the newest wave of the Southern California reggae/rock/hip-hop sound.

The Dirty Heads have been making tons of noise around here lately, especially with their single “Lay Me Down,” which features Rome from the newly-formed Sublime With Rome. The song is currently #1 on KROQ’s Most Played list.

The guys were even cool enough to throw the KROQ staff a BBQ and perform a few acoustic songs.

Find out more about The Dirty Heads after the jump!

In 1996, singer Jared Watson and Dustin Bushnell met at a party in their freshman year of high school in Huntington Beach. The two became friends and were eager to work together, although Bushnell was already in a punk band and Watson had no experience in performing or writing songs. The two began writing material in Bushnell’s garage and eventually picked up percussionist Jon Olazabal. They finally had a full sound and began performing acoustically.

The Dirty Heads originally signed to Warner Bros. Records, but split due to creative differences and took their master recordings. The band then teamed up with producers Steve Fox and Stan Frazier, who had previously worked with Ashlee Simpson and Sugar Ray, and began playing shows in LA. The band would charter buses so their fans wouldn’t have to drive from Huntington to LA. “We went from one bus to two buses to four buses,” says Watson.

They also received help from notorious drummer Josh Freese, Beatles collaborator Billy Preston, Tippa Ire, and Native Wayne from the former Indie 103.1 on the new album. The album was mixed by Mario C. of the Beastie Boys, who had also mixed Jack Johnson‘s album. During this time, they also added drummer Matt Ochoa and bassist David Foral to the band to help with the rhythm section. The band finally had the full sound they were looking for. In 2008, the first release of Any Port In A Storm was issued. The band continued performing and expanding their sound, and eventually their single “Lay Me Down” hit the airwaves and skyrocketed.

The band stopped by KROQ a few weeks ago, threw us a BBQ and performed a few acoustic songs with their friend Rome.

They just finished up touring the U.S. with Sublime With Rome. Their re-release of their album, titled Any Port In A Storm – Special Edition, was released April 27th. Check out some photos from their latest show at the Palladium on 4/20!

Sublime With Rome & The Dirty Heads,…

Make sure to check out The Dirty Heads at Weenie Roast 2010!