21st Annual Almost Acoustic Christmas 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 singles “Stand Tall” and “Lay Me Down,” which features Rome from the reformed Sublime With Rome.

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 while ago and threw us a BBQ, and performed a few acoustic songs with their friend Rome.

Their re-release of their album, titled Any Port In A Storm – Special Edition, was released April 27th. Their second single, “Stand Tall,” has recently been climbing the KROQ most-played list as well.

Check them out at the sold-out KROQ’s 21st Annual Almost Acoustic Christmas, Saturday, December 11th at the Gibson Amphitheater! Click here for all the details on the show!

Check out some photos from their set at this year’s Weenie Roast.

The Dirty Heads Perform Live At KROQ…