An Interview With The Canadian Rockers, THE DIRTY NIL!

The Canadian rock band The Dirty Nil were awarded the 2017 “Breakthrough of the Year” Juno Award. Since then, singer and guitarist Luke Bentham, bassist Ross Miller and drummer Kyle Fisher have played their glammed-up, maxed-out blitzkrieg bops with the likes of The Who, Against Me! and more.

Their latest album, “Master Volume” brings an ’00s post-punk sensibility to ticking-time-bomb, acutely 2018 lyrical anxieties. They worked with the Seattle producer John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Wu-Tang Clan) to get a bigger, groovier and still raw sound on this collection. “Master Volume’s” a deeply sardonic album- though singer Luke Bentham admits this is very “Van Halen” of him, as many of the songs have to do with fast cars, and the fallout of their crashing.

 Check out their single “That’s What Heaven Feels Like” here:

Watch them play a house show HERE and see a fierce SXSW performance HERE

Connect With The Dirty Nil Here- WEBSITE

Learn more about The Dirty Nil in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! What is on tap for the rest of your day?

Kyle Fisher: We are driving 8 hours from Nashville to Chapel Hill. Then we are going to rock the shit out of that place.

Since we are quickly wrapping up 2018, how has this year treated this band? What is one musical goal that you have had for this year?

K: This year has been absolutely phenomenal. We recorded and released the greatest record ever. What else could we ask for?

Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be in this group together? Has anything surprised you about this ride so far?

K: Luke and I made a blood contract when we formed this band. I don’t know if it’s kicking around but that was the definitive beginning. There’s too many surprises to name a particular thing. Opening for The Who was probably the biggest surprise of them all though.

How did you come up with your band name? Was it hard to agree on something that you felt was right? What other names were you considering?

K: The Dirty Nil is the only name we ever had and we’ve stuck with it since we picked it. We stole a couple other band names and smashed them together.

How do you think your hometowns have influenced the sound and how you all carry yourselves in this group?

K: Considering there wasn’t a lot to do in Dundas except get stoned and blow shit up in the woods we killed time playing music. I think that the solitude of our hometown allowed us to focus on putting our destructive energy into two places. We were very good at both. Luke and I have set a lot of stuff on fire.

What did it feel like recently releasing your album, “Master Volume”? Can you recall what you all felt the first time you heard it all the way through? How did you celebrate the release of it?

K: Have you seen Pumping Iron? We all felt like Arnold at the end of that movie when he wins the contest. We celebrated with a massive hometown show that had pyro and fireworks in the sky. A big peanut butter ice cream cake and a shit load of booze. It was one for the books.

Did anything surprise you about the overall process of putting it together in the studio? How long did it take? Longer or shorter than expected?

K: There weren’t many surprises making this one. We knew what we wanted to do and accomplished exactly that. We recorded it over 3 weeks and we had a fucking great time doing it.

How do you all go about writing music? Is it something that you do altogether or separately?

K: Luke will come in with the main idea and then Ross and I work around it. We finish the arrangement all together after hours of practice. Some songs take longer than other than others but when its all said and done we are on the moon.

If time and money were not an issue, what would your dream music video look like?

K: We all have jet packs and fly around shooting popcorn and candy at people in the streets with a squad of dogs also in jet packs flying with us.

Where do you think you are all happiest- in the studio recording new music, on stage performing or elsewhere? Do you have any upcoming tour dates this fall in support of your album?

K: There is no better feeling than playing to a crowd who are singing all the words to your songs. That’s definitely our happy place. We are currently on a 5 week tour right now across North America. There’s 11 shows left. Its been the absolute best tour we’ve ever done.

What was it like winning 2017’s Juno “Breakthough of the Year” award?  

K: It felt like being covered in gasoline and then being set ablaze.

I would love to know more about the video of you guys drawing yourselves as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Where did the idea to do this come from exactly? Are you guys fans of them?

K: I am a huge fan of the TMNT. I’ve had a blanket that is TMNT themed since I was a very little kid. I will never let it go. Also, TMNT: Turtles in Time is one of my favourite video games of all time. Fuck that Michael Bay shit.

How do you think being musicians and in this band still gives you the most joy in life today? What would you say is the most challenging part about it?

K: We get to travel the world and play music to people in all these different countries and cities, and that’s one of the most amazing feelings in the world. The dreams of our youth in full realization. We will do this shit for as long as we can because it is so damn fun. The only hard part is spending countless hours trapped in a van but you get used to it.

What musicians would you love to work with in the future? What artists have really been inspiring this group and your music since day 1?

K: DMX, Limp Bizkit, Darude, Shaggy, etc.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

K: The best part about art is that it leaves the person consuming it to have their own interpretation of it. That’s the way we like it so people can take whatever they want from it. If a song of ours connects with you then that’s all we hope for.

Where can our readers connect with you today?

We are everywhere. Global Nil takeover. Find us wherever you dare.