Christian Balanean
DIRTY SHIRT is a Metal-Industrial-Hardcore band from Romania. The band’s unique style derives from mixing the heavy sound of rock/metal with the festive ambiance of East-European traditional music, the eclecticism of world music (country, reggae, tribal rhythms), the electro sound of industrial music, the energy of hardcore, and the groove of funk.
THE EARLY YEARS (1995-2000)
In 1995, four young musicians from the small town of Seini (Maramureş County) in Romania laid the foundations of a new musical project they called DIRTY SHIRT. At the time, their music was a combination of diverse elements, such as progressive, alternative, power metal, hardcore, etc. They band quickly earned itself a good reputation in the Romanian underground, especially due to its pretty busy live schedule. It included several tours and the participation at well-known competitive festivals (Samfest, Samus Rock, Posada, Young Rock for Youngs, Metalfan, Constelaţii Rock, and so forth) where they won several prizes. Additionally, their first demos received positive reviews in the specialized media.
In 1998, DIRTY SHIRT won the Great Prize at the Top T Festival in Buzău, which gave them the opportunity to record their first full-length “Very Dirty” (Promusic Prod, 2000). Unfortunately, shortly after the release of the record, at a time when things really started to take off, the band was compelled to go on a several year-long hiatus due to personal reasons.
THE NEW DIRTY SHIRT (2004-)
Although band members were “scattered” in different corners of Europe, DIRTY SHIRT reunited in 2004. They also made several adjustments to their music. The demos released in this period brought to the fore several new musical elements, such as industrial metal and hardcore spiced up with folk, funk, and electronic influences. In the following years, the band had a busy live schedule, having many shows in Romania, Hungary, France and Belgium. They embarked on several national tours with important bands such as Tripod (FR), Babylon Pression (FR), Zeroscape (CAN) and Superbutt (HU). Additionally, they were also invited to play at major rock festivals in Romania (Maximum Rock, Samfest, Rock la MureÅŸ, Top T and East West Fest) where they shared the stage with many great bands such as Overkill, UDO, Crematory, Lake of Tears, etc.
In 2009, the band recorded its second full-length “Same Shirt, Different Day” at the Kallaghan Studio in France. It was mastered by Alan Douches (West West Side Music, USA). The album was released in 2010 and received many positive reviews both in Romania and abroad.
The period 2010-2011 was arguably one of the most prolific in the band’s history. Apart from the promotional tour (which included more than fifty shows in Romania, Hungary and Germany) and the participation at various rock festivals (Route 68, Student Fest, Rockin’ Transylvania, Fraureuth Open Air, and Dirty Fest), DIRTY SHIRT also made three videos (“Pitbull,” “Manifest” and “East West”) and released its first ever live DVD entitled “Live in the Truck.” Additionally, the band qualified for the national finals of the most important international music competitions: Wacken Metal Battle, Peninsula Talent Stage, and Global Battle of the Bands (it took the second place in 2011). In 2012, the band won several prizes at Bite My Music Global Awards, including the first prize for the song “East West” in the category “Best collaboration”.
In the summer of 2012, DIRTY SHIRT recorded their third album “Freak Show” at several studios in Romania and France. It was mixed and mastered by Charles “Kallaghan” Massabo at 118 West Studio in Los Angeles. Since its release in February 2013, the album has received unanimous praise in both Romanian and international media outlets. The first single “Freak Show” was included in the social game RockStar Rising (Facebook, iPad), and two additional songs will be soon included in the music game RockBand as well. Furthermore, the song was the subject of an international remix contest with Propellerhead and Kallaghan Records as sponsors/partners. Four music videos have been released in 2013, all of them being available online on various media platforms (“Săracă Inima Me / Poor Little Heart of Mine”, “Freak Show”, “Bad Apples” and “Ride”). Last but not least, the band completed two Romanian tours and one European tour in support of the new album, which included over forty shows.
In 2014, as winner of the Wacken Metal Battle competition in Romania, Dirty Shirt participated in the international competition at Wacken Open Air in Germany, where they took 2nd place, which is a notable achievement not only for the band itself, but also for the Romanian metal scene in general. In the meantime, the band have been hard at work on their next studio album “Dirtylicious”, a very ambitious project that will include a four-piece folk band. In addition, the tour in support of their latest album “Freak Show” continues with dozens of shows in Romania and other European countries. Another notable step forward was the signing of a management and booking (for Romania) deal with Promusic Events.
DISCOGRAPHY:
STUDIO ALBUMS:
“Very Dirty” (Promusic Prod, 2000)
“Same Shirt Different Day” (self-released, 2010)
“Freak Show” (self-released, 2013)
DVD:
“Live in the Truck” (Est-Ouest, 2011)
VIDEOS (www.youtube.com/dirtyshirtoriginal):
“Săracă inima me / Poor little heart of mine” (2013)
“Bad Apples” (2013)
“Freak Show” (2013)
“Freak Show” (2012): lyric video
“Manifest” (2010): with two versions; note: the long version has “New Millennium” as intro
“East West” (2010): featuring Candice (Eths), K-Lee & Daniel (Tripod), Mat (Babylon Pression) and Kallaghan (Sikh, RAS)
“Pitbull” (2009): cover of Kusturica & No Smoking Orchestra (soundtrack of “White Cat, Black Cat”)
“Gone” (2008): demo version
“UB” (2005): demo version, inspired by the Romanian folk song „Cine iubeÅŸte ÅŸi lasă”.
www.facebook.com/DirtyShirtRomania