DIRTY STREETS

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    • Release
      Rough and Tumble
      July 31, 2020
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    • Scan the press on soul-groove outfit Dirty Streets and you’ll see numerous references to rock, soul, and dirty-blooze touchstones like the Faces, Humble Pie, Otis Redding, CCR and more. Spin Dirty Streets’ records and you’ll hear all of those echoes, plus others—some jazz timing, some acoustic balladry. But by and large, what you’ll hear is a raw, rowdy blend of Motown, Stax and rock—the pure American blood-beat moving through the heart of Memphis groove.

    Austin-born Justin Toland (guitar/vocals) found his own musical food early through his father, a classic-rock aficionado who turned Justin on to the Stones, Creedence, soul music and the Stax sound. At 17 Toland moved to Memphis and met Thomas Storz (bass), a native of the city, through mutual friends; the pair found common musical ground and began playing groove-grounded rock with a series of temporary drummers. Andrew Denham (drums), a Shreveport-born drummer and British hard-rock fan, joined up with Storz and Toland in 2007.

    The trio began demoing using a basic setup: a single cassette recorder, no tracks, no real separation, just mics on the bass/drums and guitar and vocals live in the room. Without the option to isolate, tweak or sweeten after the fact, Dirty Streets became accustomed to running through a take 40 or 50 times as they worked to get it right, all the way through. By the time they began gigging live, that level of discipline had honed Dirty Streets into an instinctual, responsive outfit. Bootleg recordings of their shows in and around Memphis helped to generate buzz, and established Dirty Streets’ rep as a band whose timing was as sharp as their sound was ragged.

    Albums followed—Portrait of a Man (2009), Movements (2011), Blades of Grass (2013), White Horse (2015), Distractions (2018), and their latest live effort Rough and Tumble, an LP drawn from an in-house performance for the DittyTV Americana music television network. All of these albums are steeped in the raw rock-soul groove that serves as the band’s taproot, the musical core from which all of its explorations still proceed. And within that core, too, is the element that gives their music, the music they love and play, its unique character.

    Rough and Tumble includes eight positively explosive takes from three of the Memphis trio’s previous studio albums, and also features two meaty, revved-up covers by the great Joe South.

    Dirty Streets’ Rough and Tumble is out now on limited vinyl, CD and digital & streaming platforms via Alive Naturalsound Records. Click here to order the limited yellow vinyl LP.

    FOR MORE INFO ON DIRTY STREETS:
    dirtystreetsmusic.com
    facebook.com/thedirtystreets

    FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE RECORDS:
    http://www.alive-records.com

    FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
    Tony Bonyata
    Pavement PR
    p: 262.903.7775
    e: bonyata@wi.rr.com
    https://pavementpr.com

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    2015 PRESS RELEASE FOR DIRTY STREETS’ ALBUM WHITE HORSE

    DIRTY STREETS TO RELEASE THEIR LATEST STUDIO ALBUM DISTRACTIONS SEPTEMBER 14, 2018

    Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, a hub of historical soul and blues that crafted much of the world’s modern music, Dirty Streets have spent years on the road and in the studio forging their own style. They’ve moved from DIY, independant recordings to ambitiously self-produced studio ventures over the course of five albums. Their fifth, and latest, LP, Distractions, is an explosively charged follow-up to their acclaimed 2015 release White Horse, which contains a unique style of heavy, soulful and sometimes psychedelic rock. Recorded at the historic Sam Phillips Recording studio in Memphis, the album pushes the sonic palette of the band to the next level with an eclectic mix of songs. Drawing from influences that span from the bluesy twang of Howlin’ Wolf and Wilson Pickett, to the heady expansiveness of Hendrix and Donovan, Distractions lives in its own time and place. The album was recorded live in the studio by Matt Qualls and Wesley Graham in the room where the raw and explosive energy of the Yardbirds’ iconic “Train Kept a Rollin’” was originally put to tape. This album continues the tradition.

    Dirty Streets’ Distractions will be available September 14, 2018 on vinyl, CD, digital and streaming formats.

    DISTRACTIONS TRACK LISTING:
    01 Loving Man
    02 The Sound
    03 Dreams
    04 Riding High
    05 Can’t Go Back
    06 Distractions
    07 Take A Walk
    08 Death’s Creep
    09 On The Way
    10 Trying To Remember

    FOR MORE INFO ON DIRTY STREETS:
    https://www.facebook.com/thedirtystreets

    FOR MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
    Tony Bonyata
    Pavement PR
    e: tony@pavementpr.com
    https://pavementpr.com

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    2015 PRESS RELEASE FOR DIRTY STREETS’ ALBUM WHITE HORSE

    DIRTY STREETS TO RELEASE NEW WHITE HORSE ALBUM NOV. 27, 2015 VIA ALIVE NATURALSOUND RECORDS

    Memphis-based power-trio Dirty Streets are gearing up for the release of their fourth studio album, White Horse (their second for Alive Naturalsound Records) on Black Friday.

    Following the release of their well-received 2013 album, Blades of Grass, the band began writing and recording material for this new record. As frontman Justin Toland explained, “We wrote and re-wrote tons of songs and it really ended up hitting a great point as far as expression. We recorded at the renown Ardent Studios in Memphis with our friend Matt Qualls this time, who is a great engineer and really helped in forming the sound of the record. It became a very pure time creatively for us and I feel we locked into something we hadn’t previously. Over all, it worked out in a way that we could take more time to find our sound than we previously had.”

    And judging from these 11 red-raw tracks informed by the band’s love of deep soul, funk, blues and heavy boogie & psych-rock it was time well spent.

    “This album is definitely more fluid and natural,” Toland continued. “We made a big deal out of just feeling out the songs rather than getting them technically perfect. Percussion was definitely a compass as far as groove on this one. If we couldn’t play the tambourine, or shaker with feeling then it wasn’t cutting it. It was actually Budos Band that was a huge influence as far as groove goes for the writing of this record.”

    Following various tours throughout the U.S., including a successful run opening for label mates Radio Moscow, Dirty Streets will be bringing their pile-driving live show to a city near you soon (initial tour dates listed below).

    Dirty Streets’ White Horse will be available on Limited Vinyl, CD & digital formats on Nov. 27, 2015 via Alive Naturalsound Records. The stunning psychedelic cover art was created by Joshua Marc Levy of Asheville Art Family.

    FOR MORE INFO ON DIRTY STREETS:
    http://www.dirtystreetsmusic.com
    http://www.alive-records.com/artist/the-dirty-streets

    FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE RECORDS:
    http://www.alive-records.com

    FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
    Tony Bonyata
    Pavement PR
    p: 262.903.7775
    e:  tony[AT]pavementpr.com
    https://pavementpr.com

    PRESS RELEASE FOR DIRTY STREETS’ PREVIOUS ALBUM “BLADES OF GRASS”

    Formed by Thomas Storz (bass, percussion), Justin Toland (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Andrew Denham (drums, percussion), and originally from Mississippi, the power trio Dirty Streets now calls Memphis home. That’s where they recorded their new album Blades Of Grass, at the legendary Ardent studio, under the guidance of sound engineer Adam Hill. The core trio also enlisted the talents of Lucero’s Rick Steff on keys for this effort. Blades Of Grass is an old school rock’n’roll record with nods to the sounds of Humble Pie, Jeff Beck Group and others. It’s heavy music bathed in blues, folk and psychedelia, with chops to spare and a working class point of view. The band already has two independent releases under their belt, including an album with renown Memphis producer Doug Easley, and has toured extensively in the Southeast, with a couple of East Coast runs, and an eight week U.S. tour with Radio Moscow. Summer 2013 U.S. tour dates to be announced soon.

    Dirty Streets’ Blades of Grass will be available in all formats on July 9th. Limited Edition Color Vinyl exclusive to Bomp-mailorder.

    ALIVE0148_12inJacket.indd

    BLADES OF GRASS TRACK LISTING:
    1. Stay Thirsty
    2. Talk
    3. No Need To Rest
    4. Movements #2
    5. Try Harder
    6.  Blades Of Grass
    7. Keep An Eye Out
    8. Heart Of The Sky
    9. Truth
    10. Twice
    11. I Believe I Found Myself (bonus track exclusive to CD and digital download)

    DirtyStreets442

    FOR MORE INFO ON DIRTY STREETS:
    dirtystreetsmusic.com
    facebook.com/thedirtystreets

    FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE RECORDS:
    http://www.alive-records.com

    FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
    Tony Bonyata
    Pavement PR
    p: 262.903.7775
    e: bonyata@wi.rr.com
    https://pavementpr.com

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  • HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT DIRTY STREETS:

    • DIRTY STREETS’ ALBUM 'ROUGH AND TUMBLE'
    • “… a taut, punchy, party-ready soundtrack. These guys have been pounding out this music for over a decade and like AC/DC, they have the arrangements and meat and potatoes pocket locked down tight. Dirty Streets churn out blue-jeans, retro tinged, unapologetically nasty rawk as if they invented it.” - Hal Horowitz, AMERICAN SONGWRITER
    • "Smashing live set. These Memphis soul/blooze bruisers flow nimbly through crushing, Motown-inspired dancefloor burners and blistering f**k-on-the-floor barroom blues howlers with equally devastating precision." - CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE
    • “Coming in hot with a wave Jimi Hendrix-esque guitar that turns into a loose blues riff, Toland sings in a style that feels equal parts Dan Auerbach and cranked up 70s rock and roller.” - GLIDE MAGAZINE
    • "Great soulful vocals, a stellar rhythm duo, and a plethora of guitar tones only scratch the surface of why this album succeeds." – BLUES ROCK REVIEW
    • [10/10 Rating] “Three-pieces are just ace. When they balance it right nothing sounds better. I said something similar when I gave Dirty Streets’ 2015 album White Horse 10/10. To be perfectly honest, there is a reason I am repeating myself, and it’s because Rough And Tumble is equally flawless. “ - Andy Thorley, MAXIMUM VOLUME MUSIC
    • “If you’re not all the way down with the realization that Justin Toland is the man when it comes to heavy soul and blues guitar, Dirty Streets‘ new live record, Rough and Tumble, will set you straight, and it won’t even take that long. With the all-killer bass and drums of Thomas Storz and Andrew Denham behind, Toland reminds of what a true virtuoso player can accomplish when put in a room with a crowd to watch. That’s an important message for any time, let alone right now. These cats always deliver.” - THE OBELISK
    • “I defy anyone to listen to Memphis power trio Dirty Streets without hearing echoes of Steve Marriott and Humble Pie, Rod Stewart and The Faces, or even Chris Robinson and Black Crowes. Likewise, there’s also zero chance you can listen their aptly titled new live album Rough and Tumble without getting down and rocking out to their raucous balance of British blues-rock and southern soul — complete with all the shimmering slide lines, wah-wah pedal licks and raspy wailing required by the rock ’n’ roll rule book.” - Darryl Sterdan, TINNITIST
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    • DIRTY STREETS’ ALBUM 'DISTRACTIONS'
    • “… a powerhouse blast of songs that range from soul to psychedelic rock. For those concerned that rock 'n' roll has become too quantized, freeze dried, or other things that have zees in them, Dirty Streets is very much the band you're looking for.” – Jedd Beaudoin, POPMATTERS
    • “Straight out of some invitingly cool jam night in the ‘70s, this strutting, soul-infused shot of blues rock shows these Memphis dudes off to their best advantage.” - CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE
    • “At times, their sound is polished and soulful (like on the Distractions title track); other times, they embrace the grime and churn out greasy garage rock (“Loving Man” is down-and-dirty yet danceable). Dirty Streets’ Southern grit would pair just as well with a PBR and a loud Beale St. bar as it would a back porch and sweet tea—they just sound like Memphis.” - PASTE MAGAZINE
    • “… hard edged, thumping guitar music with licks and vocals reminiscent of Gregg Allman circa ‘Whipping Post.’ It is powerful stuff and whether you call it Swamp Boogie, blues, rock, or half a dozen other labels that approximate the sound, it is ultimately a cauldron of primordial emotion from which musical magic emerges. Here is a hard-rocking band with a sublime mastery of lyrics and THAT is all too rare. Simply put, Dirty Streets is a band that delivers on all levels.” - Marc Michael, THE PULSE
    • "Distractions honours the south's hard-rocking musical tradtitions and adds a high voltage boost. Best played loud. " - Duncan Fletcher, SHINDIG! MAGAZINE
    • “Distractions is the follow-up to their acclaimed 2015 release White Horse and contains a great blend of heavy, soulful and sometimes psychedelic blues-rock. Think Blue Cheer, Mountain and even some Iron Butterfly combining to craft modern takes on classic structures in an individual way. If you like traditional blues-rock with a proficient modern twist, you will love this.” - Tom Dixon, RAMZINE MAGAZINE UK
    • “… reverberates with bluesy guitar licks and shaking rhythms” - THE BIG TAKEOVER MAGAZINE
    • “These cats make some serious noise, and they do so with with cool-headed precision and plenty of Southern swagger. Dirty Streets pay proper homage to their influences without sounding like rip-offs. Crack open a cold one and crank up the volume real loud.” - Neil Ferguson, GLIDE MAGAZINE
    • “… these guys swirl up a big sonic concoction of heavy blues rock, psychedelic rock, and a little touch of soul.” - BLUES ROCK REVIEW
    • “Dirty Streets hail out of Memphis, and continue a tradition of powerful Southern Rock, although just to cover all bases they also don’t fall too far from bands like Mountain by blending in some hard bluesy sounds.” - AMERICANA UK
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    • DIRTY STREETS’ ALBUM 'WHITE HORSE'
    • “Featuring nasty, sweaty guitars and Justin Toland's howling vocals, ‘White Horse’ is everything you want in a rock song and a refreshing throwback to an era where rock dominated the airwaves.” - PURE VOLUME
    • [Rating 10/10] “…an album that’s astounding in almost every single way.” - MAXIMUM VOLUME
    • "White Horse is a hard-hitting blast of eleven arena-ready rock tunes best cranked to maximum volume." - GLIDE MAGAZINE
    • “Memphis trio Dirty Streets brings the blues and the boogie on their latest album, White Horse. The band's no-frills, less talk/more rock approach serves them well.” – ALL MUSIC
    • ”When it comes to taking volcanic early-70s-style blues rock to modern times, Dirty Streets are now furlongs ahead.” - CLASSIC ROCK
    • "If you want to groove to some good psychedelic blues rock, this album will do the trick." - EXAMINER
    • [9/10 STARS] "If you like your rock and roll down and dirty saddle up and take a ride on the White Horse" - BLUES ROCK REVIEW
    • “ Who says rock is dead? You just have to know where to look and that place just happens to be the streets of Memphis, Tennessee. After a two-year layoff the band has elaborated on their signature sound which features smokin' hot guitar riffs, a mighty soulful groove and a hypnotic midnight moan.” - HEAVY PLANET
    • "White Horse is a hard-hitting blast of eleven arena-ready rock tunes best cranked to maximum volume." - GLIDE MAGAZINE
    • “Memphis trio Dirty Streets brings the blues and the boogie on their latest album, White Horse. The band's no-frills, less talk/more rock approach serves them well.” – ALL MUSIC
    • “Memphis' throwback, garagey-arena rockers, Dirty Streets, were clearly brought up on copious amounts of rocknroll, Stax soul, Howlin' Wolf's howl and harp skills, Hubert Sumlin's guitar, and heavily percussed psych and prog rock. Perhaps best described as a bit Troggs meets Flaming Groovies, a smattering of MC5, a sprinkle of Captain Beefheart, some Grand Funk Railroad, a pinch of ZZ Top-esque build ups and licks and you’re approaching their bitches brew. The band's 4th full length and second on Alive Naturalsounds is a flat out doozie. Captured at the shrine that John Fry built, Ardent Studios, home to the ever growing legend of Big Star and Alex Chilton, still worked at by the one and only Jody Stephens (Big Star drummer), and home to the past couple Lucero records, the trio were well represented in the studio department. Dirty Streets were no slouch on their end of that bargain either. They brought beautiful noise for Ardent's Matt Qualls to reel in, in the form of foot stomping wide open rockers all the way to shit kicking acoustic country soul, White Horse, as a record has left no influential stone uncovered.” - NO DEPRESSION
    • “One of the best Memphis rock records of the year. Dirty Streets have honed their James Gang-meet-Blue Cheer sound into their most cohesive album yet with White Horse, and rock critics from all around the country are taking notice.” - MEMPHIS FLYER
    • “Rather than essaying the heavy garage blues of previous platters, the Streets polish big-ass boogie rock, driven by the meaty riffs and plainspoken soul of frontguy Justin Toland.” - BLURT MAGAZINE
    • Top Ten Album of 2015: Dirty Streets – ‘White Horse’ - SONIC BANDWAGON
    • “Dirty Streets trio cranks like a dirty hybrid of the Black Keys and Kings of Leon.” - MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL
    • “… a stellar new LP!” - PITTSBURGH IN TUNE
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    • DIRTY STREETS’ ALBUM 'BLADES OF GRASS'
    • Dirty Streets separate themselves from the like-minded pack who want to sound like Humble Pie and Grand Funk Railroad with contagious enthusiasm, sharp songwriting, and some ass-whoopin' riffs. – SHINDIG MAGAZINE
    • Remember back in the good ol' days when you clicked on the radio and everything sounded amazing? Dirty Streets do. – CLASSIC ROCK
    • Blades of Grass is raw realism, yet it also throws off sparks of psychedelia without a hint of self-consciousness. – ROCK & RAP CONFIDENTIAL
    • A true rarity: a rock ‘n’ roll classic at birth. – JAMBANDS
    • 21st’s Century working-man’s throwback tunes. – PERFORMER MAGAZINE
    • Vintage. Antique. Classic. And flat-out smokin’. – WINNIPEG SUN
    • It’s no easy feat to take something old and make it feel exciting, fresh and new all over again. This is a stunning album. – PARANOID HITSOPHRENIC
    • On Blades Of Grass Dirty Streets have captured the classic '60s and early-'70s feel of that era's blues-rock trios, and they've done it with sharp, sturdy songs that have a distinct blue-collar, working-man feel to them. – ALLMUSIC
    • This is some heavy music indeed… a good mixture of blues and groovy southern rock that you’ll want to blast out the windows of your car. - LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
    • A triumphant third LP. - THE MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL
    • Dirty Streets' "Blades of Grass" is the perfect mix between blues, folk and psychedelia, with aspects of rock bubbling below the surface. - PERFORMER MAGAZINE
    • Some serious, greasy-as-fuck, southern rock and soul. Rock music at its best. Highly recommended. – THE RIPPLE EFFECT
    • The Dirty Streets branch out their third and so far best album, Blades of Grass, a polished collection recorded at Ardent Studios and released via Los Angeles indie label Alive Records. – MEMPHIS FLYER
    • Memphis-based Dirty Streets revive old-fashioned rock 'n' roll on their new album Blades Of Grass. - MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL
    • Dirty Streets steep ‘60s blues rock, touches of soul, and more contemporary influences on Blades of Grass. – THE FIRE NOTE
    • If you like heavy blues rock, and some of the other Alive Naturalsound bands we've featured in the past (Radio Moscow, Lee Bains, John the Conqueror), then Dirty Streets’ Blades Of Grass will please you. - WHEN YOU MOTOR AWAY
    • Zeppelin, Black Crowes, Humble Pie, Rolling Stones....it's all here rolled into one complete tight sound and lit up for your approval. Dirty Streets’Blades Of Grass builds slowly and kicks you right in the face. Simple and powerful, elegant and raw. - THE RIPPLE EFFECT
    • One hell of an album from start to finish. - BLUES ROCK REVIEW
    • Some of The Bluff City's finest power-trio blues rock. - ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
    • Potent brew of wide-pastured sunny summer blues. - THE OBELISK
    • Dirty Streets’ Blades Of Grass is steeped in ‘60s blues-rock (Humble Pie, The Rolling Stones) and contemporary heirs The Black Crowes and Alabama Shakes, while subsequent tracks find the band drawing inspiration from folk, heavy psych and soul music. – SUBCULTURE
    • For the old-school fan of classic rock who isn’t afraid to mix plenty of Humble Pie and Jeff Beck into their listening schedule, Blades Of Grass by Dirty Streets should be an album on your immediate listening list when it hits shelves on July 9th. Expect big things from these guys in the coming months. - HEAR HEAR MUSIC
    • Dirty Streets dig up the well-loved sounds of late ‘60s, early ‘70s blues rock and perform it perfectly in 2013. - SUPAJAM
    • [4/5 stars] The Mississippi-via-Memphis trio Dirty Streets purvey a fine line in swaggering rock…. right out of the Fillmore East playbook circa 1974. - I-94 BAR
    • I can honestly say this is a fucking great album. It will almost certainly be on my "best of" list come December. Nice work, gents. - ADOBE & TEARDROPS