[Interview] The Dirty Heads' Duddy B Talks Collaborations And Fists To The Face

TWV: What’s it like being the image most people associate with California? How does that play across the country?

Duddy B: Let’s say for instance, Midwest or Alabama a couple years ago, we would go play for nobody and people would be like, ‘Reggae music? Hip-hop? A couple white kids playing reggae and rap?’ They hated it, but it’s grown so much. I feel like this culture has grown a lot. There’s huge hip-hop and reggae culture everywhere you go. Even international these places where they had no idea before, it’s become a big thing. We get a great reception.

TWV: What about this record will bring you new fans, while satisfying old fans, and how challenging is that balance?

Duddy B: I feel “Spread Too Thin” is a safer, softer song, so we’ve had a lot of fans [say], ‘I like this song, but I hope the whole album isn’t like this. We still want that grimy Dirty Heads stuff. ‘There’s definitely that all over this album. There’s songs that are definitely harder than anything we’ve had in the past.

For new fans, I think that’s what will draw them too. One song will be a hip-hop song then the other will be a slow love song. The Dirty Heads—it makes sense.

TWV: You’ve done covers of some classics like The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black.” Are there any more plans to release old tracks with your own spin?

Duddy B: We love doing cover songs. It’s just fun to put your own twist on a song that’s already awesome. It’s easy, people ask how you made that song so rad, well it was already rad. We just changed it a bit.

We did “Live from Darrell’s House.” It’s a show with Daryl Hall from Hall and Oats. You go to his house and play a couple of your songs and then you play a couple of their songs with their band and all jam together and film it. We did a version “Rich Girl” with them. It came out so awesome. They think they’re gonna come down to our studio and all record a Dirty Heads version of “Rich Girl” together.

TWV: I understand you just had another child. How is being a touring artist with a newborn?

Duddy B: There’s ups and downs. It’s so awesome having a kid. I love it. It just sucks knowing I’m going to leave in a month and now my wife is stuck with two kids at home. Two months on the road, you feel bad, but hey, this is my job. You definitely work harder because you can’t go out on the road for two months and come back with nothing with two kids.