The well-kempt Dirt Fashion will be jamming out at the Lions Club Fair this month, on Thursday, July 16 to be exact. To learn more about the band, I checked in with Rollie Pike to see what makes Dirt Fashion so dirty.

 

Tell us about the band - how you got together, your style and where the dirty name came from...

We are brand new. We are all local guys. I called around to some talented guys I thought would fit the part for this band, and they were all interested. David Morris, Ryan Aud, Chris Embry, Logan Boarman, Terry Lanham, and myself, Rollie Pike. Sometimes the best picker is not always the best guy for the band. That was the key, not that we were all instrumental specialist, but this group of guys each had something to offer in their own way from talents to ideas to creating that would enable us to put on a show with variety and flavor to accommodate young, teen, middle age, etc. I told them I kinda wanted to be like the modern day Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Hence, that’s where the name came from. We’re pretty country strong, but we’re gonna try to have a few different flavors. We’re gonna be like the weather in KY, if you don’t like it, stick around, chances are it’ll change pretty quick. We’re gonna play fast, slow, medium, and rare. No matter what we play though, it will probably come out in “Dirt Fashion.” 

 

What's your background? What are some of the band(s) you've worked with?

Basically, we all have just had a love for music all our lives. Mostly, the God given talents that have been passed down through the gene pool is where all this derived from…Terry Lanham started playing music when he was a young boy traveling around doing the bluegrass thing with his Grandfather. Logan Boarman got his first set of drums when he was a young boy, something his Father at the time wasn’t sure of, but has no regrets now. Chris Embry played some electric guitar in his teens, but unselfishly picked up the bass for us. Cause that ‘s what kinda guy he is….Ryan Aud picked up piano at an early age. He’s a computer guy so naturally, he’s our keyboard man. David Morris started playing at an early age, mostly bluegrass, and then country, and then whatever you want him to play. If he fell and bust his leg open, all kinds of musical notes would fall out. Some that haven’t been invented yet I believe. And me, I started trying to dance like Elvis on the kitchen table with a broom in my hand for a guitar. Since then, I have always loved to sit down with my guitar and pick around and sing.

  

Biggest musician influences?

Of course our Pappaws and mammaws, our Moms and Dads, our uncles and aunts,  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ,Vassar Clements, John Mcuen, Ricky Skaggs,

Anybody’s that ever carried a tune in a 5 gallon bucket pretty much!

 

What are the 5 greatest albums of all time? Let's start an argument here...

Live to Five – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Live in London – Ricky Skaggs

Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat – Buck Owens

****Honestly, we are always song searching so much for songs that will fit “dirt fashion,” it’s hard to get through one entire album or in our case, cassette, or 8 track , before we’re kicking it out and on to the next one.

  

For the musicians and techie-types out there - what's your setup like. What are your

weapons of choice, instrumentally speaking?

If a little amp is all we got…That’s all we got…If a big fancy set up is all we got, we’ll play on that to. Plain Simple, plain dirt fashion. Drums, Bass, Fiddle, steel guitar, mandolin, keyboard, and guitars. Our motto is “simple but good.”

 

What are people in for at a Dirt Fashion show?

There’s not many bands out there playing what we’re playing. People that come out to a Dirt Fashion show are going to find themselves in good company and having a good time no matter if they are 5 or 82…