The Dirty Shovels – “100 Proof”
The Dirty Shovels are a Punk/Rock and Roll band right out of New York! They consist of John Athy (vocals/guitar), Bobby Finnegan (vocals, bass), Tj Warcholak (guitar/vocals), and Tyler Warcholak (drums/percussion/vocals). The Dirty Shovels started up in 2016 just trying to put out as much content as possible. They recored a ton of songs, many of which made it onto the “100 Proof” EP, the band’s most recent release. “100 Proof” is a five track EP that combines Punk with Alternative roots, Indie Rock and a bit of Reggae/Blues. This is an EP you don’t want to sleep on!
The Dirty Shovels begin “100 Proof” with Another Shot, my favorite song on the project. I was lucky enough to talk with TJ about the EP. He stated that “Another Shot is an obvious party song written about our shared love for parting and drinking. We always think of this tracks as our ‘single’ as it’s a crowd favorite”. First off, who doesn’t love a good party. I am a sucker for any song that will get a crowd going. I love the upbeat Reggae, jam band vibe that Another Shot gives off. It is not surprise to me that the band views this as a “crowd favorite”. This is the song that will get every person in the crowd dancing and singing along. I can see the crowd singing every single word! “Woke up dead, I can’t get out of my bed. Somethings not right, I can’t remember last night. Fill up my cup, can’t get enough. Well I just go so trashed, that I fell down and crashed. Hey yo, I think need another shot”.
“100 Proof” continues with Idle Hearts and What She Said. This is a great song that slows the pace down. I really enjoy these two songs because it slows down the pace of the EP and keeps with the Punk vibe that the band portrays. The vocals have that classic 90’s punk sound that people fell in love with and are dying to hear come back to the current music scene! “Idle Hearts is a bittersweet love song about how relationships are never perfect and you have to put in a joint effort to make things work and overcome the bumps in the road”. It contains lyrics that are memorable and anyone can relate to! “Throwing pebbles at your window, to get your attention. Tell you things you already know, oh but did I mention? Yes I know, I need an answer. Everybody needs a second chance, yeah, idle hearts, are the devils work”. Tj stated, “What She Said is where we slow it down a bit but keep a groovy fun flow behind it. It was written by our basis about a breakup between him and a past girlfriend and coming to terms with such things”. The “groovy fun” is what I really enjoy about The Dirty Shovels. Whether it is an upbeat, crowd pleasing song, or a slow, softer ballad, the band is able to consistently bring their fun, Reggae/Funk vibe that fans will fall in love with!
The EP ends with Pieces Apart and Another Memory. The Dirty Shovels picks that pace back up with these and completes the EP with a bang! Pieces Apart is about “a group of people living in a time where they felt the US lost the Cold War and their mindset remained that way even after the US didn’t lose. This as well as having a hard time trying to do something interesting in an area where nothing much goes on”. I was so impressed by the guitar chords on Pieces Apart. The band brings forth the sickest guitar chords and riffs as amazing bridges between the verses and chorus. This is a song I can see holding its own on Sirius XM’s Alt Nation station. People will fall in love with the impressive instrumentals and amazing vocals! “100 Proof” ends with Another Memory, a short but sweet ending to a powerful EP. It was written by Bobby Finnegan and touches on “looking for positives in a negative situation”. The band included this live version as the final song as a bonus track.
“We put the songs in this particular order to show a fun side as well as dip into serious themes before ending on a happy note. We also put out the raw EP unmixed and unmastered to show a representation of what you will see/hear live and give everyone just a taste of what’s to come on future records”. I can’t give props enough to The Dirty Shovels for this move. It is always so disappointing when you hear a recorded album of a band and you see them live and it seems like you’re listening to a completely different band. What an awesome idea to give the listeners a taste of exactly what they would hear at a show! As I stated earlier, The Dirty Shovels recorded a bunch of songs, some of which made it on this EP and some that will be included on the full–length album. I cannot wait to hear what The Dirty Shovels has in store for the future! Make sure you follow their social media and check out songs from the EP on the blog’s Spotify playlist: After Hours Review!