Dirty Summer

Dirty Summer
Origin	Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Genres	Pop
Years active	2006-2009
Labels	Winning Sperm Party (Glasgow) Golden Eagle Recordings (Edinburgh)
Website	www.winningspermparty.com/projects/dirty-summer
Members
Brodie A L Wishart Fergus Christie Jack Emily Banister

Dirty Summer were a three-piece Scottish pop band who formed in Dunfermline in 2006. The band were composed of Fergus Christie Jack, Brodie A L Wishart and Emily Banister. The band were infamous for their energetic live shows and "car crash pop"^[1] that earned them a notable reputation amongst the underground music scene of Scotland. The band released their debut album on the 16th April 2009 titled The Purity Ball.

History

Formation and early years

The band formed after Fergus Jack and Brodie Wishart's previous project Disco Fuun! disbanded. Emily Banister was invited to join on percussion. Emily plays only a snare and floor tom standing. The minimalist drum kit is a signature element of the band. Brodie Wishart plays bass guitar and sings lead vocals. Fergus Jack plays synthesiser and adds vocals as well as other more obscure instruments, such as melodica, to a few songs.^[2]

The Tower House Community Centre offered them practice space and their first gigs, including their debut performance at an LGBT Halloween night. They soon gathered a cult following and played various venues in Dunfermline. The band's self-recorded demos were circulated through Myspace. Early tracks such as "War is Bad" and "Rayshot" were well received. The band also supported a little-known Glasvegas in 2007 at a low key gig in Fife.

2007-2008 Breakthrough

Dirty Summer started to come to prominence with their first Edinburgh show at The Southern with Damn Shames, organised by Golden Eagle Recordings and //FAST// punk club.^[3] They soon arroused the attention of several Edinburgh promoters and played at notable venues in the city, such as Henry's Cellar Bar, The Bongo Club, Cabaret Voltaire and the Voodoo Rooms.^[4]

With the hype building, the band expanded to Glasgow and have played venues such as Oran Mor,The Flying Duck and Stereo.^[5] A video for the song "Camp Carnival" was produced by Sean De Francesco.^[6] It controversially featured Broide Wishart throwing a frozen pigeon into the street.

In May 2008 Dirty Summer returned to Dunfermline to play Tigerfest at the Carnegie Hall with Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad.^[7][8]

A double A-side single was recorded with Golden Eagle Recordings but this has never been released.^[9] The reasons for withholding the release are at present unknown.^[10]

Due to connections made from their Glasgow gigs, the Winning Sperm Party label offered to produce and distribute an EP through their website.^[11] The four-track EP was released on 4 April 2008. A limitd run of CDs were also produced but these are now very rare.^[12] The EP was recorded in Brodie Wishart's Dunfermline residence. It features a cover version of "Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals. The EP has a distinct garage DIY sound.

2009 to present

The band continued to play gigs regularly in Edinburgh and Glasgow alongside acts such as Dan Deacon and Bis. They recorded a full-length album with Winning Sperm Party which was released on Compact Disc and free digital-download through the label's website. The album was recorded by Chris White in the kitchen of his flat in Glasgow. The album was launched on the 16th April 2009.

Dirty Summer split up in September 2009. Their final show was at Fell Foot Sound Festival in the Lake District, Cumbria.

A year later, Brodie and Fergus collaborated on a synth-noise project titled Night Magic.

Brodie now plays in party-punk band Eternal Fags, while Fergus plays in luxury ice-cream pop band Vienetta.

Emily has fully embraced religion.

Trivia

• The band were originally to be a seven-piece Pop outfit named Milky Milk.
• The band met at the Queen Anne High School String Orchestra.
• Brodie A L Wishart cites kiwi as his favourite fruit.
• Fergus Jack commonly goes under the pseudonym of Freddie Escobar.

Discography

Albums

• The Purity Ball (16 April 2009, Winning Sperm Party)

Singles

• "Mess with Me, You Mess with the Bay"/ "Scorpions with People Faces" (Unreleased, Golden Eagle Recordings)

EPs

• Dirty Summer EP (4 April 2008, Winning Sperm Party)

References

1. ^ http://www.list.co.uk/article/5981-dirty-summer/ from The List
2. ^ http://www.myspace.com/dirtysummer
3. ^ http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/125/l_7256b71fba9d59a79e78e4249c5b2b3f.jpg
4. ^ http://black-spring.com/limbo/limbo-005.html
5. ^ http://www.list.co.uk/article/5981-dirty-summer/ from The List.
6. ^ Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa_tZ3ENdks
7. ^ http://www.fife.gov.uk/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=event.display&objectid=7A8DAD8C-F580-BC68-311A3C9F1F8AA041 Accessed: 27th March 2009
8. ^ http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/42676-the-twilight-sad-frightened-rabbit-carnegie-hall-15-may from The Skinny
9. ^ http://www.myspace.com/goldeneaglerecordings Accessed 27th March 2009
10. ^ http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=175469832&albumId=1580726
11. ^ http://winningspermparty.com/dirtysummer/ Accessed: 27th March 2009.
12. ^ http://winningspermparty.com/?p=171