Dirty Bird sprouts some new wings

Photo courtesy of band

FOWL PLAY. From left to right, Bob Goodman, Nick Kirkham, Angel McPherson and Devon MacGougan are Dirty Bird.

Dirty Bird was doing an admirable job playing the local circuit with sets of acoustic material. Yet one could almost sense they were not typical coffee shop types. Sure, singer Angel McPherson does justice to Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason,” but it seemed like there was a rocker waiting to break out on stage.

Sure enough there was. The former drummer preferred the acoustic style, while the other members wished to go in a different direction.

Things changed three months ago when Bob Goodman became the new drummer. He also plays for AC/DC tribute band Soul Stripper. He knew Dirty Bird because they had been opening act for several Soul Stripper shows.

The other members are Nick Kirkham on guitar and Devon MacGougan on bass.

When their former drummer left, they approached Goodman. “He brought a whole new vibe to the band,” McPherson said. “We are all excited. I felt restrained before. Now I feel I can bust out.

“He lit a fire under our ass,” Kirkham commented.

“He gives us more of a rock ‘n roll edge,” McPherson added. “We were a rock band looking for a rock drummer.”

The band still plays an occasional acoustic set but is focused on the rock side now. They have written new songs and reworked some of the older material since Goodman joined.

They have a few cover tunes in their rock set, including “Same Old Song And Dance” by Aerosmith, “Breakdown” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Come Together” by the Beatles and “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5.

MacGougan is now throwing some funk elements into his bass playing, something not really possible when he was playing an acoustic bass guitar. Kirkham obtained an electric guitar as the band went in its new direction.

Goodman had played in bands that do original material in the past and was not particularly looking to join such a group. However, he heard the potential in Dirty Bird’s acoustic material to rock things out a bit. “Their music made me feel good,” he said. “Everyone in the band is having fun.”

The band’s popularity is growing as a result of their shift in direction. Before they were playing a lot of coffee shop gigs. Now they are better suited for the rock clubs. McPherson said their fan base is 10 times what is was before. A recent show at Malarkey’s was the largest audience ever in the club, he noted, with people being turned away at the door.

Malarkey’s, the pool hall/music venue at the corner of Sixth and Tacoma avenues, has special importance to the band. Two members work there – Kirkham as a bartender and McPherson as bouncer and karaoke host. Dirty Bird has played there 12 times, more than any other band. They give kudos to co-owner Clark Smith for his commitment to live music and investing money to continually upgrade the sound and light systems.

The audience reaction is much more energetic, McPherson added. “Now the crowd cheers for us. People lose their minds,” he said.

Hits on the band’s website have gone up, Kirkham noted. “We are building a street team. Every band needs one,” he said.

The band’s name came from an incident involving Michael Vick, the former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons who was sent to prison for operating a dog-fighting ring. As Vick left the field after one game he flipped his middle finger at fans. While their musical style has changed, they still encourage fans to flip them off during shows. “We take it as a compliment,” McPherson said.

The group recorded a three-song demo CD. They are looking to book shows as far away as Portland, and hope to land some gigs on festivals this summer.

Dirty Bird plays Malarkey’s at 9 p.m. on May 1. They will be there again on June 13 with an acoustic set when they open for Heart tribute band Heartless. They will play their rock set during an all-ages performance at Jazzbones on June 28.

For more information visit http://www.myspace.com/dirtybirdmusic253.

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