Interview with Dave Cookson, drummer for Dirty North
1. So first things first, you supported The Stone Roses at Heaton Park in 2012. How did you land that support slot and what was it like supporting them?
Reni, the drummer from Stone Roses, must have heard about us and mentioned us in the press conference. We just got it off the back of that. They asked him about the music industry he’s getting back into, and the only thing he mentioned was us, so I don’t think we could have not got the gig after that, know what I mean.
The Heaton Park gigs were literally the best day of my life, so big. 50,000 people I think we played to. It felt like I was in historic days, the atmosphere was thick, and it was like nothing we’d ever done.
Yeah it was top. Slow start but by the end, we got top applause. Was a whirlwind man.
2. How did this support slot help to launch you as a band?
Apart from getting us a lot of attention, we did a lot of gigs that year. It helped us do some recording; we got some money off it, which paid for a lot of the recordings. It paid for some mixing and other recordings we’ve not yet released, so we’re still yet to reap the main benefits of that.
3. You’re often referred to as Wythenshawe Dub due to the combination of rap, ska, indie and so on. What made you decide to combine these genres together?
I think it mainly came out of not being into indie and being quite bored of it really. The sort of two guitars and winkle pickers and funny haircuts was like the main point of bands, from what we could see. We weren’t really into that sort of music and wanted to do summat a little bit different. We took the influences that we had like reggae, Bob Marley, rap and the whole Wythenshawe thing. We just wanted to sound like ourselves, rather than sound like rock. So that’s what we did.
4. Your released your debut album in October last year… Any plans for a follow up album?
Yeah, we’ve already got it recorded. At the minute we’re trying to push it through with the producer Larry Gott, the guitarist from James. So we’re working quite closely with him to get it finished off and get it out. Obviously our new manager, Santana. is gonna have a part to play in trying to get it out later this year. We’re just trying to create a little bit of hype before we release it. We’ve got a little mixtape we’re gonna release, doing a new photoshoot and trying to do a new look for the band. Then, get the album out towards the end of summer we’re hoping. Wythenshawe Dub, that’s what the album will be called.
5. If you were to describe in 5 words one of your favourite tracks from your album to someone who has never listened to your music before, how would you describe it?
5 words for the single, ‘Down In the Game’ would be… Simon. Cowell. Is. A. Muppet. That’s pretty much about not wanting to be a part of that, and not going to be a part of the whole popstar, kissing arse and that sort of thing.
6. Being from Manchester, you must have played tons of Manchester venues. Which has been your favourite so far?
Some of our favourite gigs were in the early days ‘cos we knew a lot of people around. There’s a place called TV21s who used to put on a lot of live music there. The reason it was so good is we could pretty do whatever we wanted. We knew all the bar staff so we got free beer, we could smoke in there. We couldn’t actually go in there without doing a gig ‘cos they’d always just get us to play, so that was one of our favourite venues in town. Other than that, I like the Academys’. I really do like the Academys’, they’ve got a good sound, and that’s the main thing. Good sound, good sound guys.
7. Where is the best place in Manchester to have a drink?
Hmm, best place to have a drink… Depends what you like to drink obviously. I’d say probably Gullivers on Oldham Street. I used to work there, and it’s got a bit of atmosphere. It’s not too clean cut and has a half decent jukebox, so yeah Gullivers.
8. Are there any upcoming Manchester bands that have caught your eye?
One of my favourite Manchester bands, is called Age of Glass from Chorlton. They’re sort of electro, acoustic, funk. They’re just really good. I don’t really wanna mention Frazer king, because they’re pretty much finished now. There’s still stuff to look at, but they’re pretty much finished because they’ve never really got anywhere but they’re really talented and a really top band.
Yeah man, Frazer King and Age of Glass.
9. Lastly, if you could represent your band with one animal, what animal would it be?
Err, the Animal out of Muppets, the drummer guy out of Muppets. Yeah, Animal.
