Written by: Jo Ann L.B. Duggins
Photos by: Rich Cook and Live Photos by: Greg Petliski

Full Names:
Ryan Timothy Koontz - Vocals
Mark Anthony Murino - Guitar
Nathan Beale - Guitar/Vocals
Shaun Cornell - Bass/Vocals
Christopher Mendez-Vanacore - Drums/Vocals
Currently Residing:
San Diego, CA
Currently listening to:
The Faces, Buena Vista Social Club, The Black Dahlia Murder, Ravenous movie soundtrack
Current Release:
" . . . Of Monarchs and Beggars"
I think all true musicians out there have the disease. The disease that entails everything musical. If they don't play or are involved in it, you would think they would just roll over and welcome death's call. It is this passion that allows one to strive to progress and achieve in his or her abilities. What's the point of pursuing music if you aren't making it what you love and what is it to be a musician if you don't drive yourself to create different things.

Such is the case with Chris Vanacore, the very talented drummer of quintet, Dirty Sweet. How does one go from the sweet and melodic soundings of Jejune to the gritty, underbelly of rock in Dirty Sweet? Dirty Sweet pursues that which is real rock and roll. It's loud, it's dirty, and at first glance you would think Robert Plant and Jimmy Page would walk out on stage with the boys. Graced with silver and turquoise with a hint of trouble and a scent of earth, these guys not only rock hard but it is hard-pressed not to feel your hips thrusting, head swaying and your hand reaching out for the nearest bottle of Jack. Great American R&R...oh so sweet.

How would you describe the sounds of Dirty Sweet?

Rock n' Roll.

Do you guys find that you are pigeon holed into one genre of music?

Yeah . . . somewhere along the line somebody stuck us with "Southern Rock" and it seems to follow us. We write what we write - we plug-in, so it's rock.

What do you guys enjoy most about touring? least?

Hangin' out with each other. Hangin' out with each other. Really. But I think we hate getting to a venue and sitting around waiting for the show to start. The waiting is the hardest part.

You guys have been in other bands before Dirty Sweet which are nothing like this genre of music...what provoked you guys to play this type of music and do you guys play in any other bands?

All of our previous bands seemed to be leading up to Dirty Sweet. Even latter Jejune, which Mark and I were in, was gettin' a bit rock at the end. Nate's old band Moods For Moderns was a great pop/rock trio from Detroit, so it was a natural progression. Shaun was in Convoy, a country-tinged rock outfit from San Diego - we were lucky to steal him away. Who doesn't want to rock? It's a gas! Nate plays in Lady Dottie and The Diamonds with Joe Guevara from Jejune - great rock/blues band. Shaun and I occasionally play with Ryan Ferguson from No Knife - we're on his new record.

In today's music scene there doesn't seem to be room for a band of your nature to really shine in the mainstream....do you think this is better? How do you guys feel about what's going on with music today?

It would be great if the "mainstream" embraced more of the new rock groups emerging today. People want to rock. They want to let go and boogie down - they're simply too afraid of what their friends might think. Major labels may soon be a thing of the past, and that frees bands up to do what they do, the way that they want to. We play rock ,dig it or not and we write for ourselves. So far, we've been lucky enough that other people like it as much as we do.

What's your favorite song to play and which venue do you guys get most excited to play?

"Baby Come Home". It's a barn-burner. Cave-man on drums. Smash. The Casbah in San Diego, hands-down. Best rock club ever.

Who have you guys toured with that you've enjoyed the most? Do you guys put a lot of thought in who you're going to play with?

Jimmy Eat World. Nicest guys, and we owe them for bringing us out with them when we were just gettin' our start. We over-think who we're going to play with. Luckily, it's getting easier in our neck of the woods - lotsa great bands in San Diego and L.A.: The Binges, The Shys, Delta Spirit, The Silent Comedy, Get Back Loretta, The Wildbirds.

You guys just won the San Diego Music Awards for "Best Rock Band" and "Best Rock Album" for "...Of Monarchs and Beggars", how'd that feel?

It was great! Real fun, but surprising. I showed-up late, and the awards had already been given out. I'm a pessimist, so it was a nice surprise to be recognized for our hard work. This band is everything to us.

I love your album cover...how'd you guys decide on it?

Happy accident. We were up at Shaun's property doing some band shots with our very talented photographer-friend Rich Cook, and Mark suggested we all kinda get in a line, toting some instruments. Y' know, see how it looked. We did a coupla' variations, threw the horse in and plinko! My girlfriend Nilo Naghdi used the photo, along with others and some of her own special ju-ju and came-up with our album art. She's done plenty of design for bands in the past, but this one really works.

Most magical place on earth?

Any stage with an audience in front of it.



For more info on Dirty Sweet visit their MySpace or their Website.

Back to Sounds