By Marc Donadieu
Glacier City Gazette
A deep appreciation of music is what brought the six members of The Dirty Hands together. An abiding passion to keep learning about music, in all of its varieties, is what keeps them together on their musical journey. The band is in the midst of the biggest year in its existence, and the future looks very promising. The Dirty Hands has an exciting summer ahead with the impending release of their first album and weekend shows booked throughout Alaska.
I caught up with them on a sunny, spring afternoon in Girdwood. As I opened the wooden gate to their place, the three band members were barefoot and shirtless as they went through a blues-influenced song. Sean Patrick played the electric bass while Chris Lesesne picked away at an acoustic guitar and sang vocals. Andrew Saden steadily tapped on a drum pad to keep the song moving. A friendly, old dog named Esher stayed close to the band–when he wasn’t looking for shade or attention from Lesesne.
The song concluded, and a fascinating conversation about music followed. The three band members are excited with the outcome of their first album and candidly shared important lessons they learned through experience. The challenges they navigated as a group brought them together rather than tore them asunder. Their time in the studio changed the way they think about their music and how to present it in a live setting.
The band recorded its first album, entitled Girdwood, at Martin Severin’s Studio 2200 in Anchorage. Severin also owns TapRoot, an Anchorage venue that showcases local musicians. At first, the band didn’t know what to expect but quickly grew comfortable in the new setting.
“It was amazing,” Patrick said. “We had a plethora of instrumentation at our disposal and somebody there knowledgeable enough to listen to the songs and be able to give advice to help bring about the sound he thought we were looking for.”
The band was candid about the main challenge it faced in the studio and what happened as a result.
“We were not rehearsed enough,” Saden said. “It was a challenge, but those were really good learning cues for us for both the live setting and the recording. We just weren’t ready.”
Besides realizing more practice time was needed, the band also recognized the importance of listening to each other musically. With six musicians playing an assortment of instruments, working collectively is essential. Throughout their sets, each musician gets his time to shine when not supporting the other band members.
“One of the things we’ve definitely grown at is listening to each other and hearing when somebody else is starting to take the music into a certain direction and everybody being able to morph around it. It has taken years to get there,” Patrick said.
In the studio, in practice and in a high-energy live set, the band doesn’t want a spat. It distracts from the music and affects how a song is played. What they have learned is how to communicate with each other constructively to put the band first. These lessons have infused their live shows, which feature plenty of dynamic musical interaction with a variety of instruments.
Saden observed, “It gave us insight into how much we needed to rehearse and be on top of our game and be able to play something consistently and be able to communicate with each other properly without jumping down each other’s throats. We need to be able to critique each other in a healthy way.”
Lesesne explained that The Dirty Hands are not virtuoso players going through lots of notes and looking for individual attention. The band was formed to gather a group of people who play simply and reserved as a collective making complex, dynamic music.
The results, as seen and heard during their live shows, are palpable. Their sets are thoroughly enjoyable experience with a powerful, balanced sound that is always propelling forward in a fresh, tasteful manner. The band members compared the way they work together to playing a team sport. Each musician gets moments, but there is balanced representation to support a cohesive whole.
“I was seeing in certain musicians that I admired had a lot of taste and reserve rather than flashiness,” Lesesne said. “It takes a lot of patience and reserve from individuals and the collective but it translates into this really powerful, spacious thing that has a lot of room to breath.”
The one musician who stands is Eli Whitney because of his riveting and engaging style playing a variety of wind instruments: soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax and flute. He rarely uses a tenor sax because the other instruments bring a more unique sound. Whitney’s decisive horns bring dynamic propulsion that drives the song forward in an improvisational way before passing the lead off to another musician.
In the studio, Severin was the recording engineer initially hesitant to work with an alto sax player. However, Whitney’s playing quickly convinced him otherwise.
“When we first told Martin Severin,” Lesesne said, “the guy who was going to record us, he hadn’t really heard us, so he’s like, ‘What’s the instrumentation?’ We told him we had an alto sax and he said, ‘Nah, I don’t do alto sax,’ kind of like a truth in jest sort of thing. In the end, he was saying, ‘You guys are good, but Eli is a wizard.’”
This summer you will have plenty of opportunities to see The Dirty Hands. Their first album releasesJune 4, and they have a full calendar of shows scheduled. Even if you’ve never seen or heard them, you’re in for a musical treat. Check their website www.thedirtyhandsak.com for updates.
Sean Patrick – bass, guitar, vocals
Chris Lesesne – guitar, bass, harmonica, piano, vocals
Andrew Saden – drums
Eli Whitney – baritone, tenor, alto and soprano sax, flute
David LeHew – keyboards, trombone, percussion
Jon (Bubon) Robbins – keyboards, backup vocals
May 29 – Trapper Creek Bluegrass Festival 1a.m.
June 4 – Album Release show at TapRoot with The Super Saturated Sugar Strings 9p.m.
June 9 – Album Release party at Chair 5 10p.m.
June 10 – Rivergrass Festival in Willow
June 11 – Hard Rock Café, Anchorage with Harp Daddy
June 17-18 – in Talkeetna at the Fairview Inn
Solstice block party in Girdwood location TBD
June 25 – Brown Bear Solstice Festival
June 30 – Chair 5 Forest Fair Kickoff Party
July Forest Fair date and time TBD
July 8 – Trail Lakes Lodge in Moose Pass
July 9 – Down East Saloon in Homer
July 15 – 49th State Brewery in Healy
July 22 – The Yukon in Seward
July 23 – Palmer Alehouse
Three members of The Dirty Hands play a song in the Girdwood spring sunshine. From L-R, Chris Lesesne, Andrew Saden and Sean Patrick. The dog’s name is Esher.