Dirty Heads’ Jared Watson Chats With Logjam Ahead of KettleHouse Performance

With the Swim Team LP in 2017, a self titled album in 2016, and the release of their new single “Visions” (listen below), Dirty Heads continue to surge forward as a dominant force in the reggae hip-hop fusion scene.

Logjam Presents briefly spoke with Dirty Heads’ vocalist and frontman, Jared Watson, ahead of their performance at KettleHouse Amphitheater on Friday, June 22nd. They’re currently headlining a four-band nationwide 2018 Summer Tour, with Iration, The Movement, and Pacific Dub.

LP: How does your recent album Swim Team stand out from the rest? 

JW: We leaned more sonically on the hip hop side of DH. The music bed was more programmed, then later blended with the band rather than vice versa.

LP: How does the songwriting process work between band members?

JW: It varies continually. Could be started in phone notes or on the spot ideas.

LP: With 3 new albums in the past 4 years, and a heavy touring schedule, are you guys planning on taking a break either from writing or touring anytime soon? 

JW: We just took a break for about 6 months from touring heavy. Just fly dates here and there. But I don’t think you ever take a break from writing. Whether you want to or not.

LP: Do you improvise parts of your performance? How much of a performance changes from show to show?

JW: We work on the show before leaving for tour. The set list changes, but we usually like to stay tight musically. There’s definitely opportunities where the guys let loose and jam. And you always evolve your parts when you play them live night after night, but we enjoy when bands play the songs how they are on the album. So we stick to that mainly and make it try and sound best as possible if not better than the album.

LP: What was it like performing on Jimmy Kimmel? 

JW: It’s so alien. So different than an actual show. It’s just one song on cue. Jimmy is a really good dude and it’s always a cool experience, but it takes a second to get going.

LP: Where does the hip hop side of your music stem from? Were you guys really into hip hop growing up? What about the reggae/rock aspect? 

JW: Yes heavily into hip hop from Beastie Boys to Wutang , Pharcyde, Tribe, Boot Camp, Jeru the Damaja… I could go in forever. And “reggae rock” is a fairly new genre. We just listened to older reggae a lot.

LP: Can you give Missoulians a sneak preview of the type of set they can expect? Will we hear a lot of music from the new album? More reggae? More hip hop? 

JW: We make sure we play songs from each album.

LP: How can Missoula concert goers ensure they have the best possible time at your show? 

JW: Let go of everything, be nice to others, and enjoy! Weed and beer helps also.