dirty dancing

A few years ago Eric Schoen had a bunch of songs and no band. His previous band had just broken up, and he was anxious to play shows again. He recorded most of those songs as he wrote them, so he figured if he already had all the parts of the songs recorded, why wait for a band to form? He didn't want to go through the tedious process of finding the right musicians and having to work around everyone else's schedules and egos. All that stuff can really get in the way anyhow. He just wanted to write, record, and perform music without waiting for anyone else to catch up. So he just started playing shows as Dirty Dancing, without a band. He played guitar and sang while the rest of the parts of the songs were played through the P.A. from his computer. The sound was an unexpected and diametrically opposed mix of early New Wave and garage punk. Everyone loved it, and not surprisingly no one seemed to mind that it was just one person up there with some prerecorded material. Eric does after all know how to put on a performance. The negative stigma attached to prerecorded music can be easily forgotten when you're actually being entertained. Of course it helps if the music itself is actually really good and played well. It didn't take very long for other people to notice that there was something unique going on here. Within weeks after moving to Austin, TX Dirty Dancing had Lauren Mikus singing it's gospel and added her to the fold as another guitarist. The pair made a big, refreshing splash in the hot and hazy Austin music scene with some legendary shows and a debut full-length album, Mediocrity Is The Strongest Inevitability. Local and national press alike (CMJ, Covert Curiosity, Switchblade Comb, and Jungle Rot just to name a few) took notice calling the album "magical", "clever", "hypnotic", "impressive", and "inspired." Eventually Eric Schoen/Dirty Dancing relocated to Milwaukee. Since Lauren couldn't make the move Dirty Dancing is back where it began, in Milwaukee, WI with new guitarist Neil Larson. The buzz on the blogosphere hasn't stopped nor has the airplay in the U.S. and overseas. And, of course, as Eric & Neil push onward and the music grows even bolder and more assured, the sweaty, passionate, and mystifying performances continue to be a mainstay of Dirty Dancing. With new material always in the oven there's sure to be some fresh and unique sonic landscapes to scale. And, of course, the live shows are still quite the spectacle and continue to cause people to move in ways they never thought possible. After all, this is Dirty Dancing, and it's called that for a reason. "The Dirty Dancing sound is at times all of the above: lo-fi, noisy, angular and anthemic, with touches of dark wave, a post-punk edge, a reverbed atmosphere, and handclaps galore." - Covert Curiosity