Today we’d like to introduce you to DirtyKid Schmely.
Hi DirtyKid, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My Love and appreciation for music started at a young age. It was like a wave of euphoria would course through my body that would lock me in a sort of trance anytime i heard music being played. I was never fixated on just one genre of music as my father was into psychedelic rock like the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, and the Doors, while my Mother was into stuff like Rush, Neil Young, and Black Sabbath. When i had gotten a little older and started being able to develop my own personal music taste, i developed a deep love and fascination for Punk Rock music. During my time in grade school i would play in a few bands with my peers ranging from punk rock to death metal. After countless bands and line up changes due to creative differences of people wanting to play different genres or the direction of the band i had gotten fed up and decided to take things solo. I figured i would be more productive and make more progress solo then i would bickering with my peers over delusions of grandeur and pipe dreams of being like the bands we were exposed to on Mtv who portrayed a lavish lifestyle thats paid for with thier music. So in 2007 i dropped out of Highschool and started Hitch hiking and hopping freight trains around busking in all the major cities across America. Not only did deciding to be a musician work out for me, but it also opened my eyes up to a underground ethos and way of life that i never knew existed. When i left on the road on my own, i had no idea it would open my eyes and change my life forever. I feel like a vail was lifted and i could see the world how it really has been this whole time. I saw theres more to life than slaving away at a 9 to 5 job just so u can be taxed to the point where u are barely scraping by. I lived this lifestyle for around 10 years trying to make a name for myself and establish myself as a musician in the world. But every thing changed when i became a father. Although i am still very active as a musician, i am now just local to the Houston and surrounding areas mainly. Although being a father has limited me as far as being able to bounce around freely, i havent let that stop me from doing what i love to do. Plus playing locally has in a way opened up some doors for me. Ive gotten to know and become friends with some of the people who run and operate the venues i play at. Ive become part of the local underground music scene in the area, and i feel like people are starting to know who i am, other than as just that vagabond drifter troubador who blew into town played some songs and dipped. Although i do miss being on the road hitch hiking, hopping freight, and the total freedom that comes with it, i am glad i am where i am at right now musically, and i wouldnt change anything for the world.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes lol, it was as smooth as a road in a construction zone. I have a nasty habit of veering off the path and discovering my own. I think the biggest struggle ive had to face is a cliché struggle in the music business amongst musicians, and that is drugs. I dont think i have much to elaborate on that, that hasnt been said by musicians before me who have gone through the struggle. But at the height of my substance abuse i would be so strung out and burnt out that i did go through a couple years of writers block that was so insufferable that it spiraled me into a depressive spiral of self loathing, self destruction, pinning myself as a failure in my own mind. Nothing i would write or come up with was anygood and it set me back quite a ways to where i almost had to just relearn how to play guitar again in an attempt to reinvent myself and be able to rise above this pit of despair i had created for myself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Im just a regular musician, singer/songwriter. I dont think i do anything special that would seperate me from the others in my field of work. But i try to be as original as possible when it comes to writing songs. I try to write lyrics that are raw, unfiltered, that lets the listener be able to experience life through my eyes, as i paint the scenarios and situations in my lyrics. Almost as if im trying to allow the listener to experience the vagabond lifestyle vicariously through my songs. The only thing i can think of that would set me apart from the others is my vibe. I have a raw unkempt, rugged esthetic about me that cant be faked. only people who have been through what i have understand what i mean.
I guess it can be compared to those that have been in combat who they say have the 100 yeard stare. I try to keep my music 100% honest, and real, and true to myself.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I play live quite frequently in the Houston Texas area. If anyone is interested in seeing me perform live, i usually play at Tripsix, and Black Magic Social Club, and The End. Although i play at other venues, and clubs around town. Those are the venues i frequent the most. I do like to hit up Open Mics around the area too. I usually hit up the Open Mic in Laporte, at this bar called the Chantilly Room. And if youre lucky, u might see me busking outside of a gas station or grocery store around the city and surrounding areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dirtykidschmely.godaddysites.com/ and https://dirtykidschmely.bandcamp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirtykidschmely
- Other: https://dirtykidschmely.bandcamp.com/
