The art of power funk: DirtyGirl strives for a chaotic stage presence

“DirtyGirl” began as the title of a song. DirtyGirl soon became the name of the band that brought her into being. At the start, the band was skeptical of the name and considered choosing a different route. Today, DirtyGirl remains, standing strong for her band and leading them to their careers.

Will Smith, singer and harmonica player, Chase Graham, guitarist, Jake Madonia, saxophonist, Eric Norman, trombonist, Drew Alexander, drummer, James Daniel, bassist and Reid Fincher on keyboard come together under the band name DirtyGirl. It took Smith and Graham three years to seek out musicians that fit their heavily thought-out ideas for an ensemble.

They went through countless musicians that either didn’t fit the bill talent-wise or came with too many issues.

Graham recalled a time when he fired a drummer on the set of a gig after he threatened to fight the owner of the establishment. In addition to his outward aggression toward the owner, the crazed drummer also broke the back door to the building. He was fired before he could get his drumset off the stage.

While the majority of the group met through high school connections, Madonia was found in an advertisement through Craigslist, Inc.

His original plan was to be a fill-in horn player, but he quickly fell in love with the sound and decided to stick around. Fincher, pianist, was a lucky find at a bar. Norman, trombonist, was a much-needed addition to the band. Madonia found him close to home, as they were members of their high school jazz band.

The “sweet-spot” group has been together for about a year now. In chorus, the group defined their style as “power funk.”

“All original,” Graham said. “We have a few cover songs that we throw in every once in a while to keep the crowd with us, but we have an hour and a half of original music.”

The band comes with its own humor, something that is prevalent when watching them perform. We go for absolute mayhem, Graham said. While performing, stages begin to rock under their feet and the group refuses to cease. Graham said he has a habit of heading into the crowd while performing with a wireless unit. A few weeks ago, the entire operation was shut down when cords were pulled out of the wall.

The band laughed about the accident and said, “It’s just a part of the job.”

The group is currently working out of Birmingham, where most of their shows are for now.

They leave town for shows in Georgia and Auburn occasionally. Auburn is a favorite stop for the guys and they hope to continue performing at Bourbon Street Bar. Eventually, they hope to work a tour into the mix. A career in music performance is their end goal.