The Daily Wildcat spoke with Dustin Bushnell, co-lead vocalist and guitarist for the Orange County-based band, The Dirty Heads, about musical influences on the band, audience vibes, and a typical day on the road with the band.

Daily Wildcat: What inspired you to pursue a career in music?

Dustin “Duddy B” Bushnell: I think just music did. It’s just something that I was always drawn to, and when Jared [Co-lead vocals] and I became friends, it was just something that we were both very into. I’ve just always loved music.

DW: Are there musical influences that you believe had an impact on you when you were growing up? 

DB: I mean, so many. We’ve always been very into all sorts of music. But definitely, when we first started the band, Sublime and Beastie Boys were two bands that were big influences on us.

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DW: What would you describe as the perfect show?

DB: Just, you know, the crowd being super into it. We definitely feed off the crowd[s] energy, so any time that the whole crowd’s there together and all singing along. That’s just what you look for.

DW: What would you want your audience to know about you as a band or as a person?

DB: Me as a person, nothing [laughs]. I want them to just take whatever they want from our music. However they feel about it, and whatever makes them feel about us is their choice. They can interpret it [music] as whatever they want. 

DW: What does the average day on tour look like for you guys?

DB: “Hurry up and wait,” that’s kinda the saying on the road. You always gotta be somewhere, and when you get there you just gotta sit there and wait. But… there’s a lot that goes into it that people don’t see. We got soundchecks, we got interviews, we got radio, we got other things going on outside just a bunch of partying and hanging out. It’s still a job.

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DW: What defines success in music to you? Playing Madison Square Garden, or making music true to you?

DB: I think… you know, it could be both. If you’re doing what’s true to you, and that leads you to Madison Square Garden, then great. But I think just being able to continue to play, as long as we have and for as long as we can, I think for us, that’s success. 

The band will make their way to Tucson for the seventh stop on their 2018 Jukebox the Ghost & Just Loud Tour. The Dirty Heads will be playing at the Rialto Theatre on October 3rd at 8:00 pm.

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