dirt merchants
Dirt Merchants were formed in March of 1992 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band released several critically acclaimed singles in 1993 and 1994 on V-Hold Records, and became fixtures at legendary Cambridge clubs The Middle East and TT The Bears. By ’95, the group signed to upstart label, Zero Hour, issuing their debut full-length Scarified in April of ’95 and hit the road. The album attracted the attention of Epic, who, in the wake of an alternative feeding frenzy, signed the band and reissued the album in early 1996. In between recording sessions for their Epic debut, The Speed at Which You Speak, the DMs self-released the limited edition Swiss Bank, to great critical acclaim. Caught up in corporate reshuffling at Sony/Epic, the band was dropped, and Speed, produced by Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock (Beck, Elliot Smith, Foo Fighters), was shelved. Vocalist/guitarist Maria Christopher went on to record and tour with 27, along with ex-Spore member, Ayal Naor, and guitarist Mike Malone pursued the roots-blues project Orb Mellon. Rarified, a collection of unreleased recordings, b-sides and live tracks saw its digital release in April 2008.
Now some sixteen years later, The Speed At Which You Speak has finally been digitally released for the first time by Epic Records. The eleven track set was recorded at The Shop in Humboldt County, CA, Sunset Sound and Sound Factory throughout 1996-97. The sonically brilliant album perfectly captures the band at its creative peak, moving from guitar driven barn burners to honky tonk ballads in a way that just seems to make perfect sense.
FOR MORE INFO: info@dirtmerchants.net
