For a long time, after a one-night gig in college, Melody Stang and Kayla Williams couldn鈥檛 go to a house party without a chorus of people calling for them to play 鈥淭he Anal Song.鈥�
In fact, they got so sick of it they decided to write some new stuff; you know, for variety. 鈥淭he Pad Song鈥� led into 鈥淭itty Shake鈥� led into 鈥淒ildo,鈥� and before they knew it, the two had a whole set.
鈥淚t got to the point where it was like, this is more fun than our own music,鈥� Williams recalled in an interview March 14. She and Stang both studied music in school, and were pursuing careers as singer/songwriters.
But the lure of the lewd was too strong, and now Stang and Williams have more than 40 original songs, performing regularly as The Dirrty Show. And to hear the best friends talk about it, the decision is probably for the best.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 write a serious song together to save our lives,鈥� Stang said. Not long ago, she and Williams had put together a 鈥渞eally pretty song,鈥� but somehow herpes kept finding its way into their lyrics.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just how we are together,鈥� Williams chimed in with a giggle.
That knack for poetic vulgarity extends to the duo鈥檚 stage performances, where their whole-hearted embrace of all things filthy can leave certain audience members seriously squirming.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of what we live for, right? When we鈥檙e playing new audiences, when we have new shows, it kind of recharges our kryptonite in a way. Seeing everyone鈥檚 reaction, and seeing everyones 鈥極鈥� faces鈥攚e kind of get off on that, to be honest,鈥� Stang said.
Of course, when they don鈥檛 know their audience well, they do have to hold back. Although Williams pointed out that for The Dirrty Show holding back is somewhat relative.
鈥淚t [basically] doesn鈥檛 exist. When we talk about scaling back we鈥檙e still talking about masturbation, sex, hairy balls and all this stuff. That鈥檚 a scaled back show,鈥� she said.
It would be easy to be offended by what Stang and Williams do, and while it鈥檚 not uncommon for audience members to walk out on them after a couple of songs, Stang said the majority of people react very positively.
And while many of their songs would make the most unflappable among us blush, they also demonstrate a whimsical and goofy sense of humor. In the music video for their song 鈥淔ungal Jungle,鈥� Stang and Williams frolic through sunlit fields, singing sweetly, all the while sporting giant, hand-crafted vaginas on their heads.
Part of their success no doubt stems from the friends鈥� self-deprecating sense of humour, and the obvious tongue-in-cheek attitude all their songs are written with.
But it goes deeper than that, too. What many seem to appreciate about The Dirrty Show is the fact that they unapologetically throw the hardest-to-stomach aspects of sex in peoples faces, and through humour make it (at least somewhat) digestible.
Of course, Stang pointed out, people might also just love to hear songs about hairy testicles.
Trevor Nichols
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