The Dirty Rooks bring their Mad Dogs and Englishmen-style rock and roll to the stage with a rotating cast of 13. Along with the classic instruments of rock brought by the original 5 members, The Dirty Rooks feature a screaming horn section, honky-tonk piano, and take fans to The Church of Rock and Roll with gospel backing vocals and a roaring Hammond Organ.
The Dirty Rooks' have produced two albums. Their first, self-titled, release (2007) was recorded at Blue Room Studio by Edgars Legzdin and was mastered by Tom Bethel at Acoustik Musik, Ltd in Akron, Ohio.
Their second album, Sugar Mama, (2010) was recorded in Chicago at Giant Squid Audio and was mastered by Mike Hagler, who has worked with artists including Wilco, Jon Langford/The Mekons, The Redwalls, and The New Pornographers, at King Size Audio Labs.
The newest Dirty Rooks album, 2012's "This Is Grand", was recorded at Kingsize Sound Lab in the
heart of Chicago's West Side. This marks the second time the Rooks have worked with
producer Mike Hagler (Wilco, The New Pornographers, Neko Case), along with Jon Langford
(Waco Brothers, The Mekons) and James Elkington (The Zincs, The Horse's Ha). The album
continues the band's progression from straight-ahead rock to a more complex, varied sound:
atmospheric pieces like "Death in the Afternoon" stand alongside rockers like "Slow" and
"Popular". Once again, the five piece is augmented by additional singers, horns, organ, piano,
violin, chimes-there's even a damn pennywhistle at one point. It's all in service of a collection
of songs that evoke the ghosts of Chicago's past but sound wholly contemporary.
