The Dirty Nil
THE DIRTY NIL UNVEIL MUSICAL TRIBUTE “BYE BYE BIG BEAR”
THE DIRTY NIL UNVEIL MUSICAL TRIBUTE
“BYE BYE BIG BEAR”
ACCOMPANIED BY AN OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
Photo Credit: Steph Montani
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For the strapping lads comprising Toronto rock trio The Dirty Nil, Big Bear was so much more than a convenience store parking lot they gazed upon from their second-floor bathroom window – the trash-strewn asphalt stage where seemingly every element of the human experience played out like a never-ending theatrical production. Today, they share the ode “Bye Bye Big Bear” in its memory.
Click here to stream “Bye Bye Big Bear” via your preferred platform.
Click here to watch the official music video.
The house was all at once a shared residence, creative commons, and god-forsaken pirate ship, its revolving cast of crewmates armed with instruments, alcohol, and overdriven amplifiers. Indeed, they lived, laughed, and loved there even though no kitschy wall sign from a suburban mom’s Etsy shop told them to.
“We were there through our 20s and having the best time,” shares guitarist Luke Bentham, namedropping some of the transient roommates who spent a few months under the roof with them – members of fellow revered Canadian rock outfits including The Glorious Sons, Attack in Black, Career Suicide, Seaway, and Single Mothers. “It was so conducive to creativity and collaboration. When we turned 30, though, it felt like time to spring from the nest, so we all put our separate plans into motion, and then I immediately started to miss everybody.”
For 5 years we lived together at a house in downtown Hamilton. For 5 years we were sustained by the Big Bear convenience store, located directly across the street. There we were nurtured with sparkling water, protein bars and cigarettes. There we witnessed an untold number of human dramas play out in the parking lot, ranging from the hilarious to the hopelessly sad. For 5 years it was our clubhouse, our pirate ship, our prison. So we say farewell, thank you for everything: Bye Bye Big Bear. – The Dirty Nil
“Bye Bye Big Bear” is a loving musical tribute to that unforgettable time and place, and The Dirty Nil’s first new offering since their impactful 2021 album Fuck Art. On its back, the boys got back on the road, electrifying increasingly packed venues and festival stages with their fiery brand of punk-tinged rock n roll.
The new single is the natural next step from Fuck Art and their 2018 breakout Master Volume – the same blistering power chords, silky-smooth hooks, and oddly charming witticisms distilled into a more potent, harder-hitting product. It’s also the first recorded outing with new bassist and backup vocalist Sam Tomlinson throwing a bit more gas onto Bentham and drummer Kyle Fisher’s musical fire.
“There are things we’ll really miss – and definitely things we won’t – but a lot of it was just that we’d understood that the clubhouse was breaking up, and that unlocked a lot of feeling,” they elaborate.
Only once the emotional scarring of their Big Bear goodbye has healed will The Dirty Nil have the proper emotional capacity to plot what’s next. Time heals all wounds, but for now, it’s just too soon to tell…
