Dirty on Purpose were an American band from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, whose music was often described as

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

History

Formed in 2002, they were originally composed of Doug Marvin (drums, vocals), Joseph Jurewicz (guitar, vocals), George Wilson (guitar, vocals), DJ Boudreau (bass) and Erika Forster (keyboards, vocals). Performing regularly in New York, the band initially garnered attention for their sound, which featured alternating male and female vocals and layered, distorted guitar work reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and the

Jesus and Mary Chain Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

. The band self-released their eponymous four-song debut EP in 2003, followed by a second EP, ''Sleep Late for a Better Tomorrow'', in 2004. The latter was re-released on North Street Records in 2005. Forster left to concentrate on her other project, all-female

trio

Au Revoir Simone Au Revoir Simone is an American indie pop band from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The group is composed of Erika Forster (vocals/keyboard), Annie Hart (vocals/keyboard/bass) and Heather D'Angelo (vocals/drum machine/keyboard ...

. On June 29, 2006, Dirty on Purpose released their full-length debut album, ''Hallelujah Sirens'', on North Street Records. After critical praise from publications like '' Pichfork'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, ''

Filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...

'', ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'', ''Hallelujah Sirens'' was nominated for Best Indie Rock Album at the 2007

PLUG Independent Music Awards The PLUG Independent Music Awards, or just PLUG Awards, began in 2001 as a "cartel" of music lovers ranging from DJs and managers to indie retailers and fans. Winners Album of the Year Americana Album of the Year Avant Album of the Year DJ ...

. The band also co-hosted an episode of

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

's alternative music show, ''

Subterranean Subterranean(s) or The Subterranean(s) may refer to: * Subterranea (geography), underground structures, both natural and man-made Literature * ''Subterranean'' (novel), a 1998 novel by James Rollins * ''Subterranean Magazine'', an American fa ...

'', with host Jim Shearer, which premiered the band's music videos for "Light Pollution," "No Radio" and "Mind Blindness". In 2008, Dirty on Purpose released their third EP, ''Like Bees'', featuring guest female vocals from

Jaymay Jamie Seerman is an American singer-songwriter from New York. She performs under the name Jaymay. Early life Jaymay was born Jamie Seerman on January 3, 1981, and was raised on Long Island. For undergrad, she studied at New College of Flori ...

and Holly Miranda. A final digital-only EP called ''Dead Volcanoes'' was issued via

RCRD LBL RCRD LBL was a website for free, curated, and legal MP3 downloads from emergent artists. RCRD LBL was launched in 2007 by Josh Deutsch, Peter Rojas Peter Rojas (born March 18, 1975) is the co-founder of technology blogs Gizmodo and Engadget, a ...

later in 2008. During their career, Dirty on Purpose performed at various music festivals including

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

Siren Music Festival The Siren Music Festival (a.k.a. Sirenfest) was an annual summertime outdoors concert held in Brooklyn's Coney Island from 2001-2010. It was run by the free arts/politics/current-events newspaper ''The Village Voice'', and was completely free-of-ch ...

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, most ...

Seaport Music Festival Seaport Music Festival was an international music festival historically staged at South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan during the summer. Founded in 2002, the annual music series ran until Pier 17 was closed for construction. It has always bee ...

Street Scene San Diego Street Scene was a music festival that was held each summer in San Diego, California from 1984 to 2009. Street Scene was one of America's largest annual music festivals, growing to include over 70 musical acts covering different musical genres a ...

and North East Sticks Together. The band also performed live on radio stations

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-p ...

WOXY WOXY may refer to: * WOXY.com, a defunct Internet radio station * WOXY (FM) WOXY (97.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to Mason, Ohio as part of the Cincinnati market. Nicknamed La Mega 97.7, the station broadcasts a Spanish variety music format ...

and

Indie 103.1 KDLD is a commercial FM radio station in Santa Monica, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 103.1 MHz. KDLE is a commercial FM radio station in Newport Beach, California, broadcasting to the Orange County area on 103.1&nb ...

, and as the opening act for bands including

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...

the Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy ( lead vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion), Nate ...

the Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes ( ) are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboa ...

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line-up also includ ...

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (sometimes abbreviated to CYHSY) is the musical project of American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Alec Ounsworth, active since the early 2000s in and out of Philadelphia. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have rel ...

the Album Leaf The Album Leaf is an American musical project founded in San Diego, California, in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer, and Rhodes piano. His performances often feature projected visual art. History Inc ...

the Thermals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, Earlimart,

Say Hi to Your Mom Say Hi (previously known as Say Hi to Your Mom) is a Seattle-based indie rock band formed in Brooklyn in 2002 by Eric Elbogen. Say Hi's albums are recorded at Elbogen's home, with him playing all of the instruments & providing vocals. Backgrou ...

and

Fujiya & Miyagi Fujiya & Miyagi is a British group formed in Brighton, East Sussex, England, in 2000. The current line-up consists of David Best (vocals and guitar), Stephen Lewis (synths and vocals), Ed Chivers (drums), Ben Adamo and Ben Farestuedt (bass and ...

. Dirty on Purpose broke up in 2008. On December 5, 2008, the band posted a blog entry on their MySpace page, stating "...we're going our separate ways", adding that they weren't interested in recording another album, but are still making music. The band went on to say that their tour with A Place To Bury Strangers would be their last, declaring, "...we thought it was an appropriate way to wind things down and say goodbye to our friends and fans". The band's final show, including a special appearance by Forster, took place on December 31, 2008 at New York's

Mercury Lounge The Mercury Lounge is a live music venue in the Lower East Side of New York City. Like its brother venue The Bowery Ballroom, The Mercury Lounge is celebrated as an iconic indie venue due to its acoustics, its fostering and even launching of up ...

In popular culture

*"Girls and Sunshine", "Spider Eyes" and "All New Friends" were featured on MTV's '' Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County'' (2005). *"No Radio" was featured on MTV's ''

Human Giant ''Human Giant'' is a sketch comedy show, starring writer/performers Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, and directed primarily by Jason Woliner. The show ran for two seasons on MTV. In interviews, the group has mentioned that they were offe ...

'' (2007). *"Audience in the Room" was featured in a

Virgin Mobile Virgin Mobile is a wireless communications brand used by seven independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Mobile branded wireless communications services are available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Ara ...

TV commercial (2008).

Former members

*Doug Marvin – drums, vocals (2002-2008) *Joseph Jurewicz – guitar, vocals (2002-2008) *George Wilson – guitar, vocals (2002-2008) *DJ Boudreau – bass (2002-2008) *Erika Forster – keyboards, vocals (2002-2004)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Hallelujah Sirens'' (2006, North Street Records)

EPs

* ''Dirty on Purpose'' (2003, self-released) * ''Sleep Late for a Better Tomorrow'' (2005, North Street Records) * ''Like Bees'' (2008, North Street Records) * ''Dead Volcanoes'' (2008,

)

References

External links

Official Dirty on Purpose Myspace PageNorth Street RecordsDirty on Purpose on RCRDLBL.comSoundcrank Podcast Hosted by Dirty on PurposeDirty on Purpose live on WOXY.com, July 19, 2006Dirty on Purpose interview at StereoSubversion.com
{{Authority control Indie pop groups from New York (state) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Brooklyn Musical groups established in 1992 1992 establishments in New York City Musical groups disestablished in 2008 2008 disestablishments in New York (state)