The Dirty Nil

The members of The Dirty Nil are performers at heart. Lead singer and guitarist Luke Bentham, drummer Kyle Fisher, and bassist Ross Miller (who replaced Dave Nardi in early 2017) have played 350 shows over the past three years and don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Formed in 2006, The Dirty Nil released their debut single “Fuckin’ Up Young” in 2011, a textbook grunge hit. They’ve been making music ever since, incorporating pop punk (their most recent single “Done with Drugs”) and alt rock (“Surrender”) into their repertoire. High-energy and high-volume, their work has caught the eye of Spotify, who’s placed them on over 5 Spotify-curated playlists. We recently spoke with bassist Ross Miller about his favorite parts of The Dirty Nil, their career highs, and more!

How did you start making music?

I started to play music when I was asked to be a singer in a hardcore band in high school. I eventually moved to playing bass and learned other instruments along the way! The Dirty Nil started in high school and I joined the band just over 3 years ago!

How do you guys spend your free time?

We all mostly just practice playing music. Luke plays a lot of guitar, listens and reads a lot about history and has just started painting cool pictures. Kyle is super into basketball, movies, playing drums, and cooking. I mostly just watch videos of bands playing online and record hardcore songs whenever I get some free time.

You guys spent some time opening for other artists’ shows. What’s it like?

We have been super fortunate to open for Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, Against Me!, The Bouncing Souls, and many others. You always learn so much from other musicians and their approach to their craft. Fortunately everyone’s been so nice and willing to hang with us and answer a million nerdy questions.

You must’ve worked with a lot of amazing people in the process. Who’s performing with you in your dream collab?

I definitely think everyone’s dream collaboration is me, Luke and Kyle. So I guess sometimes dreams come true!

What’s your dream city to sell out a show of your own in? 

Last year we sold out a show in Chicago and that was pretty special. Every city in the world is so unique that it would be incredible to meet a ton of people everywhere. 

What’s your favorite part of being in a band together? 

I’m happy that we all respect each other and get along. It’s always fun when we have free time to be creative and work on songs but the most crucial feeling is when we walk on stage knowing we are going to make it explode.

Any future projects in the works?

We are always working on things together and apart. Everything will always be posted on our social media!