Still living the dream thanks to Teenage hit
Dirtbag single gave Brendan worlwide acclaim and home comfort
It’s been almost two decades since Wheatus released the mega hit Teenage Dirtbag – the lead single on their eponymous debut record.
It was to become one of the most popular pop songs of the noughties, appearing on what seemed like every TV and radio station possible.
Lead vocalist Brendan B. Brown spoke to The Beat ahead of his bands UK and Irish tour about the impact the 18-year-old song had on his life.
“You know, that song only got picked up in countries outside of the US,” explained Brown.
“We never really experienced huge fame at at home, so we never really got used to it.
“We never really got into the rarefied air of private jets and private parties, we were always pretty square when it came to hanging out and partying – I always wanted to get home and get some sleep so I could rehearse the next day.
“Having a hit outside the US helped us in that regard because we could return to a place where nobody knew us after being successful in all these other countries.”
Since the release of their iconic debut single, Wheatus have struggled to emulate it’s mainstream success.
Brown maintains however that he is happiest when playing intimate shows, something he realised after seeing The Frames play a small gig in New York.
“I went to see Glen (Hansard) and the boys play shorty after 9/11 at The Mercury Lounge in
New York City.
“I had this epiphany as the guys were knocking the shit out of ‘Santa Maria,’ I said to myself, ‘if we can just do this
– what these guys are doing in front of 200 people that’s it’.
“The feeling in the room at the time went beyond music, that was the brass ring and it’s why I made the decision to say no to a lot of glitzy shit that came about after the first record.
Does he feel then that the success of their first single has been something of a burden for Wheatus?
“I never saw it as a burden or as a benchmark that we needed to overcome,” he said. “I always saw it as our weaponised ambassador.
“It’s done all the work that a record label could have done for us, we didn’t have to have political relationships – I never had to kiss ass, the song just went and cut that ground for us.
Album seven is in the works and Wheatus have already released two tracks from the new record.
Lullaby, is a song that sees Brown and band “reaching for something that we don’t understand at all”.
“I wanted to something that had the same feeling as Somewhere Over The Rainbow but with the same sonic as Metallica’s Injustice For All.”
While the finished product doesn’t quite match up with Brown’s description, it’s a fun experiment and worth a listen, Lullaby and Tipsy are both available to stream on Spotify.
What is inspiring Brown and Wheatus in 2018?
“I’m kind of stunned by the way the baby boomers are trying to drag us all with them on their way out. I didn’t expect them to eat their young so readily, he explained.
“I feel that Generation X people and millennials are having to consider new ways to survive in a society where the older generation haven’t really looked out for us at all.
“It just feels like they have become predatory in their old age and that they’re trying to hold on to life forever.
“I think that they might be seeing all these new lives being lived and they’re jealous that social structures from their time didn’t allow them to live as freely.
“You see it in Britain where they are trying to Brexit and dismantle the NHS and in America here there is a horrific nationalistic racist movement, supported by the president who wants to turn the clock back to the 1950’s. It’s so f**king ridiculous.
“So yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking about when I’m writing.”
Wheatus embark an
Irish tour off the back of nine gigs across the UK supporting Inme, kicking off in Letterkenny on Sunday November 25.
“We love coming over, the bands relationship with Ireland started back in 2001 when we started coming over to play some gigs. “We started playing small personable shows and getting together with people who care.
“We’ve been coming back for years.
Brown’s own connection with the country comes through his grandmother, who was born in Roscommon.
“She died when my father was very young so we didn’t know her, but we have her diaries and things, her surname was Burke, and we’ve hooked up with some of the cousins after being lost for a while.”