Vocalist-guitarist Dave Green remembers the date he was signed to DrillDown Entertainment. “The first of November 2012.” Before signing with DrillDown––the new label of legendary A&R executive Paul Palmer––Green spent a lot of time trying to get a music career off the ground across the pond. Prior to forming the Filthy Souls, Green was a solo artist who often played covers, which he says helped him cut his teeth and learn how to interact with and play for a crowd. In February 2010, TFS self-released debut EP Save Me. Though the Filthy Souls were getting licensing offers for film and TV, no labels came calling until Green relocated to Los Angeles, CA.
“In L.A., you’re in the heart of everything. Everyone you meet is
involved in music or entertainment.”
In 2011, the lead singer did a radio interview with a friend who knew Paul Palmer, known for working with Rock Mafia and co-founding Trauma Records. “My friend who had done the radio interview said, ‘I have a guy you should meet.’ My friend took me down to a studio in Venice. Paul asked me to play some songs, and that was it.”
That was in spring of last year, and by November, the Filthy Souls had a deal and a well-received sound that combines brazen garage rock with English pop, as shown in their first single, “Boys Will Be Out For A Fight.”
“Paul’s got fantastic music connections,” Green says. “He’s worked with No Doubt and Bush. ...We have the same goal. We work together and collaborate on a lot of stuff musically.”
The band plans to make five records with DrillDown. Green often wonders what he’d be doing if he hadn’t been discovered by Palmer. “Being in America, you get bigger opportunities,” he says. “In England, I found it a lot more difficult to get in the music industry than here. In L.A., you’re in the heart of everything. Everyone you meet is involved in music or entertainment.”
The Filthy Souls’ yet-to-be-titled LP is expected this summer. The band is mixing with Mark Needham (Youndblood Hawke, Imagine Dragons, the Postelles) and working on a video for the next single, “Destroy You.” –Jessica Pace
