Jared “Dirty J” Watson of The Dirty Heads took some time to answer Pittsburgh Music Magazine’s questions while they continue to tour and promote Cabin By The Sea. For tour dates and more check out…http://www.dirtyheads.com/

What first attracted you to reggae/ska type music?
Well the actual music haha. The sonics of it, the message behind a lot of the songs and the over all feel and vibe of it.
We hear an acoustic album is in the works…what made the band want to do that now? 
It’s actually done! We finished it yesterday, we had some time off and wanted to put out new music. We started as an acoustic act so that’s a big part of who we are and our sound. And it sounded fun to really look at songwriting and not have to worry about production or anything else but songwriting and guitar parts, so we really concentrated on lyrics, really looked into what we were saying and how we could creatively say it. If a song holds up acoustic, you know you have something, there’s no hiding behind anything.
Do you have a long term vision for the band?
Think Beastie Boys mashed with Jimmy Buffet, that’s the long term shit we want to be doing, being able to still go play and have a blast.
We certainly can hear some of your influences in your music. Are their any current artists that inspire you at all?
I’m vibing on LORDE, Jake Bugg, Edith Piaf, and Ken Boothe.
“Spread Too Thin” is such a catchy song and huge hit for you guys. Do you ever view it as a blessing and as a curse?
I understand that a huge song can be a double-edged sword, like how’s Gotye gonna top his song hahaha but we weren’t planning on our song being huge so I don’t think about it really. Just keep writing and growing and evolving. I think if you try too hard to write “hits” or get stuck in writing “hits” you’re losing touch.
What is the best and the worst thing about touring in the summer months?
The best thing is everything,  The weather the vibe, everyone’s happy. The worst thing is everything. Being gone from home all summer sucks. Especially when you live on the beach and are constantly getting pics from home of all your homies having beach days and chilling.
Can you speak on any of your thoughts about the current battles in our government over gay marriage and legalization of marijuana? 
Yes I can. It’s absolutely mind-blowing and shameful to the human race that there are still actual battles about gay marriage and legalizing marijuana. The fact that people in our government and in organized religions still think that being gay is a choice is scary and utterly ignorant. And even if it was a choice who cares! Love is love and whoever wants to share that together should be able to. Love is a beautiful thing, it doesn’t matter who it’s between. The great thing is that we are slowly winning these battles. And I think that weed should be legal and I love that Washington and Colorado passed the bill. Once other states see the benefits they gain from that I think and hope other states will follow.
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