The Dirty Hearts

THE DIRTY HEARTS IS A BITTERSWEET ROMANCE OF A PUNK BAND THAT GOT ITS START AT TROPHY'S ON SOUTH CONGRESS AND TOOK ITS NAME FROM A LURID HEADLINE IN A PORN SHOP ON SOUTH LAMAR. ?IF YOU'RE SINFUL, SOME PEOPLE SAY YOU HAVE A DIRTY HEART,? SAYS FRANKIE MEDINA. ?WE SAW THOSE WORDS AND THOUGHT: ?THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED.'? The core of the four-piece is Frankie Medina and Calida, partners in crime and romance. They're Johnny and June or Keely and Louis (Prima) for Austin's Red River crowd. And like so many other life-changing discoveries, their musical kinship was a happy accident.

The core of the four-piece is Frankie Medina and Calida, partners in crime and romance. They're Johnny and June or Keely and Louis (Prima) for Austin's Red River crowd. And like so many other life-changing discoveries, their musical kinship was a happy accident. Calida was being a ?supportive girlfriend,? Medina explains, temporarily jamming with him and potential new band mates?until they realized her soaring harmonies and keyboards were a sweet tonic for Medina's gritty vocals and guitar.

Medina moved to Austin from Santa Fe, NM, to escape his dissatisfaction with producers and labels eager to mold him. ?I wanted to put together something that went back to my roots, not formulaic or contrived,? he says. ?I wanted to go back to stuff that got people's attention...a hot rock and roll band that can go in and out of different genres. Like a chameleon. My favorite bands like the Stones and The Beatles, sometimes they just rocked your socks off and sometimes they had a message for you.?

The Dirty Hearts' self-titled debut (2006) captured the flirty fun of the night before and the peacock swagger of the morning after. Cool and slick, it's a soundtrack for making questionable decisions. Medina says their second release (April 2008) is ?darker, but still catchy as hell.? His arrangements buoy heavy topics like spirituality, racism, fidelity, and death with driving guitars, moody organ, and his signature sing-along choruses?all laid over a muscular, bass-heavy foundation.

The CD's potential title track, ?Pigs,? confronts hate mongering head on. ?It's been a heavy year,? Medina explains. ?There are a lot of troubling things going on in the world right now, and it definitely impacts me as a songwriter.?

But this is the Dirty Hearts, so the social commentary comes with a sexy good time. The record is ?pretty slamming in the rock zone,? says Medina. ?There are some grungy elements, too. You can hear more of our other influences: the Pixies, Nirvana, Sonic Youth.?

In the last year, the band has gone on tour, appeared on ?The Andy Dick Show,? shot a video for their song ?New One,? and jammed with James Brown's widow. ?You just never know when things like that are going to happen, but they're things you'll never forget.?