Hair Metal Ain't Dead - Just Ask Dirty Penny

Nuthin’ but a good time. As far as we can tell, Dirty Penny is serious about what they do.
Well, as serious as four big-haired, eye-lined 20-somethings who play a
mid-1980s brand of glam metal can be…which probably isn’t all that
serious.

Dirty Penny started out under the not-so clever handle
Antidote covering tunes from ’80s glam poster children Poison – and the
act is clearly still an influence on the band. They dropped the name
and the covers and cultivated a collection of originals that, although
new, are full of the guitar wails, echoing drums and arrogant lyrics
that made glam rock, well, glammy. Oh and did we mention these guys
look totally awesome in huge hairdos, tattered t-shirts and eyeliner?
Because they certainly do, which is to be expected from members with
stage names like Binge Daniels, Jonny Prynce, Tyno Vincent and Spanky
Savage and music videos featuring no less than 15 completely
intentional boob zooms.

The band’s notoriety spread after playing at Rocklahoma in 2007 – a dream festival staged in Pryor, Oklahoma for middle-aged Midwesterners who spend their weekends in the garage clandestinely waxing their Cameros while wearing acid-washed jeans and drinking wine coolers. Dirty Penny is again slated to appear at the festival this year alongside the likes of Twisted Sister, Great White, Warrant, Night Ranger and plenty other ’80s-era metalheads for four days of fist-shaking, hair-spraying, head-banging, leather-clad fun.

When Dirty Penny douses themselves in Jack Daniels and strut onto the stage at the Summit on Friday night, expect a collective hair band relapse to sweep through the venue. If you wake up on Saturday morning with a perm and/or a Dirty Penny member in bed next to you, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Dirty Penny, Vengeance Creek, Restruct
9pm Friday, April 3. Summit Saloon and Stage, 125 NW Oregon Ave. $5.

This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2009.