"A major thing is going out and playing live," Paul Harris said. "We had quite a lot of success because we went out on the road. We toured an album for a year in America. People like Deep Dish, obviously they're great DJs, but you need them to form a band and go out and tour to break America. There are a few bands, like Moby and Groove Armada, people like that can do it, because they can tour. It would be good to see things like Deep Dish get on radio in America, get Shapeshifters on the radio in America."
"There's a band back home called Syntax," Smith said, just one of a dozen or so acts the band name-checks during the interview. "I've got their record, and it's a great album. We saw the guys live, and someone like that, I think there's definitely a space in the market right now for someone like that, doing that kind of Massive Attack to Underworld kind of area."
Smith reported that the movement has even begun to happen in reverse in the U.K.
"It's like the singer from Snow Patrol," he said. "We learned just the other day that he does house DJ sets. It's crazy, but that's the thing. There's these two worlds colliding."
"It's very Back to Mine, isn't it?" Ben Harris chimed in.
"Them boys have been doing it for a long, long time," Smith continued. "They started off doing post-grunge stuff in England, and they were doing a lot of smaller U.K. radio stations and just kept going and going and going. Then when you hear the singer goes out and does house DJing sets at festivals…"
"…it's the most surreal thing you can imagine." Paul Harris interjected. "From us it's at least sensed, but from Snow Patrol, you go, 'wow.'"
Dirty Vegas' unforced enthusiasm serves as a potential indicator of their devotion to their craft. They hype their favorite bands (at the moment, the Killers and Kasabian also receive high marks) with the unfiltered joy of high school kids. One of the guys starts a sentence, and another one finishes it. They take their own music very seriously, but it never seems like they are not enjoying the ride. It was most telling when Smith explained what Dirty Vegas is looking for as the band gives the U.S. another go-round.
"I think it's just a simple thing of doing the shows and seeing the whites of their eyes, you know," Smith said. "Just getting out there and gigging. We're extremely proud of these songs. Some were really natural to make, and some were a labor of love, and you know, from the few shows we've done back home with the new songs and what everyone's kind saying back home, it's exciting to see what American audiences think."
