VIM Magazine's Tiffany Salerno recently got to interview guitarist/songwriter Anthony Ratto III and drums/vocals Jenine Cali of The Dirty Hooks while on their tour with Stone Temple Pilots. The Dirty Hooks recently announced that they will be rejoining STP once again jumping on a few dates in May 2018. 

VIM MAGAZINE: Collectively you have all played numerous shows locally, nationally and internationally, opening for such acts as Joan Jett, The Killers, Taproot, Soul Asylum, Angels and Airwaves and playing on stages at South By Southwest and Warped Tour. And now you are set to open for STP. How does it feel to be opening for such an iconic band?

JENINE: I can’t even describe how amazing it is to play with your musical idols.  It’s completely surreal, you feel the need to pinch yourself constantly.  It’s one of the best feelings in the world.

ANTHONY: STP is the real deal, it’s like opening up for Led Zeppelin or the Beatles to us. They are such iconic songwriters and there music started it for us in our teens.

VIM MAGAZINE: Can you tell us a bit about the chemistry between all of you in the studio? What keeps you all going?

JENINE: We gel really well in the studio.  Constantly pushing each other musically and that creates a pretty positive space.  We stay honest with each other and if someone doesn’t like something we try something else until we all agree upon it.  

ANTHONY: The chemistry is great! We have so many ideas to bring to the table. The hard part is not having enough time too do it all.

VIM MAGAZINE: How did the band get started? What were your musical influences growing up?

ANTHONY: The band got started with me and Bobby writing songs together for years and looking for a female drummer that could sing and Jenine fell into our laps one day when I saw her band the day after at a pizza place lol and we had drinks after the show. That’s when I found out she could play drums. So Bobby called her up a week later and set up a jam sesh and it was magic the first time we played.

Influence would be bands from the 60’s and 90’s like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin Jimi Hendrix too Nirvana, STP, The Pixies and Ween, punk rock bands like The misfits and The clash were huge. Of course newer bands like The White strips and black keys we love.

JENINE : We got started about 6/7 years ago.  The guys called me up and asked if I could play drums and sing and I said “sure!”  I had never done it before but gave it a shot and it worked!  We were all in other bands growing up in Vegas so we have crossed paths before.

I’m an 90’s alt/rock kid.  Loved Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth and of course Stone Temple Pilots...just to name a few.

VIM MAGAZINE: What is your favorite part about the local Vegas scene?

JENINE: My favorite part is how it’s really come together over the last few years.  So many different genres and talented people.  We really have a lot to show.

ANTHONY: I love that our music scene is small  in a big city. We all root for each other

VIM MAGAZINE: What's next for the band?

JENINE: After the tour, we will be playing the Emerge Impact + Music in April and will be releasing a record very soon.  Pretty excited about getting some new tunes out.

ANTHONY: New album! New videos and more Rock n Roll shows.

More info:

www.thedirtyhooks.com