Inverness duo The Dihydro hung out as teens dreaming of being in a band
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The Dihydro are a two-piece band from Inverness who specialise in “dirty, high energy grunge” – but it’s been a while since they have played. It’s time to catch up with Thomas Newell and Jamie Douglas, the duo behind one of the most exhilarating rock sounds in the city.
Q For anyone who hasn’t come across The Dihydro before, tell your story, some of the events along the way, the ideas that brought you together – the sound you make and why?
A Jamie Douglas and Thomas Newell: The love of music brought us together from our early teens – hanging out in my garage, up to no good; listening to mixtapes of various bands recorded from the radio – or borrowed CDs into the early hours of the morning; dreaming of one day being in a band together with other pals!
That love and passion grew over the years with us both being in different bands. Jamie – drummed in Schnarff Schnarff, Curio and Naked Red. Thomas – playing bass in 28 Jacks and making a couple of guest appearances in The Leonard Jones Potential. I always knew Jamie would be ‘The Drummer’ and when he told me he was moving back to Inverness I got some songs together and we spent an evening rekindling that friendship and did what we talked about all those years ago, and that was the start of The Dihydro.
We created our dirty, loud, high-energy grunge music. In our first year as a band we were runners-up in a BOTB [battle of the bands], headlined three hometown shows, played Belladrum, Jocktoberfest, played our only show in the Ironworks and turned into a two-piece dirty dance band for the night supporting The Dazed Digital Age! All was going so well for us! Then Covid...
Q How did the experience of lockdown and being away from live music for a long time affect the band. Were you one of the line-ups that became really creative or did it all get to you and stop you in your tracks?
A Thomas: Covid was awful for the whole music industry! Thankfully, in my own jam room I was able to get creative into the early hours, and jamming wasn’t an issue.
However, other reasons put the band on hold and a series of events in 2022 meant we had to cancel our recording session. But the world is back to normal,we are back and ready to play for you once again!
Q I have seen you play small stages before and your sound and performance energy bursts out of that kind of space. Is that going to be true of Tooth & Claw for you this week? What are the challenges and delights of that?
A We cut our teeth in the Tooth & Claw with our first three gigs being the BOTB (battle of the bands)! I feel our music is perfect for this venue as it’s dark and feels kinda underground! The only challenge is the stairs after you’ve had a few!
Q Have you recorded tracks to share with us in the coming months? Most bands find that an adventure in itself. Are you naturals in the recording studio?
A Thomas: We managed to get into the studio in 2020 just before lockdown and we recorded two tracks with Steve Bull. Because of the way I play I wanted to do the music all live, and the vocals after. Steve had the space and the ability to do this. We recorded two tracks Codeine (see clip) and Don’t Really Dance! We are back recording with Steve in May and hope to record the same way, but try and get more songs and release an EP later in the year.
Q Any more gig details for Friday?
A Thomas: I am delighted to have Dylan James Tierney opening for us, followed by local hip-hop artist Sherbit. These guys are incredibly talented, catch them both!
The Dihydro, Dylan James Tierney and Sherbit play the Tooth & Claw on Friday (April 15). Doors 7.30pm.
