Prescott Now: How long have you been playing?
Dirty Halos: Our current lineup of Kenn Duncan, vocals and guitar; Chris Bennett, lead guitar and vocals; Anton Teschner, bass and vocals; Steve Nelson, drums; and occasionally Drew Hall, guitar and vocals, has been playing together for just about one year.
Kenn and Drew started writing and playing together in 2017, got a band together and recorded an album of originals called No Agenda in 2019. That incarnation of Kenn, Drew with Gigi Gonaway on drums and Marcus Weeden on bass only played a few shows before the lockdown started in 2020. The CD copies of our album arrived the day after the lockdown started.
As things began to open back up, lives had changed.
Kenn and Chris met in 2021, became fast mates. We started playing together, working and playing open mics. Soon Anton and Steve rounded out the lineup.
Prescott Now: What genre or genres of music do you play? What about them inspires you?
Dirty Halos: We usually say we play indie rock with an Americana flair.
We draw our covers from almost every era of music from the 60s through today, bands like Men At Work, Eurythmics, Inxs, Elvis Costello and Elvis Presley, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, Jackson Browne to Ryan Adams, Gov’t Mule, JJ Grey, Wilco and the Drive-By Truckers.
Our original music follows in the footsteps of all these influences, so you will hear hints and connections to both songs of yesteryear as well as modern bands in our songs.
Prescott Now: What is the key to being a successful musical act in Prescott and Northern Arizona?
Dirty Halos: Prescott has been amazing, the music community here is incredibly supportive, all the musicians we’ve come across always ready to help, make suggestions on venues and love getting to play music with each other.
I must include venues as well; we’ve been lucky to tap into a few spots that bring us in regularly, and that’s been an amazing help in building our band.
Prescott Now: What’s the smallest audience you’ve played for; the biggest?
Dirty Halos: Chris and Kenn played a small event to support U.S. vets, just about 25 people, and our post lockdown album release party we had about 130 to 150 listeners, dancers and partiers. No matter the size of the crowd we really love to bring it.
Prescott Now: Where do you find your inspiration for your songwriting, performances?
Dirty Halos: So much of our inspiration comes from the music we all listen to individually and together. In the original material Kenn says, “I have to say I also draw from just real-life experience, my own and my friends and family. Our original song Worst Enemy was written in a Prescott bar on Whiskey Row as I was waiting for my turn to play at an open mic. Back then I was very green and hopping up to play music was still very foreign, it occurred to me that sometimes I was my own worst critic…. enemy. Also there have been times when I’ve read stories or seen movies that inspire songs.”
Prescott Now: What brought you to Prescott?
Dirty Halos: We all converged on Prescott for different reasons, at different times, Chris being the newest here just four years now and coming the farthest; he hails from Wolverhampton, England. Anton and Steve have played in Prescott for many years. Kenn started playing music later in life about 10 years ago.
So as a band we formed right here in Prescott, meeting through music at shows and open mics etc.
