Fierce and Loud speaks to The Dirty Denims.

Recent­ly we caught up with the sim­ply fab­u­lous Dirty Den­ims, who kind­ly agreed to give an inter­view to Fierce and loud. Before we get to that, here’s a biog­ra­phy of the band for all of you who haven’t yet come across them.

The Dirty Den­ims have been bring­ing a wave of ener­gy and pos­i­tiv­i­ty to Rock­’n’Roll fans world­wide since 2006. Their sig­na­ture Hap­py Hardrock – a blend of Hard Rock, Rock­’n’Roll, Punk Rock, and Pow­er Pop – uplift spir­its and ignites the par­ty with­in. Inspired by bands like AC/DC, KISS, and Joan Jett, every song bursts with pos­i­tive ener­gy. That’s why these ladies and gen­tle­men are live at their best.

In recent years, the focus has been par­tic­u­lar­ly on inter­na­tion­al oppor­tu­ni­ties, with tours in Ger­many and Spain, among oth­ers. With their 4th stu­dio album ‘Par­ty On!’, The Dirty Den­ims con­tin­ue their mis­sion to spread fun through music.

Can you introduce the band and tell us how you all came together?

Sure! We’re The Dirty Den­ims from the Nether­lands. We play Hap­py Hardrock: a mix of hard rock, rock ‘n roll, punk rock, and pow­er pop. The band was start­ed by Mir­jam (vocals/guitar) and Jeroen (lead gui­tar) . Over the years we’ve had a few changes in the line­up, espe­cial­ly bassists (we joke that we’ve had more bassists than shows!). But the cur­rent line­up with Han (bass) and Suzanne (drums) is sol­id and full of ener­gy!

What inspired the band name, and does it have a special meaning?

It actu­al­ly came pret­ty naturally—we want­ed some­thing that sound­ed raw, fun, and a lit­tle cheeky. We love the band the Don­nas who have a song called Dirty Den­im. Put a THE before and an S after and there you have it. It has a rock ‘n roll ring to it, and let’s be hon­est: we spend most of our lives in jeans any­way.

How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before?

Imag­ine if AC/DC, Joan Jett, and The Don­nas had a par­ty togeth­er. Loud gui­tars, big cho­rus­es, high energy—music to make you smile and bang your head at the same time.

What are some of your biggest musical influences?

AC/DC is a big one, espe­cial­ly their raw riffs and ener­gy. Also KISS, The Ramones, Joan Jett, The Hel­la­copters, The Don­nas, and even some 60’s garage rock and 70s pow­er­pop.

What’s the story behind your latest album?

Our lat­est album Par­ty On! is all about bring­ing good vibes in tough times. It was most­ly writ­ten dur­ing the pan­dem­ic, but instead of going dark, we want­ed to keep things fun, hope­ful, and loud. It’s our way of say­ing: no mat­ter what, the par­ty must go on!

What’s it like being a female-fronted band in the rock/metal scene?

We don’t real­ly think of it like that—it’s just a band with peo­ple who hap­pen to include women. Some­times peo­ple think the girls are the girl­friends of the band­mem­bers but they prove them wrong imme­di­ate­ly haha. That said, it’s always fun to sur­prise peo­ple who expect some­thing “soft” and then get blown away by our sound and Mir­jam’s stage per­for­mance.

Have you faced any challenges or stereotypes as a female vocalist in the industry?

Not real­ly, maybe some­times you get under­es­ti­mat­ed or judged by looks before any­one hears a note. But the best way to deal with that is just plug in, crank up the amp, and let the music speak for itself.

Do you think the industry is becoming more supportive of female rock and metal musicians?

Yes, slow­ly but sure­ly. There’s more vis­i­bil­i­ty, more sup­port, and more women on stage and behind the scenes. Still a lot of sweaty guys are out there too…

Are there any female artists or bands that have influenced your career?

Def­i­nite­ly! The Don­nas was the rea­son Mir­jam want­ed to start a hardrock­ing band and of course Joan Jett, but also Bon Scott was a large influ­ence on Mir­jam, not real­ly a girly man haha.

How do you approach songwriting?

Jeroen come up with the first ideas—riffs, lyrics, or melodies—and cre­ates the basic songstruc­ture. He always has the whole song fin­ished in his head haha. When we jam it out as a band, the rest brings their own fla­vor to the song. 

Do you have a particular process for coming up with melodies and vocal parts?

Some­times it starts with a phrase or even a fun­ny word. Oth­er times it’s just hum­ming non­sense until some­thing sticks. Then we shape it into a prop­er melody and fit lyrics around it.

What advice would you give to young female musicians trying to break into the rock/metal scene?

Be bold. Be loud. Don’t wait for per­mis­sion. Learn your instru­ment, find your voice, and sur­round your­self with peo­ple who sup­port you. And nev­er let any­one tell you rock ‘n roll isn’t for you.

What are your thoughts on the current state of rock and metal music?

There’s def­i­nite­ly a revival hap­pen­ing. Clas­sic sounds are com­ing back, and there’s a whole new gen­er­a­tion dis­cov­er­ing the pow­er of real gui­tars and drums. For exam­ple, Mir­jam’s cousins and niece are 14–15 and they now start­ed their own band play­ing songs we also lis­tened to when we were young. That is so cool.

What’s next for the band?

We’re tour­ing, pro­mot­ing Par­ty On!, and also always work­ing on new mate­r­i­al behind the scenes. We just record­ed a new song and a cov­er that will be released on a vinyl 7″ this year. Also plan­ning more inter­na­tion­al shows and some fun col­lab­o­ra­tions.

If you could collaborate with any artist—past or present—who would it be and why?

Angus Young for sure! Can you imag­ine the riffs? Also Joan Jett and Deb­by Har­ry— leg­ends. We would love to have a song with Brett from the Don­nas maybe as a duet and Alli­son play­ing a solo, for that real Don­nas vibe…who knows..if they read this 😉

(I 100% want to see this)

What’s one thing about you or the band that fans might not know?

Most peo­ple think we are younger than we are haha but we’ve been a band for almost 20 years now.….so don’t tell them 😉

If you could create your dream festival lineup, who would be on it?

Us (obvi­ous­ly), AC/DC, Kiss, Joan Jett, Foo Fight­ers with Suzanne duelling with Dave Grohl), The Hel­la­copters, Thun­der­moth­er, The Dark­ness, Danko Jones, Air­bourne, and a sur­prise set by the Don­nas with us join­ing at the last song haha. After­par­ty will be kill it and grill it with Han and Ted Nugent! 

But did you know Mir­jam already orga­nized her own Den­im and Light­ning fes­ti­val? the 3rd edi­tion will be in feb­ru­ari 2026 and the line-up is killer! Check it here: https://www.facebook.com/events/646677991468275

Cheers!

Thank you so much Dirty Den­ims for tak­ing the time to speak to us. To every­one read­ing this, go check this band out. They are hands down amaz­ing and pass the word to all your friends. While you are at it, check out their web­store on their web­site (linked below) for amaz­ing merch and CD’s.

All Pho­tographs cour­tesy of Willem Wouterse and The Dirty Den­ims.

Where you can follow and support the band.

The Dirty Den­ims Web­site

The Dirty Den­ims Face­book

The Dirty Den­ims Insta­gram