The Dirty Nil Reminisce On New Single & Video “Bye Bye Big Bear”

For Toronto rock trio The Dirty Nil, Big Bear was so much more than a convenience store parking lot they gazed upon from their second-floor bathroom window, the trash-strewn asphalt stage where seemingly every element of the human experience played out like a never-ending theatrical production. They have now shared the ode Bye Bye Big Bear in its memory, the track is now available digitally and on vinyl via Dine Alone Records. The house was all at once a shared residence, creative commons, and god-forsaken pirate ship, its revolving cast of crewmates armed with instruments, alcohol, and overdriven amplifiers. Indeed, they lived, laughed, and loved there even though no kitschy wall sign from a suburban mom’s Etsy shop told them to.

“We were there through our 20s and having the best time,” shares guitarist Luke Bentham, namedropping some of the transient roommates who spent a few months under the roof with them – members of fellow revered Canadian rock outfits including The Glorious Sons, Attack in Black, Career Suicide, Seaway and Single Mothers. “It was so conducive to creativity and collaboration. When we turned 30, though, it felt like time to spring from the nest, so we all put our separate plans into motion, and then I immediately started to miss everybody.”