The Dirty Nil
Photo: Steph Montani

Dundas, ON’s The Dirty Nil have just released their latest single, “Bye Bye Big Bear”, about the downtown Hamilton house the band members shared for five years – joined at different times by members of The Glorious Sons, Attack in Black, Seaway, and Single Mothers – and the Big Bear convenience store across the street. We caught up with Kyle Fisher to chat about the memories that stand out the most (one that includes Brett from the The Glorious Sons, a gas leak, and a cigarette), advice they’d give their younger selves, and a throwback to their Instagram cover of “I Saw A Tiger” from Tiger King.

From The Strait: Tell us about the new single, “Bye Bye Big Bear”.

Kyle Fisher: The song is an ode to a home we all shared for 5 years. We did a lot of living in that house and experienced a lot of downtown life. This song is for anyone who spent their young adult years fucking it up in the city with their friends.

FTS: What’s one Big Bear moment that stands out the most? Similarly, what was the band’s #1 purchase there?

Kyle Fisher: Oh too many to narrow down. There was a guy living on the roof for a while and we would see him climb up at night. A dude blasting Alice in Chains from the speakers on his bicycle at 2am crushing beers in the parking lot, lots of nasty accidents. Lots of police activity. During the pandemic, someone backed into the gas main behind our house causing a huge leak, you could hear the gas seeping out. Our good friend Brett from the Glorious Sons (who was living with us at the time) was out back about to light a smoke as all these fire trucks swarmed the street. Luke went to see what was going on and then a firefighter burst into our house and said we had to get out of the house right away. So we hung out in the Big Bear parking lot and met some neighbours who were very sweet and kind while we waited for the gas leak to stop. We also received a grocery delivery while this was happening so shout out to the firefighters for putting our groceries away for us. As far as number one purchases go, I don’t smoke anymore but I definitely bought a shit load of cigarettes there when I did. They would always pull a pack out for me when I came in. That was definitely a signal that I needed to quit.

FTS: With all of the different musicians from so many notable Canadian bands that lived in that Hamilton house with you at one time or another, is there any possibility of a Can-rock supergroup being formed for one night only as an ode to the house? I’m not saying the fans want this… but yeah, the fans want this.

Kyle Fisher: We were talking about doing an EP or something with Brett but both of our schedules got too busy. Big Bear was actually in the running for that. Could still happen though. There is one collaboration somewhere on our IG where we did a cover of “I Saw. A Tiger” from Tiger King though.

FTS:  We remember that well. (Here’s a link to watch, in case anyone missed it back in 2020)

Now that members of The Dirty Nil are in their 30s, what’s some advice they’d give their 20-year old selves?

Kyle Fisher: Trust yourself more and don’t be afraid to tell people what you want and need. Set boundaries.

FTS: What bands/artists are you listening to on repeat these days?

Kyle Fisher: Lately, I’ve been listening mostly to the No Dunks basketball podcast. But as far as music goesI’ve been enjoying Deeper, Mannequin Pussy, Knocked Loose’s A Tear in the Fabric of Life and that new Kendrick Lamar album. Easy listening for sure.

Check out “Bye Bye Big Bear”, the latest single from The Dirty Nil!

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