Guest Blog: Dirty White Shoes Talks Toxic Relationships + "Pretty Face and Tattoos"

Pop band Dirty White Shoes is delivering the catchy lyrics and melodies we need right now.

Fronted by Angel Ascencio, the band knows just how to relate with their listeners, sharing stories about falling in love, falling out of love, and what it feels like to journey through life.

Unfortunately, love isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, and Dirty White Shoes’ latest single explores its dark underbelly. Ascencio sat down with Musical Notes Global to dive even deeper and discuss the complexities of toxic relationships and how they inspired “Pretty Face and Tattoos.” Check out his thoughts after the jump.

“Pretty Face and Tattoos” was written after enduring an incredibly draining relationship. I ask myself sometimes, "why did I stick around?". I don't have an answer, but I know I am not alone in struggling to let go of someone I've loved. It's not always easy, and sometimes we feel stuck. We especially feel stuck when we invest so much time and energy into the relationship, and want it to work out in the long run.

Writing this song was hard. I had to really dig deep and talk about the things that hurt me the most. I had to be honest with everyone, but also honest with myself. There were many times I felt the song wasn’t close to being done, because there was so much more I wanted to say. I want to continue to write about it, and hope to include my emotions and experiences in future songs. Once I finished writing the last lyric, I found
closure. I felt a sense of relief and freedom, and I was proud of myself.

Sometimes these challenges we face are overlooked. When you’re given advice it's usually, “just leave.” I'm sure we all know its just not that easy. Even if friends and family are giving advice with good intentions, they didn't experience the genuine happiness felt in the relationship when words weren’t being thrown at each other. They didn't experience the small things they did that reminded you of why you committed to them in the first place. It takes a lot to set the happy thoughts and memories aside. You only want to see the good in people. Relationships don't always work out, and that’s ok! If we had stayed in a relationship that took our joy away, we would only continue to hurt each other, or in other words “fix each other.” There has to be a moment where you say “no more”. This song was just that...

I want people to know, that they have full control of their happiness. There is no one that can take that away from them. I hope when they listen to this song, they find confidence in themselves and remember that things will be ok. We just have to get back up and keep moving forward, no matter what the path looks like. Sometimes we have to get our shoes dirty, in order to get to where we want.

Love, Dirty White Shoes

Listen to “Pretty Face and Tattoos” below.