His friends, however, were pretty confused.
The people around me would go Why is everyone shouting Dirt Man!
at this poor guy?
Makayla Keasler*
With [Dirt Man] I woke up and thought, this is the dumbest idea Ive had.
So then people loved it.
Its been a blast.
He was happy to be there but the money just wasnt coming.
No one would hire us because we were not that good, Vail says, laughing.
It was rough out there.
When he posted his songs to TikTok and Instagram, people began to respond and interact.
How else could you get millions of people to sing about handing dirt over to a strange being?
Vail is intimately aware that modern musicians feel caught under the need for self-promotion online.
Except Vail has a leg up hes already really, really good at it.
I just think its so much fun to make this stuff, he says.
Id probably really not like it.
But I get to make songs about aliens and Godzilla.
I wrote100 Cowboysafter being brutally dumped quite by surprise, he says.
Me and one of my closest friends went into the studio for an entire month.
It was a cathartic experience for me.
Hed love it if every fan of Dirt Man gave his album the same fantastic devotion.
But Vail isnt ashamed of his claim to internet fame.
Fuckin A right, Im the Dirt Man guy.
