Boston is a town for the underdogs. The Red Sox have been fighting
the "Curse of the Bambino" for decades, and have recently overcome to
win the MLB championship twice. Nobody roots for the underdog
more than Boston's own Street Dogs. Former Dropkick Murphys lead
singer Mike McColgan left the Murphys to become a firefighter,
fighting to save the lives of those from any class. He soon realized that,
as much as he loved fighting fire, he needed music in his life. Since he
helped form the Street Dogs, they have been making music that, both
musically and lyrically, fights for the common man. Johnny Rioux
(bass) and Tobe Bean III (rhythm guitar) of the Street Dogs talked to
me about rising from the shadows, charity work, and motorcycle
maintenance.
Johnny starts off the interview by saying that this has been "the most
different tour we've done so far. We did a few weeks on Warped Tour a
couple years ago, but this year it really runs the gamut as far as
diversity." He adds that "before, when you were a punk band doing the
Warped Tour, it made sense, but now it's more of a musical tour. It's a
good opportunity for bands who are good at what they do, good in their
genre."
The thirty minute sets that bands are constricted to at Warped Tour are
frustrating for some bands that have a wide catalog of work. When they
were asked to do Warped Tour last year, the Street Dogs were quick to
decline because "we wanted to do a headlining tour. We wanted to do
more than thirty minutes a day. It's hard to play such a short set when
you have four albums worth of material." Fortunately, this year the
Street Dogs accepted the Warped invitation because "it came at the right
time. Our record just came out, and we've been making a lot of friends."
Lead singer, Mike McColgan, is well known in the scene as having
fronted Dropkick Murphys. The band was originally a little frightened
that they were going to live in his shadow. "When we started, we made
sure our label, we were on a little label at the time, didn't put any
stickers or anything [that advertised the Dropkick connection]. One
time, there was this record store in Boston. They put some of records,
we also had a Street Dogs section, but they put some of our records in
the Dropkick Murphys section, and we asked them to please not do
that. We really went out of our way to say, 'you know what, we're
gonna earn our own'." So, understandably, the concern was there.
Johnny continues, though, that "when we started, we were like, 'let's do
a few Mike-era Dropkick songs'." Then something amazing happened,
the crowd didn't react as well to the Dropkick songs as they did to the
the "Curse of the Bambino" for decades, and have recently overcome to
win the MLB championship twice. Nobody roots for the underdog
more than Boston's own Street Dogs. Former Dropkick Murphys lead
singer Mike McColgan left the Murphys to become a firefighter,
fighting to save the lives of those from any class. He soon realized that,
as much as he loved fighting fire, he needed music in his life. Since he
helped form the Street Dogs, they have been making music that, both
musically and lyrically, fights for the common man. Johnny Rioux
(bass) and Tobe Bean III (rhythm guitar) of the Street Dogs talked to
me about rising from the shadows, charity work, and motorcycle
maintenance.
Johnny starts off the interview by saying that this has been "the most
different tour we've done so far. We did a few weeks on Warped Tour a
couple years ago, but this year it really runs the gamut as far as
diversity." He adds that "before, when you were a punk band doing the
Warped Tour, it made sense, but now it's more of a musical tour. It's a
good opportunity for bands who are good at what they do, good in their
genre."
The thirty minute sets that bands are constricted to at Warped Tour are
frustrating for some bands that have a wide catalog of work. When they
were asked to do Warped Tour last year, the Street Dogs were quick to
decline because "we wanted to do a headlining tour. We wanted to do
more than thirty minutes a day. It's hard to play such a short set when
you have four albums worth of material." Fortunately, this year the
Street Dogs accepted the Warped invitation because "it came at the right
time. Our record just came out, and we've been making a lot of friends."
Lead singer, Mike McColgan, is well known in the scene as having
fronted Dropkick Murphys. The band was originally a little frightened
that they were going to live in his shadow. "When we started, we made
sure our label, we were on a little label at the time, didn't put any
stickers or anything [that advertised the Dropkick connection]. One
time, there was this record store in Boston. They put some of records,
we also had a Street Dogs section, but they put some of our records in
the Dropkick Murphys section, and we asked them to please not do
that. We really went out of our way to say, 'you know what, we're
gonna earn our own'." So, understandably, the concern was there.
Johnny continues, though, that "when we started, we were like, 'let's do
a few Mike-era Dropkick songs'." Then something amazing happened,
the crowd didn't react as well to the Dropkick songs as they did to the
Street Dogs music. So, the band slowly phased out playing any of the
Dropkick Murphys catalog, and are now making it off their own accord.
Street Dogs' latest release, State of Grace, was released on Hellcat
records on July 8, 2008. Hellcat was gracious enough to allow them to
sell the CD from the first date of the Warped Tour, even though the
street date had not hit yet. The street date is something that most record
companies are extremely protective of, so it really shows how much
Hellcat works for the bands. Johnny gives his praise to Hellcat, "Every
day, at least once a day, I sit back and go, 'God damn, we're on the
greatest label'. Hellcat is more than a label, it's a culture. They know
what it's like to be in a band, rather than just the business side." Tobe
feels that the crowd reaction to the album "has been going really well.
The early response has been a lot better than the last record."
In regards to the production of the new album, Street Dogs worked with
Ted Hutt as producer. Ted brought a new angle to the process.
"Whenever we'd hit a writers' block, Ted would call us into the office,
and he'd play some old British pop music. He'd play The Faces, Rod
Stewart, even some early '70s British punk. There's a lot of '70s British
influence on the new album," laughs Johnny of the recording process.
Lately, the Dogs have put their support behind Oxfam International, in
regards to charity work. They have played shows in support of Oxfam,
and you can see several links to Oxfam support groups on the band's
MySpace. "Oxfam is an organization without all the bureaucracy, and
you really have to look into the charity organization you support," adds
Johnny. Oxfam spends very little on advertising and overhead, so most
of the donation is able to go to the causes they support.
Many bands will carry on their "rock star" lives after completing an
interview (i.e. pretend you don't exist); however, Johnny and Tobe
continued the conversation. "I overheard you say you ride a motorcycle.
Do you know how to work on bikes?" asked Tobe. "I do a little.
What's your issue?" I responded. Our conversation lasted another five
to ten minutes after the recorder was shut off. They extended the same
courtesy to their fans as they spent plenty of time at their merch booth
signing autographs and chatting with fans.
The Street Dogs are performing on the entire Warped Tour, and will be
going out on a headlining trek this fall with Time Again as support.
"We're also going to have a local band at every show. It's really
important to us to have a local spotlight," Johnny says of the upcoming
headlining tour. State of Grace is out now, and available at most stores,
so pick up a copy, then go see this amazing band when they hit a town
near you.
Dropkick Murphys catalog, and are now making it off their own accord.
Street Dogs' latest release, State of Grace, was released on Hellcat
records on July 8, 2008. Hellcat was gracious enough to allow them to
sell the CD from the first date of the Warped Tour, even though the
street date had not hit yet. The street date is something that most record
companies are extremely protective of, so it really shows how much
Hellcat works for the bands. Johnny gives his praise to Hellcat, "Every
day, at least once a day, I sit back and go, 'God damn, we're on the
greatest label'. Hellcat is more than a label, it's a culture. They know
what it's like to be in a band, rather than just the business side." Tobe
feels that the crowd reaction to the album "has been going really well.
The early response has been a lot better than the last record."
In regards to the production of the new album, Street Dogs worked with
Ted Hutt as producer. Ted brought a new angle to the process.
"Whenever we'd hit a writers' block, Ted would call us into the office,
and he'd play some old British pop music. He'd play The Faces, Rod
Stewart, even some early '70s British punk. There's a lot of '70s British
influence on the new album," laughs Johnny of the recording process.
Lately, the Dogs have put their support behind Oxfam International, in
regards to charity work. They have played shows in support of Oxfam,
and you can see several links to Oxfam support groups on the band's
MySpace. "Oxfam is an organization without all the bureaucracy, and
you really have to look into the charity organization you support," adds
Johnny. Oxfam spends very little on advertising and overhead, so most
of the donation is able to go to the causes they support.
Many bands will carry on their "rock star" lives after completing an
interview (i.e. pretend you don't exist); however, Johnny and Tobe
continued the conversation. "I overheard you say you ride a motorcycle.
Do you know how to work on bikes?" asked Tobe. "I do a little.
What's your issue?" I responded. Our conversation lasted another five
to ten minutes after the recorder was shut off. They extended the same
courtesy to their fans as they spent plenty of time at their merch booth
signing autographs and chatting with fans.
The Street Dogs are performing on the entire Warped Tour, and will be
going out on a headlining trek this fall with Time Again as support.
"We're also going to have a local band at every show. It's really
important to us to have a local spotlight," Johnny says of the upcoming
headlining tour. State of Grace is out now, and available at most stores,
so pick up a copy, then go see this amazing band when they hit a town
near you.
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