Dog Party: Keeping Rock n' Roll Rabid

Photo by Cecilia Rogue 

Sacrament's Dog Party play loud, fun, catchy Rock n' Roll similar to Nikki and The Corvettes and The Ramones used to.  Yeah there are a lot of other bands shaking a similar maraca out there, so what does this band offer that those others don't you ask?  Simply put; vigor, fire, and the uncanny ability to spin something old and make it sound invigorating again.  Because let's face it, as subversive as punk was in the 70's everyone's ridden that thrill ride already.  In a culture where soccer moms flash tattoo sleeves and Ramones T-Shirts are stretched around suburban dad beer belly's everywhere; making punk interesting again is no easy task.  I've always belonged to the school of "talent means absolutely nothing without passion to your craft".  You can fondle a fret board all you want and throw in astonishing drum fills into your 14 minute opuses but if there's no blood and gusto in your music you might as well just be standing there on a stage empty handed. One listen to Dog Party's newest record,  Vol. 4 on Asian Man Records and you'll agree they've got it where it counts.  Their songs are taut, timeless and brimming with bona fide charm.  They go out on the road with Sneeze Attack this summer (tour dates are below).  So if you are in the mood for a genuine Rock n' Roll show; don't miss 'em!


Interview by J Castro

Please introduce yourselves and tell me what you two do in the band:

LUCY: Hi, I’m Lucy Giles and I sing and play drums in Dog Party!

GWENNIE: I’m Gwendolyn Giles (Gwennie) and I sing and play guitar in Dog Party!!!

How did you two decide to play music together?

LUCY: Gwennie and I met right when I came out of the womb (we are sisters)! It was super easy to start a band together because we lived in the same house.

GWENNIE: I’m older by two years, so when I got my first guitar and started taking lessons at age 8, a lot of teachers wouldn’t teach Lucy the drums because she was only six. Eventually family friend, Zack Goodin (who has been apart of both the Sacramento and LA music industry) came over to our house one night and set up our first band practice. That’s when Dog Party was formed. I was 11 and Lucy was 9.

Tell me about what it’s like playing shows in your town. Is there a community that you feel gets what your band is doing musically?

LUCY: Sacramento is home to tons of super talented musicians and there is a pretty good scene!

GWENNIE: Though there has been promoter/band rivalries at times, the Sacramento music scene has continued to grow as a more inclusive and loving community.

Can you remember what band or musician first inspired you to want to pick up an

instrument and learn to play and/or write music?

LUCY: When I was in preschool, I explicitly remember hearing the White Stripes for the first time and being blown away! Ever since that moment, I’ve been hooked on music.  It also helped that my father would always play the raddest bands at home and in the car.  The first time I heard the Ramones was also a very monumental moment.

GWENNIE: When I watched The Wizard of Oz as a toddler, I fell in love with singing. I knew rock ‘n’ roll was for me though when I got Green Day’s American Idiot album as a fourth grader.

In your experience, what have been some of the best and worst parts about being in a

band? Is it totally different than what you imagined as a kid?

LUCY: The best part about being in a band is playing on stage and seeing what music does to people. Seeing people jump, gyrate, and have a good time is always so rewarding

GWENNIE: Oh darn that leaves the ‘worst’ section for me. Hmmm… for me, the worst part has been all of the labeling i.e. “kid band” “girl band” and the unequal treatment we’ve received because of that.

What’s your favorite part of making music: the writing process, the recording, or

performing in front of a crowd?

LUCY: Performing is my favorite part :) Because it is always so fun! Music has this magic aspect to it– it always makes me feel great!

GWENNIE: I think I like writing it the best. I enjoy both the creative and expressive nature of songwriting.

What music do you own or listen to frequently that you feel a typical fan of yours may be surprised you enjoy?

LUCY: Right now I’ve been listening to a lot of 50’s/60’s doo wop and some old school rock’n’roll and country which differs from my normal punk driven roots :)

GWENNIE: Fans that don’t know I used to be in an electro-pop band may be surprised I enjoy/create that music too.

Photo by Cecilia Rogue

Never mind the critics, what in your opinion has been your band’s most shining moment so far?

LUCY: Being in SLC Punk 2 was pretty rad. Also when Iggy Pop played us on the radio!!!

GWENNIE: Well the whole reason why I picked up the guitar was because I wanted to be like Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), so seeing him at some of our shows and hearing his praise really means a lot to me.

Do you ever feel like underground culture meant more to past generations that had to

actually invest time and money into going to shows and record stores to discover new music as opposed to just using Google and Youtube on their phones?

LUCY: Interesting. Yes, I agree that one had to be more invested in the underground scene in past generations to discover new stuff, but as it was then and as it is now, the underground scene is a haven and community for the “misfits” who don’t gel with the norms of society.  

GWENNIE: I feel like investing money into going to shows is still very prevalent. The internet has enabled more individuals to be a part of the underground culture.

What is the best way people can hear and get a hold of your music?

GWENNIE: Well we are on Spotify… but we only receive pennies from those guys (which I guess is better than nothing). To purchase digitally, all of our albums are on iTunes.  For physical copies buying from Asian Man Records or directly from us by emailing dogpartylive@gmail.com (PayPal). We also have merchandise available at all of our shows.

What lies ahead for the band in 2016?

GWENNIE: Summer tours of the USA and the release of record numba 5: ‘Til You’re Mine!

Follow the adventures of Dog Party on social media!

- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dogpartylive

- Bandsintown: http://www.bandsintown.com/DogParty

- Twitter: @dogpartylive

- Instagram: @dogparty

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Boats!

     Boats! is the kind of band for short attention spans. A band that could probably write a two-minute song but chooses not too. A band that realizes you get more spins with songs lasting one minute thirty then ones clocking in at five minutes. A streamlined trio heavily influenced by early California punk most notably the Simpletones, have just recently released an LP on Modern Action entitled Black and White. The band has just returned from touring the east coast, northwest and Canada and is ready to keep playing their short, sharp, catchy songs anywhere that lets them.

Interview by Ed Stuart

Who’s answering the questions?

David Lee Hayden - Bassist

Where is the band from?

We're from Sacramento, California (City of Trees).

Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?

Matt Leonardo - Guitar / Vocals /Songwriter

David Lee Hayden- Bass / back up vocals

Adam Jennings - Drums

How did the band start?

Matt and I had started a side band from our main project Sex Tape Scandal, called The She He He's. We had planned for the band to be a simple punk band, very similar to Clorox Girls. That quickly changed when our Friend Amanda took over the vocals. We did countless touring with The She He He's. Our last tour, Matt and I had decided when we got back, we'd start the simple Clorox Girls band we had in mind for The She He He's.

Five bands/LP’s you can’t live without?

Green Day - Kerplunk

Influents - Check Please

Tranzmitors - Busy Signals

The Briefs - Hit After Hit

The Beatles - Please Please Me

How is the Sacramento scene? For such a big city it seems to be not a well-documented scene? Definitely overshadowed by SF/Bay area scene.

Sacramento has spurts of awesomeness- The Bananas are still one of our best local bands, but they rarely play Sacramento- once a year, if that. As far as BOATS! goes, Sacramento Sucks for us. We're yesterdays’ news. We do a thousand times better on tour.  Love Sacramento, but prefer life on the road.

Do you think music can still be a vital force in such a disposable age?

It is a vital force in any age! Keeps me sane from my normal life. It gives me something to get super excited for, and leave all the normal life's B.S Behind.

Boats! has quite a busy last two to three months with the release of Black and White, an east coast tour, Canadian tour and a mini northwestern tour. How excited is the band right now? What were some of the best shows Boats! played on any of these tours?

We're super excited. We've sat on our new LP for over a year. We had been holding out for Adeline Records to put it out. After the long waiting game, our buddies in Modern Action Records stepped up, and agreed to put the record out. Being a huge Briefs / Bodies/ Sharp Objects fan, I was pretty excited that we'd be part of Modern Action Records.

Oddly all over our shows were really good. I couldn't really pick a best show for the tour, though Philly surprised me big time. We've never played or have been to Philly in any of our bands, and it seemed that people had came out to see us; we played great, and the sound sounded awesome. Over all, every show was well attended, so we were pretty amped for every show.

Black and White has been released on Modern Action. Is there any sort of special packaging for this LP? They’re a label known for producing unique releases or a lot of limited editions. How did Boats! get the attention of Modern Action?

Our first 30 records had special covers for tour…pretty much, the record company didn't get our covers printed in time, so we had to make kinko copied sleeves for the record. I believe they also had like 10 records made with white vinyl.  I was a huge Briefs fan, and over the years I just managed to become friends with the guys. Dan had moved to the bay area, and we played a birthday show with him with Youth Brigade. We kept in touch, and played a lot of shows with Sharp Objects. We showed them our new material, which they found to be more aggressive than any of our other records, and the rest is history. They pressed the record.

The Portland Show-Guide stated, “[Boats!] keep it short, simple and snappy with most songs clocking in at around two minutes.” Is this a consideration when writing songs because it does seem the overwhelming majority of songs clock in less than two minutes.

We are lucky if we manage to get two minutes ha! It is not something we consider, or even aim for. It just sort of happens naturally. Longer songs just seem to lose enthusiasm. We just always typically keep it simple. Also, we've never been huge fans of bands that play 45-minute sets…So we just sort of play shows, the way we'd like to see other bands play. Short, sweet, simple, and too the point.

50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. How do you think this affects music in any way?

I think naturally it affects bigger labels. As for smaller punk labels- kids have their heads on their shoulders. They like to support smaller bands and labels they like. There are a lot of record nerds out there, that love collecting, and having limited edition copies. It's nice to sell your records, and make some money. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, but its more exciting knowing kids have your music, listen to it, like it, and possibly sing along at our shows. I am not bothered or offended if they manage to get our music for free. I am guilty, and have downloaded free music in my time. For smaller bands, or bands I consider friends, I like to own their actual hard copy of their record.

My whole record collection is only of bands we've played with.

What’s next for Boats and where can people hear the band?

Well we are always super ambitious, but the reality is, what's next, is what is always next.

Write new music; record it, release it, and tour. Hopefully down the road, after Black and White gets out there more, maybe we'll be lucky and get picked up by an actual booking agent, or a bigger band that wants to take us on their tour…Green Day?…. maybe?….

Learn how to get your music noticed at ReverbNation.com

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