Farmdog started out a long time ago as The Tourists. Back in the mid to late 90's, The Tourists roamed Idaho playing roots, rock, reggae for all who would listen. They were known as the Boise area's premier Grateful Dead cover band, but also played many other tasty covers by many other artists. The Tourist eventually segued into Farmdog at the turn of the century, and with a revolving door of different players they have consistently turned out good tunes. Though thier main focus has transitioned from playing covers like in the early days, to focusing more on original material. They still embrace thier roots by playing songs written by their musical heroes, but you can't pigeon-hole them as a cover band anymore. They have some outstanding original material. In fact, Farmdog's original material is now the draw of the band. They have intelligent song crafting with tradional backgrounds which makes their music fresh but somehow familiar. Their original music has been dubbed "countrified psycedelia with an island twist, southern boogie swamp rock with more than an occasional dance groove."
Description of Music
Farmdog infuses elements from a wide variety of styles including funk, rock, reggae, latin, trance, psychedelic, blues, country, bluegrass and the occasional cover from artists like The Grateful Dead, Phish, The Talking Heads, Michael Jackson and everything inbetween. Their music is very dynamic yet danceable, complex yet very familier. Their unique sound is best appreciated in their live shows, where they explore the essence of live performance in extended heartfelt musical journeys. "Countrified psycedelia with an island twist, southern boogie swamp rock with more than an occasional dance groove" sums it up best.
Artists
Luke Anderson ~ acoustic guitar, vocals, percussion
Larry Kiser ~ lap steel, slide, electric guitar, electric mandolin, vocals, percussion
Jon Engelund ~ electric & acoustic bass, vocals
Shaun Palmer ~ electric guitar, vocals
Rick Shodeen~ drums, percussion
Christine Thomas ~ vocal, percussion
Bryan Carrier ~ percussion
