Dr. Dog has been creating music in various incarnations in their hometown of Philadelphia
for nearly six years now. From the humble beginnings of THE PSYCHEDELIC SWAMP,
a concept album realized in the damp ruin of a flooded basement, through
the critically acclaimed EASY BEAT (2005) the band has cultivated a
strong national following through their energetic live shows. They spent the better
part of 2006 in the studio cooking up two new releases: a six song EP called TAKERS
AND LEAVERS , which will be released worldwide on Sept 12, 2006, and a yet
untitled long player that will see the light of day in February 2007.
The early years of Dr. Dog were spent largely in and around Philadelphia
until the spring of 2004, when the band was invited to tour with
My Morning Jacket after MMJ front man Jim James heard Dr.
Dog's first non-concept album TOOTHBRUSH. Using the money
they raised on the MMJ tour, the band added a microphone to their
home studio and recorded their second album EASY BEAT.
The band first released EASY BEAT on their own, selling
it at shows and through the mail in cases where a generation of
emailers were willing to put a check in an envelope and buy a stamp
in return for a copy of the album. While not the most technologically
savvy means of delivery the method worked to build a fan base outside
of Philly for Dr. Dog and even caught the attention of a few journalists
along the way.
Along with Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, Fader and many
others, The Philadelphia Inquirer raved EASY BEAT is
an“ infectious debut album ... Beach Boys-style three part harmonies
layered over skewed bouncy rock songs." The New York Times
went on to call EASY BEAT an “ extraordinary catalog
of off kilter ballads and light-headed riff rock ... All nine songs,
filled with breezy vocal harmonies and unexpected digressions ...
epic."
The later half of 2005 and the beginning of 2006 saw the band
on tour in the United States with Architecture in Helsinki and
throughout Europe with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah before entering
the studio in the Spring to work on their next two releases. Both
works will be released in North America on Park The Van records,
a Philly-centric Indie label that shares the band's passion for
promoting the city's rich and growing music scene. Rough Trade
records will handle the two releases in the rest of the world.
Dr. Dog produced TAKERS AND LEAVERS with engineering
and mixing help from long time friend Bill Moriarty. This time
around the band added 16 more analog tracks to their palette using
a 24-track tape machine as opposed to their faithful 8 track. The
added tracking options helped the band more fully realize their
vision of more lush vocal work
The fall of 2006 marks the beginning of the most exciting stage in Dr. Dog's career to date. The band will tour in support of TAKERS AND LEAVERS beginning with a co-headline run up the west coast in early September with Cold War Kids. After that, the Dogs will make their way to Houston, Texas to begin a tour supporting The Raconteurs. Shows to the UK are in the works and another trip in the US is already planned.
