In the Spring of 2005 the Yard Dogs embarked on their first full fledged national tour (25 shows in 35 days). Seven shows sold out, including a magical homecoming show at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The Yard Dogs started out seven years earlier as a three piece jug band performing in road houses and dance halls. Most notably in Oregon where they partook in modern day acid tests with the likes of Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters. After many sleepless nights they moved on. For the next year they traveled up and down the west coast, with a trunk full of instruments and props. A 1967 Ford Galaxy 500 was their tour vehicle. One cold night they pulled off Interstate 5 at a place called Dog Creek Road. After situating themselves - laying out sleeping bags, building a campfire - they fell into conversation. The possibilities were discussed. Spirits revealed themselves in the fire: dancing girls with feather fans, a man in silver sunglasses eating fire, a dreamy guitar boy with big hair, a bearded swami swallowing swords. And it was from this night of fantasy that the Yard Dogs Road Show was born. One by one these apparitions climbed aboard. Eventually the Ford was replaced with a fleet of vans. The original three were now thirteen. And the offspring of that night by the fire was a wicked and mobile cabaret. They told their stories minutes after they were lived. This was the new vaudeville, as portrayed by professional misfits and creative thrill seekers.
This show ventured East into the hot and bothered parts of America. They found themselves performing on Indian reservations. In Nevada brothel towns. In desolate retirement communities with famous circus performers of yesteryear. On Route 66 for sock hops and car shows. In parking lots behind county jails.
Word traveled. Folks came out.
With the publication of HOBO, Eddy Joe Cotton and the Yard Dogs Road Show began surfacing in the alternative and mainstream media. With that they hit the club circuit, playing venues like the Knitting Factory in Hollywood and NYC, the Bluebird Theater in Denver, Colorado and the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff, Arizona. They would go on to collaborate with Teatro Zinzanni, Red Bull, Lucas Films, and New Belgium Brewery. This flow of work lead to seasonal touring and till this day much of their time is spent on the road, either performing as a group or traveling alone to faraway places.
