Bird and Animal Names In Rock And Roll History- part twenty-six

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Bird and Animal Names In Rock And Roll History- part twenty-six
by Robert Benson - August 7, 2009

Band Of Horses

Let’s continue our ongoing series about “bird” and “animal” group names and individuals in rock and roll history, this time, let’s devote some time to some of the ‘indie’ bands that are making a name for themselves.

After an eight-year run with the band Carissa’a Weird, multi-instrumentalists Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke founded the indie rock outfit Band Of Horses in 2004. The band received attention and critical acclaim after a tour opening for another indie band Iron & Wine. In 2005, the native Northwesterners released an EP that was sold exclusively at their shows and at their record label’s website, Sub Pop. Their full length debut “Everything All The Time” was released in March of 2006 to positive reviews.

However, Brooke did not tour in support of the releases and ultimately quit the band to form another Sub Pop act, Grand Archives. Bridwell recruited two new bandmates, Rob Hampton (bass) and Creighton Barrett (drums) to tour and the pair became permanent members; although the full lineup has changed and is listed below.

After relocating to South Carolina to be closer to his family, Bidwell and his band cut their second LP “Cease To Begin” in October of 2007. It was voted as one of the best ten albums of 2007 by Paste magazine and featured the cuts “The General Specific” and “Detlef Schrempf.”

Amazingly, you have probably heard their music, but not know who the artist was. Their song, “The Funeral” appeared in the television commercials for SUVs, in the trailer for the movie Penelope and in the television series’ CSI, Criminal Minds, One Tree Hill and Numb3rs. In 2008, the band stated that they planned on entering the studio to begin recording their third LP, with Bridwell claiming to have twenty seven songs already written.

Hailing from London is a post-punk band called Dogs. The band acquired a loyal fan base by touring with Paul Weller, Razorlight and The Enemy and is consistently ranked as one of Britain’s best live bands.

Their first album "Turn Against This Land," was released on in September of 2005 and was recorded at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall and was produced by John Cornfield. It was released via Island Records. The LP contains the singles “London Bridge/End Of An Era” (double A-side), “Tuned to a Different Station” and “Selfish Ways."

The Dogs returned in 2007, this time under Weekender Records, with threes singles: “Soldier On," followed by “This Stone Is A Bullet” and thirdly “Dirty Little Shop”, released on June 18, 2007. The song "Chained to No-One" was released at the end of 2007 as a download only single. The band released its second album, "Tall Stories from Under the Table" on June 25, 2007.

Their music may remind some of the peppy pop sounds of the Talking Heads or XTC, but Scotland’s Dogs Die In Hot Cars cut their teeth absorbing the music of stalwarts such as Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The band, vocalists/guitarists Craig Macintosh and Gary Smith, bassist Lee Worrall, keyboardist/vocalist Ruth Quigley, and drummer Laurence Davey was formed while all were in high school. Playing cover songs at local pubs, the group started sprinkling in a few of their own songs into the set list. After a few years of saving money, upgrading their equipment and sound and writing songs, they relocated to Glasgow to focus on their music. In summer 2003, the band released their first single on Radiate, "I Love You Cause I Have To," and the mix of ska rhythms and new wave pop won the band critical and commercial acclaim.

In early 2004, the group released the EP “Man Bites Man” and their debut album was released in July of that same year. The LP, “Please Describe Yourself” included the tracks "I Love You 'Cause I Have To,” "Godhopping" and "Lounger.” "Godhopping" peaked at #24 on the UK Singles Chart and remains the band's biggest hit. "I Love You 'Cause I Have To" peaked at #32 on the UK Singles Chart and narrowly missed the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States.

On September 18, 2007 the band posted a blog on their MySpace website indicating that they had decided to end all work on a new album. With this news they also said that they are going their separate ways and may or may not reunite. In April 2008 the band began to release their second album demos along with their individual track files, free for all to download from their website. Visitors could these songs to make their own versions of the songs and then send those versions back to the band. The band would then later announce a closing date (closing date was announced for May 1, 2009), and then the band would compile the second album using ideas from the submitted versions from their fans, and share 50% of the royalties that come from its release with everyone who has contributed towards making it. The project is called "Dogs Die In Hot Cars is making Pop Nonsense” and is certainly a novel concept and the submissions and finished songs are now available on the band’s Facebook page.

The Golden Dogs are a pop-rock band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada that formed in 2000. Dave Azzolini is the songwriting force, supported by Jessica Grassia on keyboards, vocals, and percussion, and Taylor Knox (musician) on drums. The group released their debut, “Everything in 3 Parts,” and the single "Can't Get Your Face Out of My Head" was very popular in the indie music scene. The band enjoyed even more success with the release of their follow-up single "Yeah!" In 2006 the band followed up with “Big Eye Little Eye” with the single "Never Meant Any Harm" proving to be quite popular.

In 2008, the band had a busy year in the USA, touring with the likes of Feist, Sloan and Electric Six. As of late 2008, the Golden Dogs were currently recording their third studio album in Toronto. Expect great things from this band and more infectious music in the near future.

In part twenty-seven, we will continue our look at some of the indie bands that have made and are making a name for themselves in the music industry.

Band Of Horses Tidbits:

The band often draws comparisons to My Morning Jacket, largely due to the vocal similarities between Bridwell and My Morning Jacket lead singer Jim James, the occasional Southern rock tendencies that the two groups have in common and a penchant for glimmering reverb.

The band's current lineup includes Ben Bridwell, Creighton Barrett, Ryan Monroe and Tyler Ramsey, who also provides opening performances on tour, as well as bassist Bill Reynolds and guitarist Blake Mills.

In 2007, the band's song "No One's Gonna Love You" was played in the first season of Chuck, in the season 1 finale of 90210, and in the season 5 finale of Numb3rs. In 2008, they appeared in a Ford commercial for the company's new SYNC voice recognition audio control system.

Selected Cuts: Buy Band Of Horses Music:

2006 Everything All the Time
2007 Cease to Begin

Dogs Tidbits:

Dogs are: Johnny Cooke (vocals), Luciano Vargas (vocals, guitar), Rikki Mehta (guitar), Duncan Timms (bass guitar) and Paul Warren (drums).

Selected Cuts: Buy Dogs Music:

2005 Turn Against This Land
2007 Tall Stories From Under The Table

Dogs Die In Hot Cars Tidbits:

The band's name comes from a RSPCA campaign to advise dog owners not to leave their pets in hot cars and has often been a strong talking point of polarized views.

In an interview with U.S. Rolling Stone magazine, singer/guitarist Craig Macintosh mentioned that "Rolling Stone in Australia said it was the best band name in the history of rock & roll. But then the NME said it was the worst.”

Selected Cuts: Buy Dogs Die In Hot Cars Music:

2004 Please Describe Yourself

Selected Cuts: Buy Golden Dogs Music:

2003 Everything in 3 Parts
2006 Big Eye Little Eye

Robert Benson
Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates Collecting Vinyl Records, where you can pick up a copy of his FREE ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." You can also have your vinyl records appraised at Vinyl Record Appraisals

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