The assignment was simple in theory. Go to Wimbledon Watershed to see a band called Dogs, and interview them. Fine I said. All the while knowing that Dogs have been one of my favourite bands of the last 5 years, that I own both of their albums and listen to them religiously, that I know all the words to their songs. Or at least claim to know them, a claim that will later be torn to shreds. Nervous? You betcha. There’s probably only a few bands I get geekily into, and Dogs are one of them.
The Northern Line is packed as usual with the grim faces of those people who go home on a Friday night, rather than venture out into the neon wilderness. At some point a man gets on, and announces, “Murray’s lost, folks.” No reaction. How typically English. A beautiful day, the prospect of a weekend of whatever you fancy, but people can’t be bothered. I wasn’t expecting anyone to burst into tears, or whoops of delight, but something – anything – would be better than the godawful silence of the English. I’m cheered by the fact that I plan to be anything but silent tonight.
Unless you are looking for it, you might miss Wimbledon Watershed. Despite the fact I am looking for it, I somehow walk straight past it and end up in the pub next door. A bit of Dutch courage, I tell myself, before wondering just what it is the Dutch need so much courage for. Their only worries are constant rain and the worldwide recession affecting the manufacturing of clogs. I order a Jack Daniels and Coke, wincing as I hand over £3.45. Are times that bad?
The plan is to meet them at Watershed at about 8. I finish my drink, step outside and see the Watershed on the right, wondering just how I missed it. I’m the first one in, closely followed by a girl who was waiting outside. The Watershed is fairly small, the bar area is probably the size of a rich man’s living room, and the live area not much bigger. The girl from earlier is standing at the entrance to the live area, waiting patiently. Must be a die-hard fan. My phone buzzes, and it’s Rikki, the lead guitarist. They are eating at the pub next door, and will give me a call when they are done. No problem. I wonder how many times I call him ‘mate’ in the 30 second conversation.
I go back to the pub about 20 minutes later. There at the bar is singer Johnny Cooke, flabbergasted at the price of a double vodka and Red Bull, which is the best part of 9 quid. “We’re not even in Mayfair!” I make my introduction, meet Rikki too, and head out to the car park for the interview where it’s quiet. There’s nowhere to sit, so we just stand in the sunshine. Both are in good spirits, eyeing up the posh cars around us.
Just so you know…
GS=GOBSHOUT
JC=JOHNNY COOKE
RM=RIKKI MEHTA
GS: So where’s the best place you’ve played so far?
RM: Well, my favourite gig that we’ve played is ULU, end of 2005.
JC: Was it that long ago? With Weller?
RM: Yeah, when he supported us. We’ve played some really nice venues, like Caird Hall in Dundee.
JC: I can’t remember that! 100 Club’s always good to us, we always sell that out and have a proper riot in there. I would say 100 Club and where Weller supported us at ULU, they’re our top gigs.
GS: Speaking of Weller, you’ve been on tour with him, how did that come about?
RM: He just liked our music, he got his people to call our people.
JC: He’s like that though, isn’t he? He’s a proper old gent.
GS: I’ve stood next to him randomly at a gig in Islington, he was quite… orange.
(Laughs.)
RM: Yeah he can be! When he goes on holiday!
JC: He looks more orange against the grey hair! He’s a fucking lovely guy, he really supports the young breeds, you know, that’s his thing. He’s about nothing else but fucking music, he’s so passionate about it.
GS: Has it been a highlight?
RM: Yeah definitely, to you (JC) especially.
JC: To me it was ridiculous, because I grew up with my big brother playing The Jam all the time, In The City was one of the first records I ever bought. I remember the first time we saw him, we were soundchecking and Paul just came in, strutted in, you could see him in the distance, he sat on a chair in the middle of this enormous place with about 5000 people. I could barely fucking speak! I thought I’ve got to get over there and speak to him, and it took an eternity to get to that chair, and he was nothing but a bloody gent, we love him to pieces, he’s been good to us. Plus he played piano on a track on the second album. (Let It Lay)
GS: It’s festival season, you’re playing Secret Garden Party and Brightlingsea. If you could headline any festival, which one would it be?
JC: Glastonbury, without a doubt, it’s been a dream, I’m disgusted we haven’t played there yet, it’s an outrage!
GS: Have you been there as fans?
JC: Yeah, I haven’t been since you can’t bunk over the wall though. I would pay for it, I’d go, but I’d be a bitter resentful bastard. I’d just think, “why the fuck aren’t we playing?”
RM: I hate watching them on TV if we’re not playing.
JC: Secret Garden, we’ll probably camp out after the gig and enjoy ourselves like punters. But Glastonbury…
GS: Maybe one day.
RM: You never know.
JC: I think it’s gotta be happening, it’s got to.
RM: We’re a good enough band to, we know that.
JC: I dunno about headlining, but we just want to play it, it’s an unticked box that needs ticking.
RM: We’ve done most of the other ones, apart from Latitude.
JC: I’d like to go to Benicassim, though we’re getting a nice bit of sun here at the moment!
GS: What are your views on the current music scene? Has this been a good decade for music?
RM: I’m not into all this electro bullshit at the moment, like Little Boots, Lady Gaga. Really like Florence & The Machine though.
JC: I’m big on Friendly Fires, I absolutely love that album. We’re all big on Kings Of Leon’s Because Of The Times, such a great record, not so much the last one. Since The Strokes, there’s been so many good bands, they really sparked a revolution. Obviously there’s a lot of chaff amongst the wheat, but if you get enough people making music there will be good shit around, but have to look carefully.
GS: You’ve started to write for the next album, how’s that coming along?
JC: Really well
RM: It really started coming together when Rich the old drummer left, and Paul came in. He’s a really amazing drummer
JC: A phenomenal drummer. He’s enabled us to make tangible ideas that we couldn’t do because, well, Rich wasn’t good enough I have to say. We’re going for a huge sound…
A guy from the Watershed appears, telling us that the band will be on 15 minutes later.
JC: Well that’s messed with my drinking! I’ll be over the 45 minute limit now.
RM: In the beginning we were fucking wrecked every night. We’d be wrecked before we played, and after even more.
JC: It was stupid in hindsight. We’ve played the rock n roll game all wrong really!
RM: You live and learn... what was the question?
JC: Oh yeah, the album. The new songs are shaping up really well, I think we’ll be playing 6 new songs tonight. We’ve also got the computer side sussed out. The first 2 records kind of established us as a 5 piece rock band, there was some piano on Turn Against This Land, but the new album we want to be dangerous, experiment with other sounds. We’ve been looking at strings, drones, all sorts.
RM: It’ll be like another dimension to our sound.
JC: We just need a producer to do our big, adventurous sound justice. Our music’s always been gutsy, ballsy and anthemic. And there’s great drumming, we can do whatever we like now, there’s no handicap. We could say, “Why not try speed metal?” And we can. The only limit is our imagination now.
RM: It’s nice to have an amazing drummer, it really has changed everything.
JC: We’ve all had to step up our game as well. I’m even doing “Ma ma ma ma’s!” and everything now.
RM: Everyone’s really positive, everyone’s chilled out. It’s a good place to be in.
JC: This new record will be, like, our opus, the definitive moment in this band. If it’s not, we might as well kick ourselves in the shins, it fucking has to be. If a producer can do what’s in our heads justice, if they do it’ll be a winner. There’s a few more tunes to write, you know how it is, some end up as B sides. You think that your latest tune is the best tune, but then you write more new ones and that song that you thought would be the opening track has been usurped by everything new.
RM: It’s hard to judge it.
JC: To us its fucking good, the best we’ve done. I think Tuned To A Different Station and London Bridge are our best so far.
RM: I really like Red too.
GS: Have you played and of the new ones recently?
JC: Yeah, something went a bit wrong in Southport, but generally it’s been good. When I Threw Stones is a bit of a cracker, we’re not playing it tonight though. Groove Armada want to remix This Sorry Scene, they’re busy at the moment, but it will be nice to hear, for them to get their hands mucky in our stuff.
(laughs)
RM: That sounds a bit wrong!
GS: Who designed the Dogs mask?
RM: That was Rich, the ex drummer. It served a purpose I s’pose.
JC: It came off the album cover. When we started, I didn’t care about merch, if we had merch we’d give it to the fans, that’s how left wing I was, now we rinse fans for every penny! Only joking. All profits go to keeping us in game you know, studios, recording, otherwise we’re fucked.
GS: If you weren’t in music, what would you be doing?
RM: Sales.
JC: I’d like to be David Attenborough, an anthropologist, going to hot climates looking at small animals. Well that’s what I’d want to do, but I’d probably be driving a van.
GS: We’re in Wimbledon, have you watched any of the tennis?
JC: Yeah, bit disappointed that Murray lost. I like him, he’s moody cunt, but he’s gutsy. He’s different to Henman. Henman had no bollocks.
RM: He needs to step up his game though, obviously, cos Roddick beat him!
JC: I’m not big tennis fan, it’s just something that you watch in summer, like The Ashes are starting soon, anything really to distract you from life.
GS: Had any strawberries and cream, or Pimms?
JC: No cream, don’t really like it, or Pimms.
RM: I’ll drink it if its there!
GS: Other than yourselves, who are the best dogs in history?
JC: Lassie and Rin Tin Tin, I dunno why Rin Tin Tin, I’ve never seen it. My dog Bailey is the best, I miss him. My missus bought him, paid for all the vet stuff, but we’ve broken up since, and she kind of got custody of him. I get visiting rights, the odd sleepover! But he’s a flat faced legend, I love him so much, so him. I get all schmaltzy about dogs, they’re adorable creatures, lolloping, friendly bastards. That’s why we’re called Dogs.
RM: My dog from childhood, he was a big fucker. A cross between an Alsatian and a deer. He was on the first album cover, he had 42 teeth.
JC: White Fang? Buck from Call of the Wild?
RM: Hooch!
JC: We’re just naming dogs now! All dogs. Apart from the staff’s that chase my Bailey round the park. They’re little cunts.
GS: You mention astronomy in a few of your songs…
JC: Do I? Astronomy is on These Days. I despise astrology, but adore astronomy.
GS: Do you think that when Patrick Moore finally snuffs it, you could be the new faces of The Sky At Night?
JC: I’m not as clued up as Patrick, enough to impress a bird at the most. It’s a sublime universe out there, I’d love to understand it all.
GS: My favourite Dogs lyric is “Darling I’ll bring you flowers, then I will burn your house down…
JC: Actually it’s firewood, not flowers.
Please return your seatbacks to their full upright and locked position. I’ve only had that lyric as my MSN name for the last few years or so. Whoops.
JC: SO many people get it wrong! Maybe it should be flowers. There’s a girl who does films and cartoons who’s a fan, she dedicated website to us, she called it illbringyouflowers.com I think. She posted it on our Myspace, she kind of based her whole career on this lyric, and it was wrong. Flowers works equally as well. It’s a metaphor for the inevitable ruin of all things good.
GS: What do you like to do when you go on tour? Any routines?JC: We like to rate albums, that’s good. We were in Glasgow, and we had Wet Wet Wet…
RM: Fucking hate them!
JC: Basically the album with the lowest score of day got thrown out of the window, and it was Wet Wet Wet, thrown out in Glasgow just to rub it in. We try to read too.
GS: Tuned To A Different Station was on Burnout Revenge, do you ever play that?
JC: I think we got to play it once, we play a bit of Pro Ev, but usually nothing works.
RM: Usually the monitors are shaking too much!
JC: We usually kip if we’ve been up all night before.
RM: There’s no real routines, only before a gig, like making sure you don’t drink too much, especially when people move the goalposts and put you on 15 minutes later!
I wrap it up, and wish them good luck for tonight. Not that they need it at all. Before the band come on, there is a chorus of “We are the Dogs” from a small section of the crowd. There are whispers in the crowd, and pointing towards the front. I hear the name “Weller” more than once, but from my vantage point of 5ft 9ins I see nothing. If the man is at the front, then he undoubtedly gets caught up in the disorder that begins as soon as the first song 'Soldier On' starts. Instantly there are bodies throwing themselves everywhere, young and middle-aged alike, and it stays that way from start to finish. The atmosphere is electric. It’s a great way to start, it’s one of their best songs, everyone is shouting along and it’s a brilliant feeling. Dogs excel at mod-rock anthems and stories. You wouldn’t think that 'Into The Garden' is a new song, such is the tightness with which it’s played. The guys were right earlier – straight away it’s obvious just how good they are live. Not many bands could get away with chucking out two new songs in the first three, but '20 Odd Wrongs' is a bit of a blinder. 'End Of An Era; has the whole crowd chanting ‘What A Wanker!’ which is a part of the song, honest. It’s like being at a football match, only better.
'These Days' is like an ode to Bonnie & Clyde, frantic yet love-soaked. “You’re face as pretty as astronomy” I still find pretty poignant. Winston Smith is one of their ‘nicer’ songs, but before you can say aww, 'London Bridge' kicks in, and you’re jumping about like a loon. It’s musically and lyrically outstanding, and the crowd laps it up. Yet again Dogs test limits, throwing out three new songs in a row, but no-one seems to care. The new songs are 'Please Don’t Let It Be You', 'God Is Dead' and 'This Sorry Scene'. They also improve in quality in that order, the first being classic Dogs fare, and the last two being the anthems that the boys spoke of in the interview. 'This Sorry Scene' is especially first rate. 'Dirty Little Shop' brings everyone bang up to speed, and 'By The River' has everyone enthralled. 'Tuned To A Different Station' only exists to blow everyone away, and I learn that not only is it my favourite song, but seemingly everyone else’s as well.
The encore is led with new song 'I Want You To Know', and it’s another solid addition. All of the 6 new songs played tonight have really been tremendous, I can’t stress it enough. 'Tarred & Feathered' turns into a mass singalong as well, and the set is closed with 'Forget It All', something that I doubt I will until the Alzheimer’s kicks in. It’s been a superb night, and its back on the Northern Line to get the train home from London Bridge. From which, you know, it’s not such a bad sight after all.
Posted In Features, Jul 13 2009.
Words - Paul