Band: Family Dog
From: Nashville, Tennessee
Their formation story:
(O, vocals): "On a night in the town I casually brought up in conversation to a long-time friend and our guitarist Dane about starting a band. This is my first band ever, with no musical experience prior so I said it in a very few-beers-in-tongue-in-cheek-not-really-gonna-happen way. To my surprise he responded with enthusiasm.
"A week or so later I came over to his place and we listened to hardcore for probably 3-4 hours straight. We were dancing and punching air in his studio space the whole time. I strictly remember putting on Infest's No Mans Slave and just saying to him repeatedly, over and over and over again 'this is the fucking shit I want to make man.'
"We wanted to capture this idea of eternal flagellation. We bounced names off each other for a while, and our pal JM came downstairs and said 'What about Family Dog?' It felt fitting. We floated the idea to friends, had a lineup change, and the band just sorts fell into place."
Their sound in their own words:
"We are drawing from a lot of places. Most importantly, we wanted to emphasize making the kind of punk we want to hear: early '80s DC hardcore, swedish d-beat, Japanese crust, early post-hardcore. Bands like Totalitar, Infest, Framtid. Ceremony is a huge one. All of these we draw from.
"We created a lot of limitations for ourselves because we wanted to sound fresh and really challenge the current 'clean' sound of hardcore. (Don't think I am trying to dunk on beat down, I love that shit)."
Latest release info:
"Our bassist Dan put it best one practice when he said it feels like we're flying by the seat of our pants. Writing was mainly spontaneous creating with minimal overthinking, and when we crossed that line we would stop and say 'fuck it, why are we sugar coating this.'
"Our music was based largely off of making angry shit without using too much downtuned guitar. A lot of feeling, not thinking was involved. For me, writing this EP felt like catching lightning in the bottle. It seemed that everything we did rocked. Simple as.
"Lyrically, I wrote all everything when I was in a really dark place. I felt regret. Animosity. Lack of control. I wanted to convey the feeling of ripping out your hair and wailing inches away from someone's face and not letting them pull away until they understand how truly messed up you are. At the time, it was a cry for help. I never expressed myself artistically, ever - so I hope that cuts through but who knows.
"I also draw from a lot of books I read. City of Lost Things is based on Paul Auster's novel, In The Country of Last Things. It's one of the bleakest depictions of mankind, and honestly one I can see happening in the far future."
Future plans:
"We are taking a break from playing at the moment to begin writing for our next EP. It's going to be faster. We finished a weekender back in January and had a lot of fun, and ready to get back on the road again."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Our bassist is in another band called Soot. Southern Gothic proto-metal. It's insane. Other TN/Nashville artists you should check out: Human Shield, Total Wife, Celltower, thisisit.stalingrad. Autolith made one of my favorite albums last year."
Family Dog on social media: Instagram
Tagged: family dog
