The
Devil Dogs
This article originally appeared in NFH #18 in
the winter of 1990.
Without any apparent
warning the Devil Dogs have sprung out of nowhere. Well, maybe it's hyperbole to
call New York nowhere, but there sure as hell wasn't any indication that
there was going to be a record as good as The Devil Dogs coming out of the Big
Apple in the near term. Produced by Billy Childish of Thee Mighty Caesars, the lp
features buckets of loud, fat racy guitars and songs so dripping with brilliant
power pop hooks you'll think you've died and gone straight to heaven. There's
echoes of the balls-out style of Johnny Thunders, the Ramones, and the Sex Pistols,
but there's also a stronger pop feel than these bands, a combination that results
in a record that rates as one of the ten best of the year with no reservations.
Given the fantastic
quality of the end product, it's strange to hear the gyrations that went into the
making of the record. But the road through the studio was torturous...the band
leaving the studio wasn't even the same band as the one that went in. They started
out as the Rat Bastards, and played under that name for about a year. They recorded
under that name in November of 1988, but decided they weren't happy with the
results so the material wasn't released. In March of 1989 they went in for a second
try, and half way through the Rat Bastards were completely through; a guitar player
was jettisoned and his tracks on four songs were erased and redone as a new three
piece, the Devil Dogs, emerged from the studio in April clutching the scorching
master tapes for The Devil Dogs.
The Devil Dogs are
definitely not the stereotype New York band; they trash all regard for coolness and
looks and go for the sweat and the beer. And this makes them a lonely bunch in
Gotham. There's only a few other bands that they can feel any connection with.
"The Raunch Hands, we like them", says Steve Baise, the bass player.
"Those guys are good. But it's not really the same style. It's rocking, but
it's not the same." This is somewhat akin to acknowledging that piranha and
minnows are both fish. Guitar player Andy Gortler joins in: "Well, there's not
that many bands here that you'd want to play with; everyone's kind of hung up on
themselves. We're just having a good time partying and rocking and these guys
are doing their shit."
"The closest
thing to what we do that's really going on here is like a 60s garage punk scene
that goes on. But I'm not sure if it's dead or not. It's definitely dying, I know that.
But they're still around. And we'll play with those bands if there's a show, but we
don't really consider ourselves too much part of it."
"Yeah",
adds Steve, "'cos we don't get along with these people. They're all fucking
dicks! We're out there having a great time partying our asses off, rocking their
balls off, and they're in the shops getting their hair done, or in the antique
shops buying clothes."
"They don't like
to see you go up there and have a good time", says Andy.
That earlier Rat
Bastards recording session was also produced by Billy Childish, and he wrote three
songs for the band which all appear on The Devil Dogs. Because the Rat Bastards
didn't release their recordings, Childish subsequently used two of the songs,
"Pussywhipped" and "Suck The Dog" on records by Thee Mighty
Caesars. But the Devil Dogs absolutely overpower the versions done by the Caesars.
"Well, that's us and that's them...that's their style and the sound that they
get on record", says Andy, humbly.
Steve, who is 27,
played in other bands before the Rat Bastards, but nothing he regards as worth
mentioning. He met up with Andy, who is 22, when the Rat Bastards formed two years
ago. The third member is Paul Corio, who plays drums and wasn't present for the
interview. Steve says they've hit upon the recipe for great music. "There's
that rock and roll energy that formulates when the zippers unzip."
The Devil Dogs at
present are limited to playing the east coast. "We want to get out", says
Steve, "but it's like somebody says "come to California and play, we can
guarantee you $150", you know. It's a little more expensive than that. When we
were the Rat Bastards we drove to Detroit, and they told us it would be for
nothing, and we just went, you know. But you can't keep doing that."
"Yeah, we've
been doing stuff like that for a while", adds Andy, "but now we're just
going to go where it's going to be good to go. We're not going to go just on any
kind of whims or nothing. 'Cos now we've got the record."
Europe seems a
natural place for the band to try, since they drool at the sort of rocket fueled
guitar rock the Devil Dogs specialize in. Reviews there have been positive and
there have been several label inquiries. This fall they were due to have a split
record with the Raunch Hands on the Swedish Gaga Goodies label, and there's also
due to be a record with Dave Laing's Dog Meat record label in Australia. And Andy
says that this time the stuff is going to be real kick ass, not holding anything
back. I gulp nervously at the concept that The Devil Dogs represents some
form of holding back. The new stuff is going to be harder and faster?
"Yeah", says Steve. "Flies unzipped all the way!"
The new material will
also be available in the US on an expanded CD of The Devil Dogs, which was
due by the end of 1989. It's supposed to consist of a number of covers plus some
originals, the covers being included because the band didn't want to use all their
originals on records that weren't going to be released at home.
Talk turns to Johnny
Thunders and the fact that he's touring on the West Coast as we speak. Andy sounds
surprised: "He made it out there? One of our friends is roadying for him, and
we heard he got busted going across the border into Canada. Johnny was unconscious,
and they questioned that (laughs). There was a couple of months here when you could
see him every week at this place for free, and he'd just get up and make a fool of
himself."
"But that's
cool", says Steve. "I mean we still go, after ten years. It's always up
in the air...I mean is he going to go on, what's he going to be like? Is he going
to die tonight?"
The Devil Dogs
themselves play mostly at places like Maxwell's in Hoboken, the Continental Divide,
Wah Wah Hut, or the Strip. They like Maxwell's best. "They treat you good
there", says Andy. From my limited knowledge of New York they seem like a
natural for CBGBs, but though they'd like to play there, they haven't. "It's a
total showcase and you go there to get the record companies", Steve says.
"And we've already got one..we've got the best. My friends are on big label,
and they're getting dicked over."
I mentioned that I
had been there five years ago and that I thought the place was real divey, so it
surprised me to hear that it was regarded as a showcase club. "It's always
been really divey", replies Andy. "And as soon as the hardcore a couple
of years ago set in it really went down. Not that they're trying to make it any
better, but it's not that bad anymore."
There's not much
hardcore in New York anymore? "No", Andy says, "there's tons of it.
That's like the biggest thing here pretty much. It's really big. It used to be when
they first started doing hardcore matinees at CBGBs it was like a hundred people or
a hundred fifty people, that was a big day. Now you drive past there on a Sunday
afternoon and it's like there's people on every corner, tons and tons of people
everywhere."
"No hair",
moans Steve.
"No hair",
Andy concurs. "Well, they mix with that heavy metal crowd; speed metal and
thrash metal."
Despite their sense
of musical isolation, the Devil Dogs seem to be able to support a reasonable crowd,
although they say that it's hit or miss. They've never really had a bad turnout, but they
have taken a number of gigs primarily as a means to stay sharp that haven't been
real big. But when they play what they regard as a significant show where they work
to get a crowd, they usually get a big turnout. They also have a connection with
Portland, Maine, where they've played a number of gigs. That's about a six hour
drive one way for them, so they make it into a party weekend when they go up. The
fact that few other bands make it up there probably makes the crowds that much more
appreciative. Some other New York bands also make the trip, but, says Steve,
"There's a lot of bands that are big, but most of the bands around here, they
suck. The shit they're putting out is garbage."
There's not a lot out
there that the Devil Dogs think is worth paying attention to. Pressed to name other
bands they liked, Steve and Andy both cleared their throats repeatedly and mumbled
a lot before they finally could come up with the names of The Lazy Cowgirls and the
Hard-Ons. "We concentrate on what we're doing", Steve says. "I mean
it's nice to know what else is going on, but if something really was going on, we
would know."
If there's one thing
the Devil Dogs are all about, it's a good time. They're going to have fun, and if you're
not too hung up to join in, they'll be glad to have you along. Just don't try
nodding out while you're partying with them; one of their favorite pastimes is
getting friends stone drunk and then dressing them up in women's clothing. At which
point they grab the Polaroid and produce some embarrassing photos for when you wake
up. "But you know", Andy says, "we are kind of wacky guys, but we are
also very suave. Very tender, very gentle."
To which I reply:
"So track six on side one is you guys at your most tender?"
"Which track is
that? Oh, that's "Suck The Dog"", says Steve. "Yeah that's
us."
"We're
sensitive, you know", deadpans Andy.
Not to be taken in, I
allow as how I've been detecting that.
"We take a lot
of heat for it", laughs Steve.
Since there are other
even more sensitive types out there I wonder if they've ever been trashed in a
review for "Suck The Dog". "Well that's one of the ones that Billy
wrote anyway", says Andy, "so if anybody hassled us, we'd just send it to
him."
Steve: "All
complaints to Billy Childish, Box..."
"I'm not
responsible, all right?", Andy states flatly.
I believe him.
