Download:
VR Presents: Soulless Dogs (.zip file)
The seeds of the band were first sewn many years ago, when keyboardist Ben Shelton and guitarist George Dyer met and played music together on the first day of their freshman year at Duke. Since that dorm room jam, with the addition of drummer Rob DiMauro and bassist Brett Bowers, they have grown to become The Soulless Dogs, the hottest soul and big house blues band in the area.
While their influences span a wide spectrum of genres, the heart---and soul---of The Soulless Dogs comes from the soul/rhythm/funk of groups such as Booker T. and the M.G.’s, Steely Dan, and Stevie Wonder. After much debate, the band concluded that they could perhaps be best understood as the result of some mad scientist’s combination of Randy Newman, Frank Zappa, and Patsy Cline… with a few others thrown in as well. Vinyl Records is excited to present to you some of the first batch of songs recorded by the band since their first album. The Soulless Dogs, who started off as a cover band, are now becoming comfortable enough as a group to write and play the music that “we hear in our heads,” and which will only get better as they develop as a group. These tracks exhibit the unity the band has established through their countless hours together, a professionalism and synchronization that is often hard to find.
When I had the chance to meet up with the band in between recording sessions, Dyer and Bowers were working on perfecting their next song, DiMauro had been sent out for coffee, and Shelton was playing every instrument he could get his hands on, bringing fits of laughter with his impression of Mad TV’s impression of Randy Newman’s Star Wars Soundtrack. What immediately stood out about the band was their complete passion for music, rather than in any “scene”--and their immersion in all of its elements.
While each member brings their own specific set of influences to the overall sound of the band, just over the course of my time with them they made connections over artists they had both listened to. “All you listened to was Chuck Berry too!?! My parents had to make up stories that other artists were related to Chuck Berry just so I’d listen to something else---like that Bonnie Raitt was his sister.”
Just as they are excited about their influences, the band also dives deeply into the composition of their own songs. After one review years ago which claimed they “only knew one chord,” Ben Shelton worked to create a song with over 20 chords, and which still managed to groove. Their music may sound familiar, but the Soulless Dogs are not interested in “seeming cool” in an edgy way, and in fact feel honored that “old guys like us.” Many of the songs sound so “right” that it is easy to overlook the complexity of each song, which gives their music an added depth. Being able to use this complexity without creating music that sounds like it was made just to be “complex”, and which instead sounds like something you’d love to have playing for your backyard barbeque, is one of The Soulless Dogs great strengths.
Come check out the Soulless Dogs on Saturday, November 14th at Jack Sprat, and until then we at Vinyl Records hope you enjoy what you hear.
Download:
VR Presents: Soulless Dogs (.zip file)
You can also find out more about The Soulless Dogs on MySpace.
