STREET DOGS: Beantown Punks Bringing it to Bamboozle
The Street Dogs Ready A New Album (and a slot at Bamboozle East)
by Jason Walsh

The Street Dogs, Boston's defenders of the working class, will be wrapping up their U.S. tour at the Bamboozle Festival in May. Featuring former vocalist and founding member of the Dropkick Murphys Mike McColgan, the Street Dogs hit the road in March with Anti-Flag, The Briggs, and Fake Problems. Their tour comes to end at the festival in East Rutherford, where they will be playing with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Anti-Flag, and the Bouncing Souls. With a new record to be released in July, McColgan says diehard fans will have something to look forward to this summer.

"I feel like it's gonna be mean," McColgan said. "There'll be musical stretches. It's like akin to a battle royal wrestling match with Thin Lizzy, AC-DC, Stiff Little Fingers, U2, TV on the Radio, Bloc Party, The Clancy Brothers. There's a lot going on in there, y'know."

Yet, McColgan assures that though they continue to evolve as a band, the messages and themes are still the same.

"We grew a little bit collectively, as a band musically, and stayed true to ourselves and what we do. It's unmistakably us and I feel like you're going to see eleven or twelve songs that are potent, impassioned, powerful, and it's going to be a great record."

The new album saw the Street Dogs working again with producer Ted Hutt, who collaborated with the band on their third release, "Fading American Dream."

"We're all collectively so grateful to have him in the mix," McColgan said. "He's amazing and he's helped us all collectively and individually in our performances. He's really made us a better band."

Bassist Johnny Rioux said working with Hutt is always an interesting experience. "He's a British guy and he'll be like 'check this Bloc Party track out,' and I'll be like 'Wow. Bloc Party. That's terrible. It's not my cup of tea.' He'll be like 'just listen to the drum beat.' and we'll be like, 'ok...check out the drum beat. All right, well, yeah, still not really into the song, but I can get something out of that.' You sort of try to draw influences from other places to make what you're doing sound unique and fresh and not be another band that's referencing The Clash or The Pogues."

McColgan said that the important thing for a band like the Street Dogs is to maintain their individuality and stay true to the roots that formed their sound.

"We've always strived like so hard to say, play, and do whatever we want," he said. "In the ethos of punk, at least from my perspective, has just been that. Have freedom musically and say and do what you want and not be beholden to what other people think."

The upcoming fourth release is still untitled, but Rioux said one of the new songs has drawn inspiration. "We have a track on the record called 'A State of Grace,' he said. "We found a painting, a really great old painting of a homeless guy drinking a bottle of booze. He's got a crown and a crowd hoisting him up. The painting really spoke to us I think as a group, but also in the context of the song. The lyrics in the song, that we're all searching for a state of grace, resonates heavily with the group, and I think the songs collectively, so we're leaning that direction."

While recording the new album, the Street Dogs had the opportunity to play with one of the bands that have influenced them all since childhood. The Pogues have inspired all the guys over the years and because of their recording schedule, they had to turn down a chance to play with the legends from Ireland.

"That tells you how badly we had to finish the album," Rioux said. "We had to say no to that. That sucked."

They have opened for the Pogues in the past and say you never know what to expect from mischievious frontman Shane McGowan.

"We played with them in 2006 at the Orpheum," McColgan said. "Shane is a character, y'know. You don't know what you're going to get. Is he gonna show, is he gonna be late, is he gonna know what he's singing? They showed up on time and they were right on top of it. It was a great show."

The Street Dogs not only have the new release on the way, but have also found a new home on Hellcat Records, a subsidiary of Epitaph. McColgan feels it was the most logical place for the band.

"It's a great place and they really let you have artistic control and do what you want. That's big for a band like us because we couldn't have a suit come in the studio and say 'play it like this so it can get played on the radio.' We gotta be able to do what we want to do."

McColgan is looking forward to getting the new record on the streets and having a new label to support the band has been rewarding as well.

"I can't wait to get it out there," he said. "It's good to be on a label that gets us and gets what we do and has a great roster and a lot of good recordings in its arsenal."

Rioux said he's excited about hitting the road and wants fans to be ready to throw down. "We're gonna expect more crowd participation and more singing along. If you don't find your CD before you come see the show at a record store, download that thing, steal the record, learn the songs, sing along, set off the pit, and have fun with us."

McColgan echoed the same sentiment about getting a hold of their music by any means necessary.

"Yeah, I mean, it's for the people, by the people, and of the people, and if you happen to find it floating around on your computer, by all means do what you gotta do. Yeah, and I did say that."