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Yard Dogs Road ShowPosted by: admin in Music 2 Comments

Yard Dogs Road show: yard dog is an old railroad term the hobos used, and the band started as sort of a

3 person jug-band- one of the main players had been traveling the road for a while, riding the rails, and

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wrote a book about it (Hobo, by Eddy Joe Cotton) so that was all pretty big influence in the beginning….

and well, we were a road show, of the old traveling snake oil variety, with lots of acts.

What set us apart was what also made us hard to describe: the yard dogs were a show-powered band or a

band-powered show, we were never sure which, but the marriage of the two aspects made for a

phenomenal event, with many acts flowing seamlessly together from one to the next. There were around

13 people on stage- a full band: drum, bass, guitar, trumpet, trombone, accordian, plus home-made

junkyard rhythm kits nailed to old suitcases, whistles and bells, turkish banjos, kazoos, jugs and

washboards, plus 3 dancing girls- but like vegas showgirls from the 40s, all dancing together… each player

had their own act or moment to shine…. there was sword-swallowing, belly-dancing, fire-eating…. but we

came from the bay area of san francisco where everyone was so jaded and had seen it all… so we had to

make it funny- put a twist on it- so the sword-swallowing became a spaghetti western spurned love story,

the fire-eating was a mad maharaja from india with his fire demon dancers, the ‘queen of pineapple land’

danced a mambo and sang while the girls tapdanced lbusby berkely style with giant gold coins…. our

magician swallowed a long long balloon, pulled acres of ribbon from his mouth, and turned it into a live

chicken. We ranged through the emotions- got real intimate, and by the time the finale rolled around with

the girls doing an epic white feather fan dance while i sang, we had the audience crying a little and leaving

feeling like they, too, could do whatever their heart’s truly desired. That was really the thing that folks

responded to; that sense of do it yourself. Here we were, just some kids, playing giant festivals, refusing to

pick a genre, difficult to be labeled. it was obvious we had all created this thing together, and were in love

with doing it, and were bringing it to share the excitement. There was a lot of energy, of power there, and

love.

We have currently been on hiatus for the last 2 years, the last show we played all together was the Floyd

Fest in floyd county, virginia. Our trumpet player is also a film maker, so this past while he has been

working on a full-length film about the Yard Dogs Road Show, compiling footage spanning the last 15

years. It is very very close to being done…. yarddogsroadshow.com (or on facebook)

https://www.facebook.com/yarddogsroadshow?fref=ts will surely announce the release.

I guess i talked about genre, or lack of one earlier….. circus psychedelic rock n roll …. shoot i give up.

because all us were the leaders, and every one had a different ideal, i’m sure had our own personal

heroes that we looked up to. I am sure that a lot of people have dropped the name of the band to try and

pick up “chicks or dudes”

As far as touring with 15 people and a chicken….. it was like herding cats. slow moving, because everyone

had to have a say- but not even actually a democracy, so voting wouldn’t even be the deciding factor…

more like marathon talking-it-out sessions… i’d have to say we were a really special exception, i would

advice anyone else with a large group to have a definitive strong-willed leader and also a director. the fact

that we pulled it off for so long without any of that is simply amazing. Also, be prepared to never make a

living at it! For instance, when we made 10 grand, my cut, after everything was said and done, was 400

bones. The work day was really really long- we’d pull into a place at 2 pm, set up, sound check, tech check,

fix props/costumes, grab a quick meal, play a show, and probably not be done packing up and pulling

away until 4 in the morning. So patience, perseverance, willingness to work, more willingness to play…

hard, and a whole lot of love!

Can’t think of much more, except: I would encourage anyone to follow their dreams… you don’t have to

conform even in the music business to a set standard…… if you have the desire and the passion don’t let

anything stand in your way, especially your own doubts~

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2 comments

July 18, 2013 at 11:30 pm (Edit)

admin

Their live show is a must see. I strongly suggest seeing a live show of theirs.

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July 25, 2013 at 3:57 pm (Edit)

elunlipse

Love the material keep it up

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