DOG UGLY: Whoa... that was a road trip!

8 wrz 2009

Whoa... that was a road trip!

Here's a pic from Wroclaw, thanks to Cinnamon Girl! :) Poland was well-represented with Mike Gowin's band, Pavulon Twist and yours truly. The Czech band Slapdash really put on a show. I'll write more later, and post more pics, but one thing: Lukasz of Pavulon Twist, we're all proud of you for winning the Strong Man arm-wrestling contest!!! Arf!

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DOG UGLY--What do we play?

Dog Ugly plays strange, up-tempo rockabilly, surf and "motorcycle gang" music. Think "very weird Elvis" or Tarantino soundtrack music--or better yet, don't think at all and just come out to dance because everything we play is geared to the anti-wallflower, let's party crowd. Dog Ugly plays originals, as well as covers ranging from Reverend Horton Heat to Link Wray to Brian Setzer /Stray Cats to Dick Dale. For parties and the "less-niche" crowd, we'll throw in everything from Billy Idol to Creedence, Hendrix, the Doors and even The Cure. Strange but true--you got to make a living. UGH! Hope to see you soon!
Arf! Arf, Arf, Arf!

BAND HISTORY: What the @#R@$ is DOG UGLY?

We'll put a bit more on this later, but Dog Ugly has long, complicated and very strange beginnings. In short, two brothers, Leszek and Krzysktof Binkowski had long played the Warsaw bar scene with Arik the Mystery Drummer, backing various vocalists and guitar slingers ad nauseum. Pres Smith, a local journalist/musician had also fronted a number of bands, including The Ball, The Bone Box, The Bone Sale and later Hoodoohat (www.hoodoohat.com), which recently split up despite recording a (if we may say so ourselves) a stunning CD.

Although Hoodoohat played regularly for two years, it was known as a very, VERY loud band, which meant that some giggable joints simply were off the books.

Here's where one of our favorite supporters stepped in. The guys at Jimmy Bradley's Irish Bar (ul. Sienna 39) www.jimmybradleys.pl, and especially Kevin Bradley, a co-founder and manager of the bar, encouraged Pres to form a "more elastic" band that could handle both large and small venues--i.e. that could play loud when there was a crowd, but swing a bit quieter on a mellow night.

Pres, being the strange soul that he is, took the word "elastic" maybe a bit too literally and contacted the Binkowski brothers. A huge Brian Setzer and Reverend Horton Heat fan, Pres asked Leszek if he had ever considered rockabilly. Leszek, who is also quite a strange soul, replied:

'ROCKABILLY?' And here his eyes bugged out. He began turning in circles, maybe breathing a bit too hard. 'I've always wanted to play rockabilly.'

So we got it together: Pres Smith on vocals and a great, big Gretsch; Leszek Binkowski on backup vocals and a fiery Telecaster, Krzysztof Binkowski on bass and Arik the Mystery Man swinging on drums.

And off we went.

Well, actually, we didn't take it too seriously at first--in fact, we may put a couple of early cam clips up (or we may not), but the more we played, the more things gelled and suddenly we realized that 1) Hey, there's not stress and 2) Dang, for some reason we can actually do this--the psuedo-rockabilly thing-well.

Of course, the band is a bit too strange to play straight, old-timey rockabilly. Dog Ugly has already ventured into Brian Setzer and Reverend Horton Heat territory, as well as that of the Cramps and the Legendary Shack Shakers. Throw in a bit of surf --YES, WE ARE GUILTY! YES, WE HAVE DONE MISERLOU TWICE IN EACH OF OUR LAST THREE SHOWS, and you are just about there.

Likewise, if the situation calls for it, few bands can do that swampy, down-home, southern thing (think Run to the Jungle) and the odd, twisted country cover, the motorcycle club specials (think Born to Be Wild) or even the Jimi Hendrix, Voodoo Chile vibe (a bit twisted again, but hey, we can't help it) quite like Dog Ugly.

Hope to see you at our next gig!

ARF! ARF, ARF ARF!

8 wrz 2009

Whoa... that was a road trip!

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Cowabunga! Check out Dug Ugly's Cramps' and Stray Cats' covers!

CONCERT DATES

CONTACT DOG UGLY!

DOG UGLY--What do we play?

BAND HISTORY: What the @#R@$ is DOG UGLY?