THE SUNDOGS
''BB GUN DAYS''
2004
50:36
1 Oasis 04:29
2 Wastin' Time 06:16
3 Sidewind 04:56
4 Foodhook 05:24
5 Glide 06:04
6 Recreation 03:22
7 Down 02:57
8 Greenfinger 03:54
9 My Last Drink 03:45
10 Long Gone 04:44
11 The Last Song 04:39
All Tracks By Lee & Will Haraway
REVIEW
By Harry McNeil/www.jambase.com
The Sundogs' BB Gun Days opens like a house on fire with the guitar blast of "Oasis" filling speakers with the same vintage rock n' roll sound as The Black Crowes' eye-opening Shake Your Money Maker.
The Atlanta, Georgia, quartet is led by two brothers, Lee and Will Haraway, who have written eleven songs on this independent release. The Sundogs also includes lead guitarist, Matt Ulmer and drummer, Kevin Leahy. Live, these musicians exhibit incredible energy and versatility by powering through straight-ahead rock and often launching into brilliant jams. The Haraways' melodic vocals mix as well as one might expect from two guys who have been singing together their entire lives, and BB Gun Days showcases this brotherly bond very well.
Several tracks in particular stand out on this well-rounded album: the boogie stomp of "Wasting Time," the laid-back groove of "Foodhook" and the peaceful, easy feeling of the instrumental, "Greenfinger," which features Lee Haraway on pedal steel. "Last Drink" offers simplicity reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo, and the Skynryd-esque rocker, "Long Gone," really gives Ulmer a chance to shine.
While these tracks are fantastic, the real pinnacle of BB Gun Days is the opener, "Oasis." In it, Lee Haraway's vocals and signature guitar riff convey a rock n' roll attitude throughout the cut while Ulmer blasts through his Wah Wah pedal. All of this is in perfect rhythm with Will Haraway's funky bass line and Leahy's powerhouse drumming. This dramatic tune is guaranteed to be responsible for many speeding tickets. "Oasis" absolutely rocks, but lyrically, the Haraways' best effort is "Last Song," a haunting ballad about death and loss that closes the record:
This is the last song before I go pack up my guitar
This is the last drink before I pour another for sure
Hear the last words on your lips
I feel I'm breathing slow
I'm walking around on my last legs
Or didn't you know
BB Gun Days is a terrific first effort for The Sundogs and a sign of great things to come.
**********
Album Notes
by cdbaby
The Sundogs stand together, a four piece band from Atlanta, GA that demonstrates what happens when Americana wrecks into Rock and Roll. What happens is songs driven by true words and backed by boot stomping and fist pumping tunes. Welcome to No Depression Rock and Roll. Check that. Welcome back to Southern Rock and Roll.
Southern brothers Will, on bass, and Lee Haraway, on guitar and pedal steel, whittle songs from stories and blood along with lead guitar Matt Ulmer; each takes turn giving voice to the tales that break your heart and piss you off or knock you up to a better spot. Veteran studio drummer Andrew Hanmer, now known by folks all over the South as an 8 day a week on stage musician, kickstarts the band into high gear. Pull your hat down a little farther, your boots up a little tighter and watch out for your women. The Sundogs.
This is music to tearass down backroads with your best girl, grinding the gears, trying to figure out if she’s still yours. Last night still pounds in your head as you shake it off, or you try to shake her off. These songs are a drinking buddy or a soundtrack to a DUI. Imagine Chris and Rich Robinson joining Faces in 1975. Make it now.
“People are scared to be Southern Rock these days. It’s become a bad word, a caricature of rebel flags, trucker hats, and big beards. That’s Southern Rock from ’72,” sneers Will Haraway. “Having a southern drawl doesn’t mean Lynyrd Skynyrd redone. Add a little more of the rock and roll slickness and not as much rootsy cornpolk. Shit doesn’t have to be Freebird.”
Instrument of Change, the second full length from the band, was recorded with Eli Akins (Badly Drawn Boy, Outformation) at Exocet Studios (Edwin McCain, Aquarium Rescue Unit) in Chamblee, Georgia, just up the road from Atlanta. According to The Sundogs, the album is just as much his as theirs. Honest to God, the album sounds just like the band does when doing what they do on stage.
Hell, a song is just a story amplified, and The Sundogs know how to spin a good song: George, the pot dealing surfer that lives with his mom…Elvis, living in Colorado, having adventures while sporting a handlebar… Getting kinky with your lady…Fathers and Sons, selling liquor and guns…Wild Rides…Modern Day Miracles.
Ask them and they’ll tell you that the perfect Sundogs’ show is a modern day Last Waltz, complete with Atlanta musicians and one of those ugly, grandiose chandeliers on a sold out stage.
“I’d love to hear the audience yelling back lyrics,” grins Matt Ulmer. “Maybe see a naked woman or two in the crowd.”
Guests on the album came real natural. Everyone who came in contact with the album contributed. That’s the way it works around here. Many Atlanta guests and even a couple of guys from New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen (Efrem Towns and Roger Lewis) add notes rounding out a sound that sweats blood. Old friend Benji Shanks adds some slide. Some stories sound better with backup singers. Enter new friends Nikki and Nina. Welcome back to Southern Rock.
The Sundogs birthed itself in Memphis, grew up in Mississippi, then found itself in Georgia. The name is an old Mississippi term that Achilles Haraway used when describing the sunrays that come through the clouds on a smoky day. That’s when you see them best.
“Southern Rock needs to get back an attitude instead of leaving it to assholes like the fucking Strokes who get 50% credit just because they're from NYC. Well we're from Atlanta, GA goddamnit, the capital of the new South and the absolute capital of Southern Rock.”
The release date for Instrument of Change is March 1st of 2007.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Jason Ankeny
San Francisco-based swamp rockers the Sundogs were led by violinist Tom Rigney, an alumnus of Queen Ida's Bon Temps Zydeco Band and Back in the Saddle. After mounting a solo career with 1989's Rigo, he formed the Sundogs with singer/rubboardist Joe Paquin, guitarist T.J. Politzer, bassist John Aughney and drummer Jimmy Hobson; introducing their fusion of rock, zydeco and blues on 1992's Howlin', the group resurfaced two years later with To the Bone. 1997's Heavy Petting earned "Cajun Record of the Year" honors from Cajun Times, and was followed a year later by Dancing Room Only; a seasonal EP, Bon Temps Noel: A Swamp Beat Christmas, appeared in 1999.
WEBSITE
TO THE TOP
''BB GUN DAYS''
2004
50:36
1 Oasis 04:29
2 Wastin' Time 06:16
3 Sidewind 04:56
4 Foodhook 05:24
5 Glide 06:04
6 Recreation 03:22
7 Down 02:57
8 Greenfinger 03:54
9 My Last Drink 03:45
10 Long Gone 04:44
11 The Last Song 04:39
All Tracks By Lee & Will Haraway
REVIEW
By Harry McNeil/www.jambase.com
The Sundogs' BB Gun Days opens like a house on fire with the guitar blast of "Oasis" filling speakers with the same vintage rock n' roll sound as The Black Crowes' eye-opening Shake Your Money Maker.
The Atlanta, Georgia, quartet is led by two brothers, Lee and Will Haraway, who have written eleven songs on this independent release. The Sundogs also includes lead guitarist, Matt Ulmer and drummer, Kevin Leahy. Live, these musicians exhibit incredible energy and versatility by powering through straight-ahead rock and often launching into brilliant jams. The Haraways' melodic vocals mix as well as one might expect from two guys who have been singing together their entire lives, and BB Gun Days showcases this brotherly bond very well.
Several tracks in particular stand out on this well-rounded album: the boogie stomp of "Wasting Time," the laid-back groove of "Foodhook" and the peaceful, easy feeling of the instrumental, "Greenfinger," which features Lee Haraway on pedal steel. "Last Drink" offers simplicity reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo, and the Skynryd-esque rocker, "Long Gone," really gives Ulmer a chance to shine.
While these tracks are fantastic, the real pinnacle of BB Gun Days is the opener, "Oasis." In it, Lee Haraway's vocals and signature guitar riff convey a rock n' roll attitude throughout the cut while Ulmer blasts through his Wah Wah pedal. All of this is in perfect rhythm with Will Haraway's funky bass line and Leahy's powerhouse drumming. This dramatic tune is guaranteed to be responsible for many speeding tickets. "Oasis" absolutely rocks, but lyrically, the Haraways' best effort is "Last Song," a haunting ballad about death and loss that closes the record:
This is the last song before I go pack up my guitar
This is the last drink before I pour another for sure
Hear the last words on your lips
I feel I'm breathing slow
I'm walking around on my last legs
Or didn't you know
BB Gun Days is a terrific first effort for The Sundogs and a sign of great things to come.
**********
Album Notes
by cdbaby
The Sundogs stand together, a four piece band from Atlanta, GA that demonstrates what happens when Americana wrecks into Rock and Roll. What happens is songs driven by true words and backed by boot stomping and fist pumping tunes. Welcome to No Depression Rock and Roll. Check that. Welcome back to Southern Rock and Roll.
Southern brothers Will, on bass, and Lee Haraway, on guitar and pedal steel, whittle songs from stories and blood along with lead guitar Matt Ulmer; each takes turn giving voice to the tales that break your heart and piss you off or knock you up to a better spot. Veteran studio drummer Andrew Hanmer, now known by folks all over the South as an 8 day a week on stage musician, kickstarts the band into high gear. Pull your hat down a little farther, your boots up a little tighter and watch out for your women. The Sundogs.
This is music to tearass down backroads with your best girl, grinding the gears, trying to figure out if she’s still yours. Last night still pounds in your head as you shake it off, or you try to shake her off. These songs are a drinking buddy or a soundtrack to a DUI. Imagine Chris and Rich Robinson joining Faces in 1975. Make it now.
“People are scared to be Southern Rock these days. It’s become a bad word, a caricature of rebel flags, trucker hats, and big beards. That’s Southern Rock from ’72,” sneers Will Haraway. “Having a southern drawl doesn’t mean Lynyrd Skynyrd redone. Add a little more of the rock and roll slickness and not as much rootsy cornpolk. Shit doesn’t have to be Freebird.”
Instrument of Change, the second full length from the band, was recorded with Eli Akins (Badly Drawn Boy, Outformation) at Exocet Studios (Edwin McCain, Aquarium Rescue Unit) in Chamblee, Georgia, just up the road from Atlanta. According to The Sundogs, the album is just as much his as theirs. Honest to God, the album sounds just like the band does when doing what they do on stage.
Hell, a song is just a story amplified, and The Sundogs know how to spin a good song: George, the pot dealing surfer that lives with his mom…Elvis, living in Colorado, having adventures while sporting a handlebar… Getting kinky with your lady…Fathers and Sons, selling liquor and guns…Wild Rides…Modern Day Miracles.
Ask them and they’ll tell you that the perfect Sundogs’ show is a modern day Last Waltz, complete with Atlanta musicians and one of those ugly, grandiose chandeliers on a sold out stage.
“I’d love to hear the audience yelling back lyrics,” grins Matt Ulmer. “Maybe see a naked woman or two in the crowd.”
Guests on the album came real natural. Everyone who came in contact with the album contributed. That’s the way it works around here. Many Atlanta guests and even a couple of guys from New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen (Efrem Towns and Roger Lewis) add notes rounding out a sound that sweats blood. Old friend Benji Shanks adds some slide. Some stories sound better with backup singers. Enter new friends Nikki and Nina. Welcome back to Southern Rock.
The Sundogs birthed itself in Memphis, grew up in Mississippi, then found itself in Georgia. The name is an old Mississippi term that Achilles Haraway used when describing the sunrays that come through the clouds on a smoky day. That’s when you see them best.
“Southern Rock needs to get back an attitude instead of leaving it to assholes like the fucking Strokes who get 50% credit just because they're from NYC. Well we're from Atlanta, GA goddamnit, the capital of the new South and the absolute capital of Southern Rock.”
The release date for Instrument of Change is March 1st of 2007.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Jason Ankeny
San Francisco-based swamp rockers the Sundogs were led by violinist Tom Rigney, an alumnus of Queen Ida's Bon Temps Zydeco Band and Back in the Saddle. After mounting a solo career with 1989's Rigo, he formed the Sundogs with singer/rubboardist Joe Paquin, guitarist T.J. Politzer, bassist John Aughney and drummer Jimmy Hobson; introducing their fusion of rock, zydeco and blues on 1992's Howlin', the group resurfaced two years later with To the Bone. 1997's Heavy Petting earned "Cajun Record of the Year" honors from Cajun Times, and was followed a year later by Dancing Room Only; a seasonal EP, Bon Temps Noel: A Swamp Beat Christmas, appeared in 1999.
WEBSITE
TO THE TOP
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