Posted June 15, 2008
The revolution that took place in the late 60’s and early 70’s in the United States, saw rock music become the conducive median that pulled together, bonded, inspired and empowered millions of youth to take on a system that had in their eyes become unjust. The revolution bears the faces of the leaders who took charge; Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers, Jerry Rubin of the Yippies, and John Sinclair, founder of the White Panther Party, Rainbow Peoples Party and manager of the most revolutionary band in American history, the MC5.
Unlike the leaders, the names and faces of the individuals who makeup the masses are usually lost forever. Lansing, Michigan, locals The Dogs - Lauren Molinare aka Laren Dog (vocals/guitar), Mary Kay (bass) and Ron Wood (drums) - were among those faces, who fought on the front line of the revolution next to the SDS, the Panthers and all the rest who wanted change. Their high energy songs tell the stories both past and present with impassioned pleas to stop corporate destruction, end the wars of greed and to expose the lies that control our very fate.
Before John Lennon had penned "John Sinclair" as a protest against the political imprisonment of John Sinclair, The Dogs had written their own now famous rallying cry titled, “John Rock and Roll Sinclair”. Though a classic and historic song, such noble efforts are often overlooked. The Dogs walked, and continue to walk arm in arm with their brothers and sisters in the struggles of the past and present.
Following the demise of the revolution, The Dogs left Michigan to become cofounders of the punk movements in New York and L.A. The Dogs' "Fed Up" and "Slash Your Face" are recognized as seminal songs of the punk era. From playing gigs with the MC5 to the Ramones, The Dogs were and are one of the most respected bands of the rock era.
All who listen recognize the purity of The Dogs spirit, and the uniqueness of their masterful simplicity, which is powerful, poetic and "strong like a Viet Cong". For this reason, Future Now Records has released "The Dogs Tribute . . . Doggy Style". A 26-band, two-CD package with a 28-page booklet containing liner notes by John Sinclair, never before seen photos, artwork by Rockin' Jellybean, and amazing unreleased recordings of The Dogs from the height of the revolution.
To mark the release and a tour of Japan by the reformed Dogs in December 2007, we're reprising an interview conducted with singer/guitarist LAUREN DOG for the "Fed Up!" CD compilation of songs by The Dogs (Dionysis). These words were asked in 1999 but they put The Dogs and their place in rock roll in context.
`D’ J: Would you talk about your high school daze, where you went and if you were involved in any bands?Loren `Dog’: I went to the same high school as Magic Johnson, Everett High School in Lansing, Michigan. It was the late 60’s. I barely graduated in 1970, the same year as that great Stooges song. In those daze I was a wallflower, not a jock, not a stoner, not a greaser, just a shy kid, a fan of Rock and Roll. All my friends were totally into drugs, but I really wasn’t at that point. I was into politics, the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society).
`D’ J: What was the music scene like at that time? Which bands were you into and what influences did they have on you?
Loren: It was a great time in Michigan in those years. My favorite bands were the MC5, the Stooges, Amboy Dukes, Alice Cooper, Jimi, Stones, but, the Detroit sound made me who I am today. I think the Amboy Dukes were the first Detroit band I saw that blew me away. Then I started getting MC5 and Stooges records, also the Frost. They were a huge influence on my playing and attitude. Where most people said Eric Clapton was god, to me it was Wayne Kramer. The MC5 were the badest motherfuckers on the planet to me then and now.
`D’ J: How did the Dogs come together; what gelled and inspired your creativity and sound?
Loren: Well, I was playing with a drummer all through Junior High, a guy named Art Phelps. In 10th grade we met Mary Dryer the bass player, and we started the Dogs in 1969. She played like Jack Bruce from Cream and I thought I was Pete from the Who. We didn’t know what we were doing for a while, but we did get it together. I wanted the band to be like the Stooges and the MC5, using Marshall amps, making a statement and playing real fucking loud. We wanted to make a difference. Art quit the band and we brought in Ron Wood on drums. He was a real hoodlum, juvenile punk. That’s when we really turned into the Dogs. We had a band house, took drugs. All there was to do was go to gigs, smoke dope and play rock and roll.
`D’ J: Would you talk about John Sinclair, the MC5 and how the Dogs’ classic song “John Rock” came to be and why?
Loren: Well, we thought John was like the high priest of our society, “the high society,” manager of the 5, and the whole Detroit scene. But, when he got arrested and went to jail there were benefits to raise money for the legal defence fund and we the band, the Dogs wanted to be a part of that, but, his Rainbow Party people would never let us play. We thought John (once he got out of jail) was turning into the people he was fighting, the cops, politicians, and the feds. So, we were a mutant backlash from suburban Lansing saying, “we had to free his mind back to Rock and Roll.” Plus, he was bad rappin’ the MC5, so we thought, “fuck you.” But deep down inside we really liked him. We opened for the MC5 when Back In The USA came out. We were a punk backlash to the counter-culture he started in the Motor City.
`D’ J: Spin magazine voted “Slash Your Face” as one of the Top 10 punk rock songs of all time. How does that feel?
Loren: Ah yes, Spin magazine. I think it was a real honor to get picked for that song, “Slash Your Face.” It’s a powerful slice of attitude like, “who the fuck do you think you are to think any of us are better than the next man, and we aren’t going to take it lying down.” So, “you better lock your door, cause we can’t take it anymore.” Oh Yeah.
`D’ J: I love the guitar work on “Younger Point Of View,” and the words really tell me a lot about the band’s thinking. You mentioned before that Rhino Records had decided to put a different version of that song on their “D.I.Y. – L.A. Punk Scene Compilation.” What’s your point of view? (couldn’t resist!)
Loren: Rhino used a 4-track version of the song from the “John Rock” single. They had used a different version for the “Saturday Night Pogo” compilation record released in 1978. I liked that one better; it was recorded at the Record Plant in L.A. on 24 track, killer sounding!
Mary Kay and Lauren Molinare circa 2007`D’ J: Could you talk about the Mabuhay in San Francisco (later the On Broadway) and the live recording the Dogs did there?
Loren: Well, the whole Mabuhay recording came about because of Lou Bramy who was not only our manager, but, also managed Journey and the Y&T, which was a hard rock band from the Bay Area in the late 70's on London records. Lou was a S.F. kingpin manager type. He rented the Record Plant 24 track mobile unit which sat outside for two nights of recording. The “Mab” was the first new wave andpPunk club in San Francisco and was managed by Dirk Dirkson, a funny guy who looked like a middle-aged school teacher, very smart and a smart ass. He liked the band, and the crowds were into spitting and throwing popcorn and beer cans at us. I remember dodging stuff. The first song was “Sleaze City,” which was about L.A., how people come here with all of their dreams, and how the city has a way of making those “dreams fade like a pair of jeans.”
`D’ J: On “Slash Your Face” and some of the other songs the band simultaneously breaks into different directions with different beats, riffs and bass lines for short spirts before returning to the original score (a sort of Beefheartian thing). Would you talk about this aspect of the Dogs’ songs?
Loren: Well, sometimes we got a little too much of being on drugs and trying to do innovative stuff. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
December 1971 handbill`D’ J: Would you talk about the Dogs’ songwriting process?
Loren: Most, or, all of the songs came from me. I usually came up with a riff and we jammed. Mary and Ron would add some input, or, I came in with a complete song idea in place. Even though I came in with 99% of the songs, we had a communist way of putting them together. It was a righteous experience.
`D’ J: I really like “Years Gone By” because the music and words really strike a deep chord. Would you talk about the meaning of this song and the brilliant breakdown in the later part of the song?
Loren: God this is a soul scorching statement of a song. When I first thought about this song I imagined Pink Floyd with Sid Barret meets the Ramones, so, musically that’s what we did, with a little Black Sabbath in the middle breakdown.
`D’ J: Songs like “Slave To Fashion,” “Fed Up,” and “Younger Point Of View,” have hard-hitting social commentaries. Would you talk about the political aspect of the Dogs?
Loren: Those kinds of songs are social observations about how corporate thinking stinks because peoples’ needs are second to the almighty dollar or, how certain political mindsets are repressive and offensive to humans. I mean, the master race kind of thing just never fuckin’ stops, so we wrote about a lot of human injustices.
`D’ J: What were some of the other bands you use to play with in L.A.?
Loren: We used to play with the Motels, the Pop, the Quick, Van Halen, Berlin Brats, Rubber City Rebels, Ramones, AC-DC.
`D’ J: Why did the Dogs call it quits?
Loren: Well, I guess we, I mean myself was disillusioned, when we came back from the English tour of 78-79 we couldn’t get a gig in LA.
‘D’J: Do you have any unreleased Dogs material in the can?
Loren: I have the whole live Mabauhay tapes from which only a few songs have been released.
`D’ J: What have Mary and Ron been doing since the Dogs broke up? Are they still involved in music?
Loren: Mary is playing in an LA band called Kanary, they have a CD out. Ron is back in the Lansing area. He’s not playing, just hangin’ out.
`D’ J: Would you talk a bit about your other bands Little Caesar and Attack?
Loren: Well, Little Caesar was a Sunday afternoon jam band that got real big quick and signed to Geffen Records. Attack is just the Dogs with a new drummer and more of an American Rock and Roll sound.
`D’ J: Are you involved with any music projects currently? Have you played live around L.A. recently, or, do you have any plans to?
Loren: I haven’t played live in awhile. I jammed with Paul Ill and Carrie Hamilton from our old band Gilt Lily, but I don't think anything will happen with that. I am dying to start playing again, just haven’t found the right people and time to do it.
‘D’J’: Have you ever written a Xmas punk rock & roll song?
Loren: No, I never have. It’s an interesting idea. I love Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run.”
READ THE REVIEW OF DOGGY STYLE
READ THE REVIEW OF THE DOGS' JAPAN TOUR
