By JOHN DALY
The DoGs have released the ripping new track “Under The Coast,” accompanied by a killer video directed by Frank Meyer blending hot surf action with rebel Rock ‘N’ Roll.
“Under The Coast” captures the trademark sounds of the Detroit outfit’s legacy and spins it all forward into a modern take on current society.
“Under The Coast” is released just in time to stoke spring fever in beachgoers and rock music lovers across the country. If there was ever a time to hit the beach with rockin’ sounds it’s now, and The DoGs live up to their legendary reputation with this latest track.
“Under The Coast” is produced by Richard Duguay and released on Chicanery Chick + Die Laughing Records and Golden Robot Records. The DoGs are Mary Kay on bass, frontman-guitarist Loren Molinare and drummer extraordinaire Tony Matteucci, and Frank Meyer gets a featured spot on the track and shares vocals and guitar duties, in addition to directing the video.
“Frank and I go way back,” said Molinare. “His band The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs and The DoGS have been in the trenches of the Rock ‘N’ Roll wars for years together, playing cutthroat gigs side by side. We had always talked about collaborating on a song one day. Then right at the beginning of the pandemic, Frank texted me and asked if I was recording at home at all. I told him I just had a few riffs in my phone, but I’d send them over. Next thing I knew he took them into GarageBand and wrote a full realized song around all my parts! And it was a really strong song.”
“Loren sent me these killer riffs that had a punk thing going on but also had this power-pop meets surf rock twang to ‘em,” Meyer said. “Since society was just starting to fall apart with the pandemic and riots, I started writing about that. But I wanted the vibe to be kind of happy like ‘Hey, the world’s falling apart around us and the apocalypse is near, so let’s head to the beach and surf!’ Sort of a West Coast punk rock take on Prince’s ‘1999’ in a way.”
So Molinare took the demo to The DoGs — bassist Mary Kay and drummer Tony Matteucci – to work it up and all the trio gathered at Pawnshop Studios with producer Richard Duguay to cut the tracks, sending Meyer the mixes to record his vocals from his home studio since Southern California was on lockdown at the time.
“It’s a strange time and Loren and Frank did a great job of capturing the tension and hypocrisy in the air these days,” said bassist Mary Kay.
Formed in Lansing, Michigan in 1968, The DoGs started as proto-punk band playing alongside The Stooges, MC5, and KISS before eventually moving to Los Angeles in 1976 and joining the ranks of the emerging west coast punk scene.
The trio has appeared on the Killed By Death compilation and the notorious “Slash Your Face” 7-inch single cemented the band’s “way-ahead-of-it’s-time” status. After a breakup, the band reformed to release the 2000 Compilation Fed Up album Suburban Nightmare on Dionysus Records and have been going strong ever since.
Die Laughing Records will also issue ‘Under The Coast’ on vinyl later this year as the B-side to The Dogs’ previous digi-single “Welcome to the Revolution.”
Follow The DoGs on Facebook.
Check out ‘Under The Coast’ here: