What's on the A-list?

Let’s Go! When we set out to create the flow of music, from set #1 through sets #3 or #4, we try to consider who the audience might be, and what the vibe of the venue might be, on the evening of our show. There’s a choreography, of sorts, that any good music performance must navigate. This orchestrated “dance” might go something like this:

— start with a strong and compelling, “here we are, let’s have a great time tonight,” to…

— a tune so memorable and memory-evoking that people react with, “oh, man, I haven’t heard that song in forever!,” to…

— a toned-down and easy-going song or two, “danceable” for the left-feet-challenged folks and, then, back to…

— the high energy and serious “now, we’re ready to rock the roof off this place” sort of belt.

What’s In A Song?

Nawty Dawg, like any band, knows that to capture the attention and honest feedback of an audience, the music must resonate, the musicianship must be a cut above the norm, and the performance must hit them in a way that causes pause and reactions of, “damn, that sounds awesome; these guys (and gal) are pretty good!” Progressing as a band, in our musical chops and our tightness, we keep a future vision in mind, that our show should progress right along with us. This means that, in time, every set in our nightly repertoire will consist of songs that punch, songs that evoke energy, songs that evoke emotion, songs that show our vulnerability, and songs that cause audiences to remember us for the ways in which we performed or morphed the song to our own style. In other words, we’d like less and less of what might be called “vanilla tunes” to constitute our show, overall. After all, we are there to show we mean musical business; to show that we enjoy our time on stage, pouring our hearts into what we’re doing; and to show audiences that it’s okay to feel the feelings that music brings, and that they can be free to express what they love about that. What’s in a song? Anything and everything you want it to be.

Any Requests? As we play each show, as we have each practice in our studio space, as we plan and envision future events… it is smart to be mindful of what makes people feel, think, and what notice us (or any musician, for that matter) by the music that we play when they come to see us. What are the songs that get folks fired up? Songs that get them to feel like dancing? That make them feel melancholy? That make them feel sexy or affectionate to the spouse or partner beside them? These questions matter when it comes to crafting a good performance. And we take it seriously… so much so that, along with our personal goals and tastes, it’s feedback from individuals/audience that helps us consider our musical direction and song selection. So, hell yes, we take requests! Every request is a potential future A-list tune. It’s how we grow as a band; and it’s how our audiences can become a true part of “the Dawgpound.” Let’s run!