Search - Love Dogs :: New Tricks

The Love Dogs Have Some New Tricks Up Their Sleeves

Kevin J. Shenefield | Walla Walla, Wa USA | 10/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Love Dogs' newest release on Tone-Cool Records could easily be described with just one word ... eclectic. I believe the band touches on damn near every style of music on this CD ... thus the title "New Tricks". They hit an extremely wide range of musical styles here ... latin-flavored funk ("The Day Before I Met You"), Texas swamp music ("Long, Long Day"), second line strut ("Northbound Train"), soul ("You'll Never Know"), and even zydeco ("Watch That Dog"). And they do all of this without sacrificing their trademark jump blues sound they've become so well known for. Besides their own eclectic originals, the Love Dogs have also marked their territory on a couple of classic R&B covers, such as Tiny Bradshaw's "Well Oh Well", Dinah Washington's "Richest Guy In The Graveyard", and Ray Charles' "You Be My Baby" ... as well as a cover of contemporary blues hero Keb' Mo's "Hand It Over". Definitely enough variety here to please just about everyone.The Dawg's have not only succeeded at incorporating the variety of music that a live Love Dog's show normally consists of, but they have also succeeded at getting more of the energy of one of their live shows into this CD as well. If you have ever attended one of their shows, then you know that not only are you going to be extremely entertained, but that the band is going to do something unpredictable to put a smile on your face. For example, the last time I saw a Love Dogs show, lead singer Ed Scheer proclaimed "This is how we do it in Boston!", then grabbed his cordless microphone and proceeded to wander out into the crowd as he began the next tune ... followed closely by the rest of the band in what resembled a conga line ... all still playing their instruments. A large portion of the patrons filed in behind them as they made their way through the club ... singing and playing all the way, upstairs, outside, down the street, and back to the stage ... much to the delight of the crowd.Love Dogs shows are, in fact, legendary. They have actually been dubbed "the Grateful Dead of Jump Blues". And although no two shows are ever the same, you can always count on the band's interaction with their rabid fans. They're not just on the stage to play their songs and leave, like so many other bands. They have to give their fans an event to remember. Says Scheer, "It's important to us to have fun. We have a lot of humor in our music, and we love to surprise each other and make each other laugh. That's a big part of what we do, and when a crowd can see that it becomes contagious. We call that the `Tribal Love Vibe'" But just because they're having a lot of fun and being silly, don't think that this pack of dogs are not also serious musicians. They are all very well versed in blues and jazz and take their music very seriously at the same time they are having so much fun. The current band lineup consists of Scheer, Alizon Lissance on piano and vocals, Myanna on alto and tenor sax, Glenn Shambroom on baritone/bass/soprano sax and guitar, Jesse Williams on stand-up bass and vocals, Steve Brown on drums and vocals, Mario Perrett on tenor sax, and Bruce `The Goose' McGrath on baritone/tenor/alto sax and clarinet. This is a band unlike any you've ever heard before, believe me. They're sure to get your tail waggin', whether listening to one of their 3 great CD's or catching one of their fantastic live shows. And like Ed Scheer says, if "it doesn't put a smile on your face, check your pulse because you might be dead!""