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interview with The Dog and Pony Show
December 22, 2005
Alaska, the land of snowmen, Polar bears, igloos and dog sleds, is where The Dog & Pony Show was born and raised. Of course, back then the Eskimos knew them as Purim, but I digress. One day, while working the oil fields in the Nordic wilderness, it started to snow like the dickens. “Lets move,” they said, so they climbed aboard a short bus and started the long trek down to the lower forty-eight. Upon arrival into California, they decided to stay in the North County area of San Diego. They played as Purim all over the West Coast, quickly building a fan base of crazed individuals, selling out mostly every venue they played at, mostly. They broke up, and following their true passion for hardcore and metal, a few of the boys started The Dog & Pony Show (the DAPS). Guitar players came and went, but after playing for three months, they were blessed with the biggest show of their lives: Killswitch Engage, In Flames, and As I Lay Dying. 2,300 kids heard their music that night, and 2,300 loved it. In the months that followed that show, with a lot of prayer and a little waiting, God brought them two new dedicated guitar players that shared their vision, and it all began…
Dennis: So,
after landing in Cali the original band broke up and a few of you started a new
band. How did you guys come up with
the name The Dog and Pony Show and what does it mean to you now?
John: My parents were killed by domestic ponies and wild dogs.
Jake: We drew the name out of a stovepipe hat and what it means can be found in the DaVinci
code.
Josh: We actually did draw the name out of a hat, we promised ourselves we would
keep the name chosen…. and we did.
Eli: Yup, we generally have problems agreeing on things so it seemed to be a
good plan.
Dennis: I
read that after only about 3 months of formation you guys played a show with
Killswitch Engage, In Flames, and As I Lay Dying.
How did you land that
gig and was that the initial push the band needed?
Josh: We prayed to get the show and a week later the promoter for the show asked
us to play. John: and the free masons helped out a bunch.
Jake: The show was our first show as the daps so people assumed that we were
already a bigger band. We sucked bad that night.
Eli: I must say that was an incredible night, like playing varsity in 6th
grade.
Dennis: Your
debut album on Back Alley Revolution Records is incredible.
It is such a
great combination of metal genre and even a feel for some old school punk.
How was the collaboration amongst the members or did only a few of you
pull together your inspirations for the album?
Jake: It was all of us sitting in a room playing until it sounded right. Then we
would build around that first riff.
Josh: It is really an everybody gives input kind of thing, but like Jake said
someone will come up with some random riff and we will just work off of that
until we are happy with it.
Eli: Yup collaboration is key, and we all have to agree on it. If one
person don’t like it, it’s canned.
Dennis: Now
back in my day is when rap artists and metal artists started collaborating; Run
DMC and Aerosmith, Public Enemy and Anthrax to name a couple.
With your “drive by” image, if you could ever collaborate with any rapper
who would it be?
Jake: Puffy because he is rich and would buy me bad boy bling and grills.
Josh: LittleJohn and the eastside boys, Exzibit would be tight as well cause he
might pimp our bus or something?
Eli: Might have to take it back to the old school, Bone Thugs n Harmony, yup
yup.
Dennis: Easy now (laughs). Bone Thugs and Harmony isn't that "old
school." I was listening to them in college!
Dennis: What
will we be seeing from DAPS in 2006?
Jake: Intergalactic tour on a star ship cruiser.
Eli: Hopefully more bigger and better tours, it never gets old ya know?
Dennis: How
have websites like Myspace helped promote bands like your self?
Jake: We could not function with out Myspace.
Josh: I agree with that, I started our band on Myspace a while ago, and I can
see no other way of getting people to your shows when you tour. Thanks Tom!
Dennis: I
really didn’t know what to expect after visiting your site and Myspace with
the lyrical content haha. I opened up the liners and noticed very
boldly you guys say, “Every note and lyric to our Lord and savior Jesus
Christ.” I am very outspoken about my Cristian faith, but many bands today
aren’t that bold. What led to
your boldness with wanting that in your liner? Jake: We are a band second to
being Christians, music is just our way to spread His message and love through
the gifts He gave us.
Josh: See, I am not very outspoken about my faith, so this is a way I can spread
His word and give thanks for all the gifts I have been blessed with.
Eli: God’s grace is so great, being able to give back to Him, with the
gift’s He’s given us it the best thing we can do.
Dennis: Your
lyrical content is VERY bold about your faith in Jesus.
How does that play to mainstream crowds on tours and in clubs or
bars?
Josh: It definitely has its ups and downs. There will be some person standing
right up in front of the crowd, watching us play until we talk about our faith.
That’s when the middle finger flies and the back is turned. but we look at
that like we are doing something right. Cause if there isn’t
“persecution” what’s the point.
Eli: For the most part though, it goes over well,, I make it blatant most of the
time, but at the same time, I don’t want to force it down kids throats.
Dennis: What
are some words of encouragement to those reading this that may be dealing with a
lot of crap in their life right now?
Josh: Just stay strong, we have all been through it, and it only makes you a
better person later on in life. We are always open for talking to people about
their problems, and we do the best we know how to help them out.
Eli: Find someone who you can talk to and there’s always hope in sight.
We’ve all been through some dark stuff, but with Christ, something good will
come of it.
Dennis: I
personally hate New Years resolutions because well, I have no self-control and I
suck haha. What will yours be for 2006?
Jake: Way to many to say.
Josh: I want to own the sun.
John: Get Chuck Norris to come to a show to absolutely own the pit.
Eli: Become good at Halo, cause I suck, and continually get owned.
To
find out more about DAPS check out:
www.myspace.com/thedogandponyshow