The Dogs

Does most of today's punk rock leave you feeling cheated? Then put your money
down on Detroit's claim to all that is black-leather-sweatin', Marshall-blastin', ballsout
'n' badass -- The Dogs. Raging out of the legendary Motor City rock scene of
the '70s, which spawned such musical touchstones as the Stooges, MC5, Amboy
Dukes, Up, and other lesser known but equally ferocious proto-punk acts, The
Dogs packed all the feral energy and cultural angst of that era into their live shows
and an enduring set of recordings. Now they're back, and rocking harder than just
about any band -- young or otherwise -- that dares to call themselves punk.
Formed in 1969 in Lansing, Michigan, the trio of "Loren Dog" Molinare (guitar and
vocals), "Mary Kay" Dryer (bass), and Ron Wood (drums), channeled the
pummeling power of Detroit rock and Chuck Berry inspired riffs into tough tunes
with a pissed-off social conscience. Perhaps best known for their classic breakout
single, "John Rock Roll Sinclair," released in 1976 at the dawn of the punk
explosion and named for the leader of the militant White Panther Party and
manager of the MC5, the band followed up with the searing "Slash Your Face" in
'78. Spin Magazine has hailed "Slash Your Face" as one of the top 10 punk rock
songs of all time. Many of The Dogs best known compositions, including "Fed Up,"
"Slave to Fashion," "Younger Point of View," and "Years Gone By," stand as cutting
social observations that are as relevant today as they were decades ago.
Commented Molinare in a 1999 interview, "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 fucking stops,
so we wrote about a lot of human injustices."
The Dogs opened for such acts as the MC5, Ramones, Television, Dictators, AC/
DC, Kiss, and Van Halen, and became one of the seminal LA punk bands of the
era after locating there in the mid '70s following a stint in New York. They
disbanded soon after returning from a '78-'79 tour of England, finding that hair
metal had taken over the scene and punk was no longer welcome. But history
always repeats itself, and, as Molinare says, "the band wasn't ahead of its time so
much as timeless."
With the 2001 release of the "Fed Up" compilation on Dionysus Records, which
they answered in 2003 with a set of new material entitled "Suburban Nightmare,"
The Dogs were encouraged to hit the stage once again. 2007 saw the release of
"The Dogs Tribute... Doggy Style," a 26-band, 2-CD package from Future Now
Records that also features several historic, unreleased tracks from The Dogs. The
band embarked on a tour of Japan last year, and has been playing well-received
West Coast shows with founding members Molinare and Kay along with their
former '80s-lineup drummer Tony Matteucci as well as drummer Ken Mundy, both
filling in on the occasion when the rebellious Wood "is in trouble with the man!" A
live DVD, "Purity Not Perfection," will be released soon, and a new CD and live
dates in the US, Europe, and Japan are slated for 2009 -- the year that will mark
The Dogs' 40th anniversary. Timeless is indeed the right word.