We originally planned to save this song for our next album. Then, suddenly, the dominoes started falling all over the Telemark region of Norway, one after another, and we really had no choice but to act.
Listen to the single here: https://ffm.to/porsgrunn
First, the madness at Ulefos landed in everyone’s lap. The decision to shut down operations at the ironworks was enough to make you want to shoot yourself in the dick. A grotesque decision in a grotesque era. And while it probably means we’ll have to stop selling manhole covers at our shows (we’ve still got about 20 left, for anyone interested), the decision made us angry, not afraid.
Unfortunately, shit rarely happens just once. And when word reached us that Hotel Vic, THE Hotel Vic, was going to become part of the Strawberry hotel empire, that’s when the panic really set in.
You see, for The Dogs, playing in Porsgrunn is about so much more than playing a show. Obviously, a big part of it is playing R.I.P, the best live venue in the country. But it’s also about Hotel Vic.
It’s about strolling the short distance from R.I.P after soundcheck, passing our very own locally sourced manhole cover embedded in the street, maybe picking up some pick-and-mix candy at the supermarket, and then checking into the Vic. Or ‘The Oasis’, as we like to call it.
THAT is the tour. Every year, that IS the tour. And now the Vic is apparently going to be renovated and absorbed into the hotel empire of Norwegian billionaire Petter Stordalen? By all means, it might turn out fine. But we’re deeply concerned. Oslo is shaking.
Personally, I’m taking no chances. I’ve booked myself in for four whole nights around the show to make absolutely sure I get to say a proper goodbye.
The only solution was to drag ourselves into the studio and rush this song through the machinery before it was too late.
Kristopher Schau
Je suis Porsgrunn!
Je suis Porsgrunn!
Je suis Porsgrunn!
ABOUT
The Dogs are the Oslo-based band where only one member is actually from Oslo.
A punk rock band that believes they play soul and garage rock. In short, a band that has no idea who they are or what they’re doing. This confusion has however resulted in a total of 13 albums, countless Norwegian tours, unusual one-off events such as opening for Bruce Springsteen, and musical contributions to the new Harry Hole series on Netflix. In other words, they are well prepared for the Alzheimer’s they all have coming.
Confusingly enough, all signs are still pointing upward for the “Oslo band” in the autumn of their lives.
HE DOGS:
Vocals – Kristopher Schau
Guitar – Mads Martinsen
Bass – Tommy Reite
Drums – Henrik Odde Gustavsen
Percussion – Kenneth Simonsen
Keys – Stefan Höglin
