The Mad Dogs - Live at Clifford

Been waiting for some crappy, dark, South Bend basement show video? Well, here's some footage of the Mad Dogs from 1997, performing in the basement of Clifford the Big Red House (opening for Hey, Dummy).


Songs: Mexican Girls, Blue One-Stars, My Religious Girlfriend, Love South Quad Style, I Think I'm Alone Now.

Chris:
Let's see... I guess I am proud to have been the only person rocking a homemade New York Dolls t-shirt in South Bend in 1997. I am not as proud of the Chain of Strength-esque mic grip technique I employed. Compared to subsequent bands I have been in I am impressed by the amount of energy I put into writing the lyrics to these songs (and remembering the words to the too many verses). I am not impressed with the between song monologues ("banter" would suggest some back an forth). I am not embarrassed by the subject matter of songs like "I Got a Thing for Mexican Girls." I am embarrassed by the coda of the song; what in retrospect now sounds like a Judgment Night Soundtrack/rap/rock "breakdown." I am still jealous Doug got to sing "Blue One-Stars" himself (because I had not yet learned to play an instrument). But I am no longer jealous of his preference to showcase his other bands and sweep the Mad Dogs under the rug (he was correct to do so). I am apologetic to anyone who endured this set, since we had not learned the 4th rule of live music performance (you don't HAVE to play every song you know every time). I am not apologetic for breaking the first rule of showbiz (leave them wanting more- ha!), because the negative energy was essentially the point. I wish I was as thin as I appear to be in this video. I do not wish to ever eat another dining hall chicken sandwich or Papa Johns pizza ever again.

P.S. Andy Yang loves you!

Doug:
Our set in this video seems way more mellow than I remember any Mad Dogs show ever being. However, I have absolutely no memory of strobe lights in that basement, so I suppose there is other stuff I've forgotten as well. I do remember spending a lot of time on the floor during Mad Dogs shows. I don't remember some of these songs at all. I always thought these shows were fun, no matter what Chris says.

Mike:
I'm not sure whether I should be happy or sad that you can't really tell if it's me in the video. I am happy that we have video evidence of this band's existence. The strobe light is a nice touch. Marvel at Doug's ability to continue playing bass whilst being attacked by Chris! Behold the steely gaze of Ted the destroyer! Never before has a drummer (yours truly) so artfully melted into the shadows! Witness the awesome power of amps breaking and bandmates flailing and audience members stunned into submission! Beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Or something.

Ted:
Watching these old Mad Dogs videos (yes, there's more) makes me realize that I probably should've spent more time learning to play our songs, and less time drinking before performances. But I guess that was our M.O., so screw it, it was a hella lotta fun. If we couldn't be musical, at least we were a spectacle. Anyway, I'm glad Roger or whoever recorded some of these basement shows, they've been, uh, interesting to look back at. It was also fun to see Andy singing with Chris on "Love South Quad Style," even though I butchered the middle of it. Oops!

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The Mad Dogs - Sometimes I Go Nuts

What could be more appropriate for "the blog that no one demanded" than the band that no one ever wished would play. The liner notes for this release (penned by Chris O.) do an exceptional job at laying it all out there:

Ah, the Mad Dogs. While the "Mad Dogs Proper" period lasted roughly from October 1996 through June 1997, the band itself was somewhat of an amalgamation of sorts of Chikkenhead (comprised of Mike Larmoyeux, Ted Hennessy, and Doug McEachern) and the Catatonics (comprised of Chris Owen, one Jeanine Gaubert, Dave "Night" Stoker, Mike, and Andy Yang of Obstruction fame). When it became obvious that the Catatonics could no longer function (read: get together for practice or even remotely interesting conversation) and that Chikkenhead would never eclipse the limp yet existent Recess Records band of the same name (or sing and play their instruments at the same time), it was decided to unite the two awfully hard sucking bands into one monstrous vehicle of audience antagonism. Chris became the singer for the Chikkenhead, which began a period of zero songwriting, zero practicing, intermittent performances, and haughty quibbling over what the band should finally be called. During this period, which actually encompasses the entire life of the band, they were called, at various points, "Thunderhead," "the Grasshoppers," and finally, to no one's complete satisfaction, "the Mad Dogs." Audiences, oddly enough, always called them "shit."

Drawing from completely incongruous interests and a muted sense of responsibility to entertain, the Mad Dogs experience was often, at the very least, difficult to perceive as worthwhile for both the band and the audiences they somehow managed to gather. While Mike (seminally the man in 10 bands at the same time) was willing to play essentially anything, a willingness on no one's part to actually write new songs left the band in an odd state. Doug's quixotic interest in britpop and the like led to a personal emphasis on The Cuba Five, a brilliant and entertaining combo that frankly whomped ass. Ted's love of Propagandhi and political pop punk presented a puzzling predicament as he was the transcriber of Chris' nonsensical attitude towards writing music (Chris: "it goes like this--BLAM BLAM BOOM BA BOOM BLAM BLAM DU DU DU DUH DU DA DA BOOM!" Ted: (plays an E chord) "OK, say that again"). An unhealthy love on Chris' part for Iggy Pop, GG Allin, Stiv Bators, the Dwarves, and, er, Morrissey, was the final blow in proving incompatibility. That and, of course, conflicting work schedules. At this point, alcohol begins to become important. It became obvious at some time that drinking at least one "Orange Jubilee" Mad Dog before and during a performance led to an increased level of interesting behavior for the Mad Dogs.

OK, sure, they never played to anyone outside Doug and Mike's basement (well, Dalloway's, but that was the first show, and the Bowling Green hardcore fest with Chris singing with Obstruction for a couple songs), but fuck man, the Mad Dogs kicked ass. This cassette doesn't precisely document the silliness that those shows were characterized by, but it gives a pretty good idea. Just imagine 20 or so friends, an unimpressed out of town band or two, a pony keg, shoes, beer, and friendly insults flying, and the Mad Dogs bleeding, cursing, fucking up, ripping clothes off each other, acting out deviant sexual nonsense, and never ever getting all the way through the set without breaking something. And the music. That wonderful music loved by no one but me.

Col. Ricardo Cabeza
July, 1997

This cassette (a split effort with hardcore heroes Obstruction, who'll get their own post here soon enough) was recorded quickly in two short sessions in the spring of 1997 (by Hardcore Ron), just before everyone promptly went their separate ways for the summer. It was every song the band knew, minus a couple they never really learned how to play. The highlight of these recordings for me will always be the last chorus in "Dream Lover," when you can actually hear a somewhat intoxicated Chris throwing up into his mouth while still trying to sing through to the end of the song. If that doesn't say it all...

listen/download:



see also:
The Mad Dogs on MySpace