Episode 10 — March 23, 2022
Go! Dog! Go!
Podcasts
Go! Dog! Go!
Punk rock has a long list of detractors. I think this is often because it’s misunderstood.
Given the sound of the music, I think the general belief is that the artists have no clue about what they’re doing. And there are certainly plenty of those artists in punk… just as there are in every other genre. But the best punk bands have a thorough understanding of the shoulders on which they stand.
The Ramones were big students and fans of 60s era pop music.
The Clash were acolytes of both pop music and pub rock.
Go! Dog! Go! were fans of… of it all.
To be a good artist in any arena, it’s important to have that kind of historical context. We can look at a Jackson Pollack painting and think: “Big deal, he drizzled paint on a canvas.” Well, yes, he did; however, you can’t deconstruct the classics to create something new unless you understand the classics.
Go! Dog! Go! has a pretty good read on the classics.
Rob Janicke and me (Keith R. Higgons) had a chance to speak with GDG leader Eric Beetner to talk about the band’s only album Glad to be Unhappy.
Beetner approached the bands music with a deep understanding of everything from blues to jazz to experimental — and all things in between. Growing up with a father who provided a wide musical pallet from which he could freely pick from, he discovered that good music can come in different shapes, colors, and sizes.
But when he first heard American hard core punk rock like The Dead Kennedy’s — he was hooked.
Unfortunately, growing up in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut pre-internet meant it was harder finding the music he was becoming increasingly passionate about.
Fortunately, there was a club in the next town over that provided a paid gas stop for every touring band as they went from Boston to New York City. It didn’t hurt that Beetner was a short ride out of NYC and was able to get in to those famed $5 afternoon punk shows at CBGB.
After having moved to Los Angeles after college, Go! Dog! Go! was born after a chance bonding over John Zorn.
I’ma go ahead and bet that there are few, if any, other punk bands that took shape under those auspices.
Eric Beetner provides some great stories about being in a band, and relays a story or two that could be pulled from a John Water’s version of the classic film This is Spinal Tap.
On that note, if the Tap and GDG ever toured together, it wouldn’t be a clash of the titans so much as a clash of the catastrophe’s.
All told, Go! Dog! Go! Glad to be Unhappy is a great album… and this from a guy who isn’t into hardcore punk.
If you dig Quicksand, Fugazi, Fishbone, et al, you will like Go! Dog! Go!.
While Glad to be Unhappy is not currently available to stream, you CAN download it from abandonedalbums.com (with Eric’s blessing). CLICK HERE