INTERVIEW WITH MIKE McCOLGAN FROM THE STREET DOGS

28th May 2007
The Islington Academy, London

STREET DOGS ARE A BOSTON BAND, HOW MUCH HAS THE BOSTON SCENE BEEN AN INFLUENCE, AND WHAT BOSTON BANDS IN PARTICULAR?
Bands from the Boston scene, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Blood for Blood, Jerrys kids, the Bruisers would be in there, and even Slapshot (someone shouts SLAPSHOT!! through the open door) all those bands have been an influence on the Street Dogs.

AND BRITISH MUSIC?
Immensely! The first time I heard bands like Sham 69, Cocksparrer, and the Cockney Rejects I was just blown away, by their energy their rawness and passion. Then there’s the Pistols and of course the Clash, the sonic delivery, the vocal, they had so much to say!

THE BILLY BRAGG COVER ON FADING AMERICAN DREAM (POWER IN A UNION), ARE YOU BIG FANS?
Absolutely! Billy Bragg has been a massive influence on the Street Dogs, he’s always been one of the more “democratic” artists. He advocates for the “small man” and the trade union worker and for racial equality. He’s a great artist and his points of view are dynamite, he walks his talk and that’s very important.

DO YOU KNOW IF HE’S HEARD THE TRACK?
No, I don’t know, I know we asked permission but I don’t know if he’s heard it. It would be great know what he thought of it and you’re the second person to ask me that.

THERES A LOT OF IDEOLOGY IN THE LYRICS ON FAD, BUT IT FITS VERY COMFORTABLY WITH THE MUSIC AND NEVER SOUNDS TOO “PREACHY”.
Preaching is the last thing we would want to do, we’re not politicians or zealots, we didn’t even set out to make a political sounding record, we wrote songs using our perceptions, our feelings and views on what’s going on in the world today, the war , the death of the labour movement, the rise of fear in politics, it’s a by-product of what’s going on inside each band member. The general shame, mistrust and disgust with the current administration.



A LOT OF PEOPLE OVER HERE HAVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY.
Its horrible, you can see with Tony Blair’s resignation, the indignation of the British people over the war in Iraq. Even in the U.S its been shocking just how much of a lackey to George Bush he has been. I‘ve never seen that kind that kind of behaviour from a British prime minister before, never! There’s a lot of palpable anger in the world, not just here and in the U.S, but around the world. I think America desperately needs a new progressive leadership.

BEING ON THE ROAD A LOT, DO YOU FIND TIME TO WRITE SONGS?.
Absolutely , whether its lyrics or melodies, the process is continuous for all of us, we are always looking for new ideas, new territory to explore with the songs on the road or at home. But over here for me, when I come over here I get a lot of inspiration, song ideas and lyrics. When we were over in 2005 supporting the Back to the World record I came up with a lot of ideas for Fading American Dream. This country gives me so many song ideas.

WE MISSED YOU ON THAT TOUR BUT WE SAW YOU OUT WITH FLOGGING MOLLY AND THE BRIGGS.
That was a great little tour, that was a superb line-up! We really enjoyed that tour a lot.

I REMEMBER YOU PLAYING A KIND OF TRIBUTE TO JOE STRUMMER….
Yeah, for the last call we were sometimes playing Coma Girl, I think it’s a great song , I thought Streetcore was just an amazing, amazing record, by far the superior of the three Joe did with the Mescaleros! It doesn’t get more apparent than this (rolls up sleeve to reveal tattoo) that’s how I feel about that record!

IS IT HARD BEING AWAY FROM HOME, FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHEN YOU’RE TOURING?
Yeah, of course, it’s a common question but a pertinent one, absolutely, its hard, but it affects each member of the band of differently at different times during the tour. Guys get moody, guys get down. But an important thing with the Street Dogs it’s the band that everybody expected to fold and not persevere, an ex-member thing, that this was a “vanity project” but through relentless touring and achieving so much in a small amount of time I think we have proved our worth but its difficult being away from home.

YOURSELF, AND THE REST OF THE BAND HAVE ALL BEEN IN OTHER NOTABLE BANDS, BUT YOU’VE MANAGED TO FORGE YOUR OWN PATH.
There was a lot of anticipation in the early stages of the group, a lot of expectation. But we had no illusions, we knew we’d have to fight past the “vanity project” ex-member thing or the idea that were just latching onto a “hot wagon”. But that’s never bothered us. We are what we are and we know what we’re capable of. We were wise to forge our own path, there was always going to be comparisons. But I guess that there have been times that it’s been helpful to have notable pedigree, I won’t deny that. We have made three records that we can be proud off and we’re about to start working on our fourth.

DID YOU ENJOY “WASTED” WHEN YOU PLAYED THERE THE OTHER YEAR?
That was a great show, we played in black Dickies jumpsuits, were you there?

YEAH, MARKET ARENA!
We’d love to go back sometime, had a great time.

IT’S IN BLACKPOOL NOW, COCKSPARRER PLAYED LAST YEAR!
The best of the best, did you know they are recording again? Lars Frederiksen’s producing the record.

IF YOU COULD SEE ANY BAND THAT YOU JUST NEVER GOT SEE, WHO WOULD THAT BE?
Deadboys, I would have to say the dead boys, they just seem to exude punk rock attitude and ethos they did so much in a short amount of time. And maybe the New York Dolls, I never got to see the original Ramones, sorry that’s three bands!

HOW’S TOBE’S DRINKING PROBLEM?
One day he’s sober, next day he’s not, he’s on the white knuckle ride! (Tobe shouts “yeah, fuck off” through the open door).

THE SONG SEEMS ALMOST LIGHT HEARTED, I WOULD’NT HAVE ASKED…..
No, Ted Hutt the producer wanted the song to have that feel, even though its kind of a serious subject. But he didn’t want the lyrics too “hokey”. Kudos to Tobe for allowing that song on the record. None us take ourselves too seriously, if we did we’d be in a rubber room by now! We don’t mind shedding light on our camp and our own operation.

IS THERE MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN AMERICAN AND A EUROPEAN CROWD?
There really is, Europe is much more discerning, in Europe and here in the UK it’s like, come on show me something, show me something genuine! That does exist in the US, but it’s much more prevalent here, it’s good. We want to get into cycle, and come over every other year, we should be playing at Reading and Leeds. Getting through life is hard, however you spend your dollar, your quid or euro, if you chose to spend it coming to see the Street Dogs then we are really grateful for that. Any band that doesn’t give it their all for the crowd, shame on them. We won’t ever forget that they’re the people that pay our wages, that’s why we always thank the crowd for coming, When you work hard for your money, where to spend it is an important decision, we take it very seriously.



WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WAS YOUR BEST EVER SHOW?
I would have to say home coming, playing Boston on the Back to the World tour. It’s hard to describe it really, we were tired and weary and we just kinda got taken over by the crowd and their reaction, and their energy, it was an amazing experience.

THANKYOU FOR THE INTERVIEW, WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE GIG!
No problem, hope you enjoy the show.

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