Dogs Don’t Deal – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

Dogs Don’t Deal – Interview – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

MV: So the first set of songs we did was during lockdown, and we had a female vocalist in too.  It was a lo fi vibe and was pretty mellow and chilled. Our new stuff is the polar opposite. Cobbler – When we first started making tunes, I was really into loops and samples. That led me to make beats that were quite trip-hoppy in their sound. Mikey went off and had a baby, and a friend of mine gave me a guitar.

I spent a few months experimenting, then when Mikey came back, I dropped the backing track of Animal on him! It’s definitely a different vibe but the thread of Mikey’s voice and lyrics runs through them both.

RRX: It’s a lot of fun living in the present, but we all collect memories and give birth to dreams. We’re talking dreams here. Where you see yourself next year? In the next five years?

MV: We just wanna keep releasing the music we wanna make. The animal’s back seems to have been well received so we’re hoping we can capitalize on that and just keep building and building the old school way. We’re working class, what other choice do we have?!

Cobbler: We’re at a point where we’ve stopped worrying about what is “commercial” or “pop”. We make what we feel like making on any given day. It’s a really liberating place to be, and I think it’s made us more expressive. Once you throw off the shackles of trying to “be something”, you can actually just be yourself.

RRX: A band is a business. A business of love, but you got to work for it. Let’s pretend, instead of a band, you all owned a business. What would it be, and why would it be good?

MV: I’d own my own skate shop or skate park and teach Cobbler how to skate. It would be great cos I’d skate for free. Ultimately, I wanna be out there doing this full time to the masses!

Cobbler: I think you’d be fighting a losing battle there, dude! I am a total disaster when it comes to any wheels on my feet. For me, I’d like to own a retro van, and set it up with a portable crepe station in the back. I’d sell pancakes at every festival in the land!

RRX: In the universe of music, anything can happen. Bizarro doppelgangers can walk down the street in feather boas. Who would be your musical opposite and why? What do you think the “anti-you” band would sound like?

MV: Probably like our first 8 songs!!

Cobbler: It’s true, we’ve undergone quite the transition but like I said earlier, Mikey’s voice ties the two eras together.  The anti-us, let’s call them Cats Can Cope, are like S Club 7 made up of posh girls!

RRX: What do you think is the most dangerous song to cover from the perspective of criticism? Who do you think is too hard to cover, and why?

MV: Surely anything by Queen, Jeff Buckley or Radiohead, to name a few.

Cobbler: Yeah, anything with a distinctive vocal is tricky, but for me it’s possible to cover anything as long as you change it radically enough. The worst covers in my opinion are where people just do what is essentially a karaoke version with a different singer. Get some imagination!

RRX: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Or so they say. Whether you’re off the wagon, on it, or never been, there’s something you got a thirst for. What are some of your basically harmless vices?

MV: Cobbler loves a cuppa. I have an obsession with retro video games that is getting out of hand. That’s as far as it goes for me and harmless vices. But we ain’t got time to list all the harmful vices!

Cobbler: I play way too much Football Manager! It’s a problem. And we need to talk about my cheese obsession….

RRX: With the exception of singing, everyone has an instrument, an inanimate object that has the distinction of being a lifelong friend. Smooth or temperamental, these objects have a character. So pick someone to answer, can you tell us something special about what you play, your technique, your instrument?

MV: I started by playing guitar then moved on to the piano and a bit of drums, amongst a few other instruments I’ve had a dabble with! I think I just need to at all times be in a room with a musical instrument. Throughout the day as I’m wandering around the house I’ll often twinkle the keys on my digital piano for a bit, or grab my guitar off the wall and have a little jam.

Cobbler: My first instrument is trumpet. It’s the only thing I ever had lessons on and I learnt all my music theory that way. Even now, if I’m trying to work out a melody, I’ll do the trumpet fingering in the air to help me. But the instrument that most shaped me is the drums. Rhythm is at the root of all music – it’s what hooks people in, gets them moving, signifies when they stand up, sit  down, put their hands in the air!

RRX: Would you rather have one of your songs blow up and make you a one-hit wonder and household name, or would you rather have all your songs be solidly received, but no chart-climbers? (You have to pick one or the other here.)

MV: define solidly received!

Cobbler: For me, I’d like to be critically acclaimed far more than to be famous. We’re good musicians and it’d be nice to be recognised as such!

RRX: We let it out differently when we play music. The happy, sad, good and back; it can all be put out musically. Overall, do you feel better when you sing about the better times, or the worser times? Is there a difference you can describe?

MV: I’ve always felt it’s harder to write a happy song than a sad song. Not that I only write sad songs, because some songs are bittersweet or neither here nor there. But yeah writing a happy song without being cheesy or too trying can be hard. But I feel better hearing happy lyrics than some of the dark stuff. Sometimes you write stuff and go “fucking hell, I didn’t realise I was that miserable”. Haha

Cobbler: The magic trick is being able to do both at the same time. I listen to someone like Guy Garvey write about love, and he makes you feel happy and sad simultaneously – like an overwhelm of emotion.

RRX: Different people in the band will like different songs. A drummer’s favorite song on the release will be different than the guitar player’s. What are each of your favorite songs from your most recent album?

Cobbler: Well, the album’s not out yet so most people won’t have heard these tracks yet. I’m just going to say that Animal is the tip of the iceberg!

MV: It’s a tough one but I think my favourite has to be Living Again. – It just builds up and ends massively. It’s not as in your face as some of the others, but I love it. Bowie’s greatest hits and Long Way Down and Low Life are great, in fact it’s all great!

Spotify link – https://open.spotify.com/artist/19Nn0WV1y3KwbRMKI3jemz?si=Lynf2YxNQXG3oJLipkc53Q