The Dogs at play.

It’s been a busy few months and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down. We’ve been furiously writing tracks for our album which now looks set to be finished ready for Autumn. Before that we will be releasing our debut single on iTunes – “Cuckoo Girl”. The release date is TBC, but should be in June.

To celebrate, we have booked Firebug in Leicester for a gig on May 22nd, and will also be filming a video for Cuckoo Girl during the day. And that’s where we need your help.

So you wanna be a star?

We are currently casting for the 3 lead roles for the video (1 bloke and 2 ladies – no it’s not what you think, toilet mind!) We are also looking for some extras to turn up to the gig a couple of hours early for the crowd scenes.The video will be be on heavy rotation on all the usual channels – FB, Twitter, Myspace etc etc and there is also the possibility of it being shown on the big screen in Leicester city centre. You’ll be able to tag the video and share your 15 minutes of fame with all your mates (okay, the song is only 3 minutes long, but you get the picture)

Apart from minor celebrity and eternal gratitude, payment will be a couple of refreshments during the shoot followed by free entry to the gig. Places will be limited so get in touch if you want in.

Those of you who follow on FB and Twitter will probably have seen the updates re our recent photo shoot. It was a good laugh and we’ve already posted a few pics, but most will appear on the revamped website which will be appearing very soon, so keep an eye out.

Finally, on the gigs front, we have another gig at Firebug on April 28th with Dumbfound and others as well as an acoustic appearance at our regular haunt – the brilliant open mic night at The White Horse in Birstall, Leicester on April 15th.

So, make sure you’re fully plugged in to all the channels and, just as importantly, spread the word to as many people as you can – Tell them we’re coming! – we can’t do it without the support of you lot, so thanks for the help and we look forward to hearing from and seeing you all very soon.

Peace out -

The Wry Dogs . . .

How another example of music breaking down barriers inspired our latest song, “X-ray Music”.

As part of their Beatles Week last year, BBC4 screened a great documentary called How The Beatles Rocked The Kremlin. It told the story of how, despite being banned from the former Soviet Union, the Fab Four’s music still managed to find it’s way on to the turntables of the oppressed masses – causing a minor musical revolution in the process.

“Scratching record’s on Uncle Brezhnev’s Ribs . . .”

So desperate were the Soviet youth to hear pop music – in particular Rock and Roll and The Beatles – that they took huge risks to obtain recordings and continued to find more innovative ways to smuggle in the music. The method that most captured my imagination was using old X-ray film to make home-made vinyl. The flexible records were then sold by dealers who hid the X-rays, or ‘ribs’ as they became known, inside their coat sleeves. The penalties for being caught buying or selling the forbidden tunes were considerable – including public humiliation and in many cases prison.

“We make our own guitars and play . . .”

This hidden influx of Rock and Roll lead to a large underground movement of wannabe Rock stars and musicians. As only traditional Russian folk instruments were allowed, kids were forced to improvise and made their own electric guitars using telephone receivers, started their own bands and had secret jam sessions.

So, suitably inspired, as soon as the documentary had finished, I grabbed my guitar and set to work on “X-ray Music” which has just been mixed and mastered – so have a listen and let us know what you think.

Even if you aren’t a Beatles fan, I would highly recommend the documentary. It’s an inspirational story that still inspires today. It’s also proof that Music can offer freedom and escape – even if only in your imagination and for 3 minutes at a time.

For further reading around how music infiltrated the Eastern Bloc, you could try Leslie Woodhead’s BBC article which accompanied the documentary.

For all you Beatles fans out there, I’m sure you’re already aware of the great Facebook resource BeatlesBlog. You should also check out the ‘I Read The News Today” Beatle blog on WordPress - another great source of info.

In the meantime feel free to check out The Wry Dogs main site, follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or check out the obligatory Myspace page.

We are now officially back to a 4 piece line-up with new members Matt Holt on Bass and Steve Gregson on drums. We recently performed at (and passed) our Glastonbudget audition and have already got a couple of acoustic dates lined up for Jan and Feb as well as another band gig in Feb (dates TBA).

Plans are also afoot for our first single release, with the track Cuckoo Girl currently being mixed and mastered and a music video which is currently in pre-production. The release date is yet to be confirmed but early March is now looking likely. We will keep you posted as we may also need your help with the video – we’ll be looking for lots of volunteers to come down and dance to the track. Ever wanted to be in a music video? This could be your chance and we will keep you posted as to how you can get involved.

Our most recent venture is the launch of WryTV – our live webcast channel on Ustream. Our first broadcast is happening in the next couple of days to a selected group of fans and if successful we will be scheduling regular acoustic shows with full interactivity in January.

If you haven’t done so already, join us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Ustream, Myspace or in person at the next gig! Be great to see you or chat.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Wry Dogs.

I finally found some time to finish a very basic demo version of song about Stalking – perhaps ‘Obsessional Love’ would be a better way to describe the subject matter. It’s called ‘Crippled By Your Love’ and is written from the perspective of a fairly disturbed individual who becomes obsessed with a woman he has a chance meeting with. As with most delusional people, he sees nothing wrong with his behaviour and feels sure that the lady in question is merely pretending to be repulsed by him!

For this track, I have recorded a rough sketch with vocals, acoustic guitar, bass and programmed drums from which George will start to create the final track with live drums and any other instrumentation we feel will add to the finshed product.

This way of working really works for us as we can get a better idea of where we can take a song after we’ve put down a rough demo. It allows us to try out different ideas, vocal lines and instrumentation, as well as listening to how the overall structure works. Studio recording is something we both love because the possibilities are endless and it’s still gives us a thrill to listen to a finished mix. Hopefully it’s worth the time and patience we dedicate to it – we would you to keep giving your feedback and comments on our work.

We’d also be interested to hear from other bands and song writers – what works best for you? How do you like to work. How do you like to record stuff?

One idea we are toying with is showing the evolution of a track – from the initial writing of a song, through the demo process and finally onto the recording of it. We plan to do this with a mixture of video and audio clips, but are completely open to other ideas. Is this something you’d be interested in?

Ultimately, this blog and it’s content should be driven by it’s audience, so let us kn0w what you’d like to see.

Ok, that’s enough rambling on for me. ‘Crippled By Your Love’ should be finished over the next couple of weeks (time permitting) and we’ll let you know when it’s available to listen to.

Get in touch, Tweet, Facebook or shout at us in the street. Let’s talk.

Wayne – The Wry Dogs.

We hate having to break off from playing and recording – but there was no avoiding the fact we needed to sort the website and blog. So here they both are. If you haven’t checked out the main site yet, please do so here.

We are currently writing and recording, in between pulling in original acoustic gigs as well as keeping our live skills up to scratch with our cover band, The Kicks.

The whole point of the website, blog, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter thing is to start a conversation with you lot – so follow us, talk to us and tell us what you think. Then step away from the computer for a while to come and see us live somewhere. We’ll keep you posted.

Wayne & George – The Wry Dogs.