Dogs

With three singles already having gone top forty and better with each release there is little chance of rest for Dogs. Three years ago singer Johnny Cooke, guitarist Luciano Vargas and drummer Rich Mitchell made the decision to form a band. Rikki Mehta was to join later having responded to an advertisement. Fast forward to now and Dogs are a group with an album 'Turn Against This Land' ready and waiting for the public and are currently on a UK Tour. Music News caught up with Johnny for a quick natter.

MN: Are you looking forward to the albums' release?

JC: Yeah, it's been a long time coming!

MN: What does the album's title 'Turn Against This Land' refer to?

JC: It's sort of rebellious phrase isn't? I really don't want it to be misinterpreted as an order or as an ideal. It's not anarchy, I don't want people to go round smashing out their own country. It's more like when you let get down and shut off in your own little world, and firm own little gang or society, away from the one that you know. It's just something you do when you get shat on, like when you're a kid. So it's quite a retrospective album, it's got stuff about my youth and growing up.

MN: What are your memories of recording it? Was it an easy experience or lots of hard work?

JC: No it was alright actually. We recorded down this place in Cornwall which was nice. We worked with John Cornfield and he's such a great bloke, really easy going. He knew exactly what we wanted done, and didn't do any fancy tricks. We recorded it live and just played and played everyday which is what we wanted to do.

MN: Did you always want to be a musician or did it come about by accident?

JC: Always. When we were kids there were touring bands everywhere and I thought 'I'll have a bit of that!' For as long as I can remember I've always been a music fan, I just grew up with it. I suppose when I found myself in a band it was like the shoe fit.

MN: Is it everything you expected it to be?

JC: Yeah. Well it's better I think. . I don't know if I expected anything, I think what I expected was something I didn't know, the uncertainty. I had no idea what to expect and that's the beauty of it.

MN: How did you find London when you first moved there?

JC: It's just straight up the M11 from Cambridge! No, I loved it. I mean I had to get out of Cambridge because could see there was no future for me there.

MN: Has it been a hard slog trying to make the band a success?

JC: It was absolute hard slog. All of us were working, if not nine to five, nine to whenever they bloody let you go. We would religiously state that we would practise three times a week no matter what happened, so girlfriends got lost jobs got lost, all for the sake of the band. We were stuffed in the back of a dodgy old Escort van and played for no man. We felt completely alone for a good while. It's not easy being in a band at the start, not easy at all.

MN: So what would your advice be then for anyone who wants to be in a band?

JC: If all want you want is to be in a band, then play and enjoy it. That's the easy bit. If you want to make it sort of your life, just prepare to be let down all the time, by everybody. Just be prepared to be fucked off and let down constantly.

MN: Are you in a better place now though as far as the band is concerned? Is there anything you're working towards?

JC: We're always working towards something. It's never enough, I want more, more, more! It's not greed, it's just I want more people there to hear it. It's a better place, but you still have to fight, you know fight for the respect of people, we always do. But like, I want to be headlining T in the Park rather than play n the Futures tent. I want to be up there on that massive stage with five hundred thousand gazillion people understanding what we mean. Who doesn't? There's a lot of work to be done, and I don't know if we'll get there, but we'll try!

MN: How the tour going, because you've done some dates already haven't you?

JC: Really bloody good actually! We played T in the Park which is an amazing place. We were on at the same time as Travis up in Scotland! You're thinking 'Christ they're all turning out to see Travis', but there were probably over a thousand in the Futures tent where we were playing and we gave it everything and I think we had a really good gig.

MN: What do you like best? Touring, writing or recording?

JC: Going on tour, nothing compares to going on tour. When you're recording you're stuck in one place the whole time and it's not creative. I'm not sweeping floors everyday, but going on tour you get to travel and see different places. And you play in front of people and get off your chest what you've got to get off your chest.

MN: You're touring with Paul Weller soon, that's something to look forward to isn't it?

JC: Absolutely over the moon about that. It's also because it was Paul Weller himself that thought we should do it. He'd heard Tuned to a Different Station, went out and bought it, loved it asked to borrow some of our music and asked if we could do this tour. He's a bit of an idol of mine, because my brother was a big Jam fan and I became one too. I just really respect the man.

MN: Any thing else to look forward to?

JC: Just everyday really, you don't know what's going to happen. I'm just doing it as I go. I generally try not to think too far ahead!


The single Selfish Ways is out on 18th July and the album Turn Against This Land is released on the 1st August.