Feeling the Covid blues? Hair of the Dog may be your best cure
Riverside Concerts’ Car Park Concerts series is nearing its end, with only two more scheduled weeks of live music on the balcony of 125 Live. For the penultimate show, set for August 19 at 7 p.m., another Rochester-based local band is ready to bend genres and arrangements to make a sound all their own.
Half original, half cover, all party — that’s the style of week six’s headliner, Hair of the Dog. The band has played their brand of ‘vintage rock’ all over Rochester through the past five years — if the venue has a microphone and a PA system, chances are Hair of the Dog has already played there. The five-piece blends an extensive original catalog with a pool of cover songs for their live shows, meaning every set they play is a unique experience, never the same as the sets preceding them.
We talked with Jeremy Jewell, vocalist and electric guitarist for Hair of the Dog, about the band’s set-crafting process, playing to a live crowd again, and their plans for the future.
What were your plans for summer 2020 pre-quarantine? How have things changed?
Well, among other things, we were especially super pumped to play the final Down by the Riverside, but that unfortunately got cancelled. Summertime is usually the best time of year for playing gigs, but this year things didn't really happen that way. I feel very lucky that we've still been able to play a few gigs and it is actually really cool to see all the new creative ways people are putting together shows and finding interesting ways to entertain. So far, even though we haven't played as much as we usually do, all the gigs we've done have been super cool and everyone has done a really great job of social distancing and being safe.
In the absence of shows, what has the band done? Any writing, recording, or trying your hand at live streaming?
We've done a couple of live streams and we spent a little time in a studio trying to get some songs recorded. The live streams are fun, but also a little strange. Always writing.
What’s exciting about the new format, and playing shows in a new way?
It's always fun to try something new. I'm really excited about a drive up concert, I think it's a great idea. I hope a lot of the new ways things have been happening continue even after this pandemic is (hopefully) over.
What does it mean to be able to play to people in person again?
It means everything. Live streams are great, and it has been a cool way to listen to a lot of great music, but nothing beats the feeling of connecting with other people in person through playing and/or listening to music. I almost feel like an addict, like I've been going through withdrawals without being able to play gigs.
What goes into deciding which songs the band covers? How do you blend other people's music with your own to create one cohesive set?
Tracy [Sonnier] and I usually bring the songs to the group that we want to play, both originals and covers and then we just kind of figure out what works through trial and error — usually lots and lots of error. Some songs work and some don't. We all have fairly different taste when it comes to music, but there's also a lot of overlap in what we enjoy. We try to avoid real popular cover songs just because it's more fun to play stuff we don't hear other bands do. As a band we've got probably close to two hours of original music we can do so for our setlists I usually start by picking out which originals I think will be a good fit for that particular show and then fill out the rest of the time we'll need to fill with covers that seem fun. Tracy and I take turns on lead vocals so I try to keep it about 50/50 as far as who's singing lead. Then of course if we get requests and it's a song we know we'll do our best to accommodate.
Why is it important to support artists and musicians through tough times like this?
Just like anything else, if there's no support, it just goes away. In my opinion, an audience is the most important part of art and creation. A painting hanging on a wall is great, but what really matters is how that painting makes people feel and think by looking at it. Otherwise it's just some paint on a canvas — same with music. Without an audience, songs are just notes and words. If you can get people to sing and dance and be happy, that's really something.
Free tickets to see Hair of the Dog are available now. Reserve your spot in the parking lot by calling Riverside Concerts at (507) 328-2200.
