Interview with the Band Deathless Dogs

January 25, 2021

Interview with the Band Deathless Dogs

By Mick Michaels

COSMICK VIEW: Hello! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to chat with me, it's greatly appreciated.
DD: Thanks for reaching out and covering our new EP!

CV: How important is it for an artist to lyrically be able to connect with their audience? Some believe it's not what you say but how you say it. Are lyrics as important as the music itself?
DD: Lyrics are very important for establishing a connection with people. It gives your audience insight into who you are as people, your struggles, passions, sense of humor; it can all be conveyed by choosing the right words. We feel music and lyrics are of equal importance, especially on your records. The music sets the mood, and the lyrics tell the story. If either of those pieces isn’t pulling their weight, the whole thing falls apart.

CV: And considering the lyrics of a song, does the message need to be so evident for the audience or does leaving some mystery add to the song’s allure?
DD: That can change from song to song, but a song that leaves things open for interpretation will often establish a greater connection to someone as they can start to fill in the gaps with pieces of their own life.

CV: Is making music, your music, the ultimate means of self expression in your opinion? Is there a level of sacrifice that goes along with an artist's efforts to achieve their craft and be truly self-expressive?
DD: Absolutely, it's the greatest outlet for both of us in both live and studio settings. Our songs allow us to show all sides of our personalities that many people may not get from just talking to us or having a drink in a bar. Nothing fixes a bad day or week quite like letting it all out on stage, and oftentimes those are our best shows. In a way, you're sacrificing some of your privacy by being a musician and letting people into those deeper parts of yourself that you display through your music…but that realness is what attracts people to you.

CV: Deathless Dogs has just released a new EP, "Five Across the Eyes." How does this release sit within the band's catalog sonically following three previous albums?
DD: This EP is definitely the heaviest of all our releases, in both sound and subject matter. It's a very personal record that touches on topics of Eddy's post war life, which haven't been explored too much since our first album. It's kind of a sum of the three previous album's parts in that way…and cranked up louder.

CV: The band's music style and sound is labeled a Blues Rock injected with what is called a "whiskey-fueled" energy. Define for us what "whiskey-fueled" means.
DD: We're big whiskey drinkers, and when you've got the whiskey in your system, it can take your personality up to 11. You get a little louder, and your inhibitions can all but disappear. That's the type of energy we try to bring to our music. We pride ourselves on not holding back anything in our live shows. It's less about technical precision as it is conveying a feeling to the people in the audience. We try to bring that energy into the studio by tracking drums and guitar live, so it has the same feel as it would if you saw us in a crowded bar.

CV: Most sources say the music industry as we once knew it won't begin to make a return to form until late 2021 or possible as early as 2022 and even then things will be different. What are Deathless Dogs' plans to promote the band's new EP in this new terrain of not being able to perform live? Will you be doing any online events?
DD: As mentioned before, we're big whiskey guys, so we started doing weekly whiskey review videos on our Facebook page and Youtube channel at the end of February. The original idea was to promote our upcoming shows, but with those being canceled, we just kept on doing it to put out some weekly content, and let people get to know the guy's behind the music a little bit. Those have been going well, so we'll continue on creating videos. As far as live stream shows go, we've done a few, and they have been well received, but if we did any in the coming months we'd want to figure out a way to really improve the format to make it a better experience for everyone tuning in.

CV: Do you see online events becoming the new norm for artists and bands as the New Year approaches? Can such performances, in your opinion, become a regular staple in tour packages as the industry works to get a foothold on a fresh, innovated way to conduct business?
DD: It really comes down to if the bands can create something that is worth watching. The era of setting up a smartphone and doing a live stream seems to be over. People have had about all of that that they can take. The level of production value really needs to increase, so you can provide a great experience for people watching. Bigger bands like Clutch, Foo Fighters, and countless others have starting doing this and it seems to be working for them, with some offering package deals that include a vinyl record of the show, t shirts, etc. but the average local unsigned band just isn't going to have the funds to pull something together on that level. We're going to have to find a way to pool resources and come together to try and compete on any level with what the bigger bands are doing.

CV: Often celebrities will utilize their status as a way to influence others. Do you feel artists should use their music to carry messages to their fans as well?
DD: If an artist feels strongly about a topic there is no reason they shouldn't put their message into their music if they want to. As mentioned before, music is a great form of self expression, so naturally those ideas and feelings will find their way into many people's songs. It's not something that all artists should feel obligated to do, but it also shouldn't be frowned upon.

CV: What's next? In addition to the new EP what can fans expect to see coming from Deathless Dogs as the New Year approaches?
DD: We are already working on some new songs that we are potentially going to release as singles throughout the year and we're ramping up production on the weekly Whiskey Wednesday show.

CV: Thank you again for spending some time talking and sharing with
our readers. I wish you all the best and continued success.
DD: Thanks so much! These are great questions and we really appreciate it!

Check out Deathless Dogs at:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thedeathlessdogs
Instagram: www.instagram.com/deathlessdogs
Twitter: www.twitter.com/deathlessdogs
Bandcamp: http://thedeathlessdogs.bandcamp.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5NjvCGZIpKBIjpeq9qXZbt?si=tTzfMI3wTla2L4Q-YVOdPg

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.