By Nina Bressler

To promote their third and most inspiring album to date, Fading American Dream, the Boston-based punk band Street Dogs are bringing their fight to Prague. Blue-collar pride and kick-ass sounds come to stir the collective conscience of the audience at Futurum on May 15, with the support of Dead to Me (San Francisco) and Two Point Eight (Sweden). 

In support of their 3rd and most inspiring album to date, Fading American Dream, the Street Dogs (Boston) bring their fight to stir the collective conscience of their audience to Futurum on  Tuesday May 15th, 2007, with the help of Dead to Me (San Francisco) and Two Point Eight (Sweden).

Inspired by the current state of politics in the USA, the war in the Middle East, and the plight of the working class, the Street Dogs message is not just empty words, but founded on their personal experiences.  

After serving in the first Iraq war, Street Dogs’ lead singer Mike McColgan left the famous Irish-punk outfit The Dropkick Murphys to serve his hometown of Boston as a firefighter. After a few years of serving his community, McColgan had no choice but to come back to music.  McColgan's pet project, the Street Dogs, drew a hard-to-ignore outcry from audiences calling for his return to ‘punk rock’ duty.  

I asked Street Dogs co-founder Johnny Rioux (of The Bruisers) to tell us about the band, their politics and life on the road.

Nina Bressler: Where do the Street Dogs come from?

Johnny Rioux: Street Dogs started in Boston, MA. Mike, myself, Rob Guidotti, and Jeff
Erna. When we made a decision to tour full time Jeff and Rob couldn't do
it so we found Marcus, Tobe, and Joe. Marcus and Tobe coincidentally
both were from TX. So Me, Joe, and Mike and are all from the Boston
area. Tobe and Marcus from TX. We all grew up in middle and working
class Irish and Roman Catholic households. My father was a Republican,
Mike and Joe's folks were Democrats. In all of our families our fathers
worked their way up through poverty through hard work to provide good
lives. In New England politics are from one extreme to the other in a
very short distance. Democrats rule Massachusetts and Republicans rule
New Hampshire. For me in New Hampshire it was really hard growing up a
punk rocker. Everyone thought I was on drugs, had a learning disability,
or was gay. They tried to put me in hospitals, youth detention, and had
me see psychiatrists. Lucky for the next generation Green Day came along
and made it acceptable and "cute". Needless to say though we all made it
out alright and on the right side of the fence, and are better people
today because of our experiences.
 
NB: How is that reflected in the music of the band?

JR: All of our collective experiences have made their way into our songs.
Certainly politics, hard work, organized labor, and good partying, and
excessive drinking, for starters. We have always only written about what
we know and our own experiences and nothing more, and we are all products
of our environment.

NB: From what I understand, all the members of the Street Dogs have now
devoted themselves full-time to the band. Was that a tough choice to make?

JR: It actually wasn't a real tough choice to make. We have such a passion
for what we do and the people who listen. From a financial position it
was hard. I had a decent paying job, and Mike had a great paying
firefighter job, so there have been huge sacrifices for our families as
well. That goes for everyone in SD for that matter. When our first
record, Savin Hill, came out, it turned from something to do in Jeff’s
basement like a poker night to "wow these songs really seem to strike a
chord with people". Our early plans were to tour 2 weeks a year. On our
first tour Mike and I had a conversation at a truck stop and we decided,
lets do this.

NB: When I see the Street Dogs play, I am fully convinced that there is
nowhere else each member of the band would rather be. How do make that
energy happen and avoid letting the band become just another "job"?

JR: That is true. We try to get each other pumped up before we hit the
stage. We have to leave all of our personal problems from the day in the
dressing room. We also have to deliver the same show to a place like
Prague as we would at a big Boston show. Our motto is whether there are
5 people or 5,000 we give 110%.

NB: As you get older and more settled in other aspects of your life, what
challenges do you face in being a full-time musician? Have there been
any recent incidents where this commitment/lifestyle has been tested?

JR: It really gets hard sometimes. You start thinking a lot about the 23
hours a day you sacrifice for the 1 hour you can play. I have 3 kids and
it seems like you miss out on their first everything. The upside though
is when we are home you can spend all day and night with them. I
recently had this put into perspective in Omaha, Nebraska. The 4th song into
our set, I passed out and had a seizure. When I came to there was a
medic putting me in an ambulance. I had no idea what happened. When you
live your life at 70 miles an hour it can be tough to take care of
yourself. Through that experience though I'm taking better care and have
a better appreciation for my family and music.
 
NB: The past few years has seen you on the bill with lots of fantastic bands from all over. What have been some of your favorite shows/tours? Why? What did you and the band take away from it?

JR: Our favorite tours are usually with Flogging Molly or Bouncing Souls. We
have a lot of friends in those camps and really believe in the music and
message they send. However some of the bands we have toured with have
taught us what not to do. A band should always value every one of their
fans. Our favorite show was the Grozerock festival in 2005. We were
touring Europe and Marcus' father was really sick and was about to pass
away. Marcus had to fly home from Spain but he wanted us to carry on and
finish the tour. We were really upset for Marcus and really down and
out. A week before Grozerock Dennis Casey from Flogging Molly called us
and said he wanted to play lead guitar for that show. It really lifted
our spirits along with Marcus'. We hit that stage with fury and there
was 5,000 kids or more dancing, singing, and stage diving. I'm not sure
if the people of Belgium knew how therapeutic that show was for us.

NB: Do you see a difference between the audiences in North America and in Europe? If so, what are they?

JR: Not a huge difference really. I just hope our message means the same
thing in European countries as it does here [in the US].

NB: With the release of your new album, how has the sound and message of the band matured?

JR: I think we are getting better at writing songs that are topically more
universal. We are also more unafraid to say what's really on our mind.
Specifically about the war and our government. We don't care what the
backlash is to speaking our mind. It is a bolder record. I have never been
more proud to be part of a song as I was on Final Transmission.

NB: What can we look forward to from the band in the near future?

JR: Shows, records, shows. We need to come to Europe more than we have in
the last 2 years. See you soon!



Come hear the Street Dogs' message loud and clear at Futurum on May 15th.

www.street-dogs.com
www.deadtome.com
www.twopointeight.net
www.ladrogang.cz

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