Couch Dog Win Shabang Battle Of The Bands
This year, Shabang hosted a Battle Of The Bands tour featuring 5 local bands from 5 different locations.
Music festivals and concerts alike are one of life’s greatest joys to a music lover. The atmosphere, the people, and most importantly the music itself bring unrivaled experiences and memories to all concert goers. There is nothing like the feeling of getting lost in an artist or band’s performance, when for a brief moment, everything besides the music fades away.
For great music festivals, look no further than San Luis Obispo for Shabang Festival. Shabang’s humble origins date back to 2014 and has since grown and thrived in the central coast of California. The festival features a diverse lineup of musical acts, with genres ranging from indie rock to electronic and everything in-between. But what sets Shabang apart from other festivals is its focus on visual and performing arts. The festival showcases installations, interactive art, and performances from local artists, making it a true celebration of creativity and community.
In addition to music and art, Shabang also features local food and craft vendors, creating a vibrant and inclusive atmosphere that is perfect for families, music lovers, and art enthusiasts alike. With a commitment to sustainability and community engagement, the festival is a shining example of what can be achieved when music, art, and culture come together in a celebration of creativity and connection.
This year, Shabang hosted a Battle Of The Bands tour featuring 5 local bands from 5 different locations. The winner of each show would earn a cash prize as well as a slot to play at Shabang in May. The first Battle Of The Bands show took place in San Luis Obispo and featured the local talents of Honeyboys, White Jagg, Couch Dog, The Sandspits, and Cate Armstrong. Each set showcased incredible performances and music, but it was Couch Dog who stole the show and walked away victorious.
Poised to play at Shabang, we caught up with Couch Dog to get a glimpse into the local band’s music.
Can you tell us who you are and who your favorite music acts are?
Members of Couch Dog include Tasha (bass), Max (vocals, guitar), Pablo (lead guitar), and Josh (drums). Their current favorite music acts are Turnstile, PUP, Gorillaz, and Arctic Monkeys respectively.
Couch Dog originally started as a cover band, so why did you decide to make original music?
Our goal from the beginning was always switch to original music. Starting as a cover band allowed us to pick and choose, as well as experiment with each other’s influences. It was a great way to start to establish a musical language to speak to each other.
What were the origins of the name Couch Dog?
We actually got asked to play our first show before we even had a name, so we had to decide on one ASAP. I (Max) had a pretty good idea of the vibes I wanted to come from the name; we like to play with contradictions and I wanted the name to be somewhat contradictory as well as being short and sweet. I really love Goth Babe, I think Goth Babe is a super funny name as well as being very contradictory to what the sound is, and I wanted to find something similar. Some of the names we came up with before settling with Couch Dog included Jetpack Dracula, Geometro, Fish Bucket, Playing Tetris, and Moon Boots.
A lot of the music you make plays with contrasting upbeat and even moshpit-inducing sounds with more emotional themes; where did this juxtaposition come from?
It almost came as a result of the kind of music I (Max) wanted to play as well as the kind of music I’m able to write. I played in a couple bands in high school and played a variety of different genres, but by far my favorite genre to play around with was surf rock. I’ve never had more fun on stage than when I’m playing that kind of music. A lot of the musicality of what I write are influenced by bands like Beach Goons, The Frights, and Mom Jeans. The way I approach songwriting as far as the lyrics go, comes from bands like Peach Pit and even The Lumineers. Part of it came from a result of a combination of those things and I think that contradictions are really fun. Contradictions add another layer on repeat listens, and I love that a song can almost recontextualize itself just by paying more attention.
When I’m (Pablo) on stage, I look at the sadder lyrics and process the sadness in another way. Like being able to mosh to it, or dance to it, while processing those heavy emotions can be really liberating, and I really like that about our music. There’s a lot of catharsis in being able to hoot and holler and dance to the sadder aspects of our music.
Genres aside, what is the essence of Couch Dog and your music?
Our motto describes us the best: music to kiss to, music to cry to, music to mosh to.
Part of your first EP, Bad and Better Than Ever, was recorded in an RV; what was that like?
While our house was under construction, I (Max) moved into my good friend’s RV, called The Honey. One of our friends was living in the garage, so we had to practice in The Honey. We pulled the table down and had the drums set up in the captain’s chair in the front, and I sat in the shower. Tasha and Pablo sat in the twin beds in the back.
We tried to record a session with Wumpus, another local band, and it didn’t really work, it was too narrow. Everyone had to be spread out in what was basically a long hallway.
You like to engage with your listeners, even setting up a hotline for your latest 2 singles, “Dial Tone” and “Punch Drunk”; what has your engagement been like with fans?
That’s part of the reward of it all. It is a lot of hard work, but it’s fun to see how many people enjoy the music and hear about what other people get from it. We like crowd engagement, it makes it fun for us. We want our listeners to have fun, and getting that energy back is part of the reward of it. In general, all of us are creative people, and music is always more enjoyable when you feel connected to it. A great way to allow people to feel connected to our music is to create these fun experiences for people aside from just seeing us live. We like to make it something special, something people really want to show up for. It allows us to flex our creative muscles in other ways, like Tasha is a super talented graphic designer and does all of our posters. Being able to engage with our fans is honestly a privilege.
During Battle Of The Bands, you all came out with some funky hats, what was the deal with those?
Those were Christmas gifts Max made for everyone out of blanket yarn. We thought it would be fun, we always wanted to wear them to a show, but we figured we should wear them to a 15-minute set, as opposed to longer sets. They can get pretty hot and claustrophobic.
You played at Shabang last year in 2022, what was that like?
It was a really fun experience getting to meet all the other artists that were there. Everyone was super nice; they took really good care of us. Being at a festival that size and having access to a private bathroom was definitely a highlight. The interviews were really cool as well. We’re excited to see what Shabang is going to do this year.
If you were only allowed to play one song at Shabang, which one would it be?
That’s tough. We like a lot of our songs for many different reasons because some of them are our personal favorites to play, but there’s also the fan engagement aspect. If it were up to other people, it would probably be “SPIT”, that’s the one people like the most. Our choice would probably be “Dial Tone”, it’s just so fun. The solo at the end is my (Max) favorite part because I love what I do for the band, but I don’t really like being stuck to the microphone. All I want to do is dance around, so when there’s a nice long solo like on “Dial Tone”, I get to run around on stage with my guitar.
What does the future of Couch Dog look like?
We have a lot of cool stuff coming. We’re about to announce our next single “SBJL” coming out on April 14. We’re really excited about that one, we’re getting ready to announce it. Then we have a full album that we will be releasing pretty soon. We haven’t nailed down an exact date, but that should be coming shortly after the single. We’ve been working on the album for months now. It’s been really cool being in the studio working on a full project. It’s a big step from where we started with our EP, not only in terms of quality, but the songwriting has improved. We are really, really excited. We’re staying in San Luis Obispo next year, and we’re going to play as much as we can and celebrate the album with the community we have here.
Are there any final remarks you would like to share?
“Woof”.