Official Biography
written by David Wannop

Lou Dog music is hard to describe. It is punk until it becomes funky, surfing until the wave crashes, murky until the clouds part, fixated on the future with eyes in the back of the head. It is the result of studio craft and happy accidents, brilliant deduction and ambush surprises. It is informed by the Velvet Underground, Guided By Voices, Miles Davis, and a slew of proto-and-post-punk styles. Yet, he doesn’t imitate these sounds nor the legends that formed them.

“I had a band in elementary school,” says Lou Dog, “but, I lost interest during the over produced corporate rock era.” The guitar and Lou Dog reunited during college. “I was in a non-linear group that played art galleries and a power pop outfit that played bars and parties.” Lou Dog reflects little on early musical experiences for he tends to address the future. However, he did reminisce about the past stating , “For inspiration I might listen to Dylan, early REM, Sly and the Family Stone, Leonard Cohen, MBV, Neil Young.” But the conversation turns quickly to the present with Lou Dog stating “I try not to sound like other people; I’ve been doing this a while so I feel that I have developed my own sound.”

So, what is Lou Dog music? He explains “The Lou Dog project is basically a one-man band (except drums) in the studio. I do have a full band when I play live. I like to develop a rhythm and put things on top of it to see how it works. I don’t approach it like a singer songwriter that starts with a melody and plays it on acoustic guitar. I write two or three songs a week. If an inspiration for a song doesn’t last for more than thirty seconds I will just record a thirty second song. If I write a four-minute song it is still equal to the thirty-second song if it is inspired.” Lou Dog is very comfortable in the studio creating atmosphere and working the equipment.
“Fifteen percent of the music on my cd’s is taken from my demos. I like quality, but I write too fast to be a perfectionist. The accidents and mistakes have never been done before , if they are musical and inspired, I keep them. I like recording in houses, where it is comfortable and I am not looking at the clock.”

It is all very cerebral for a man who also works as a tennis pro. Yet, it is appropriate considering the concentration and exhilaration both music and that sport provide.

The musician originally from Detroit, Michigan and now living in Philadelphia has used some of his “on court” drive when playing live. “I feel that we are always playing by the seat of our pants; a little under rehearsed. There is an element of danger with that which I like.” Lou Dog has live credits beyond his own upper Midwest and N.E. Corridor tours. He once played in the DNA Project, an alt/country band, with Ann McNamee, Jack Cassidy of Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane fame and G.E Smith (SNL, Dylan). For a guy interested in indie/alt rock, a trip through alt-country seems like a reach, but for Lou Dog it is all in the plan.

When on tour, you might see him playing a guitar named “Granny” that he named in honor of his late grandmother.
Lou Dog also plays guitar and sings for the new Philadelphia rock band Mr. Limbis (www.mrlimbis.com).

With Lou Dog, what you hear is what you get: Raw, passionate songs, with keen lyrics, insightful views and full-blown rocking arrangements. Lou Dog is a fresh breath of unfiltered air in the ever-mutating rock scene.