Up Dog - Sound In The Signals Interview
I recently had the opportunity to interview Up Dog. We discussed new song “Night Owls United”, lyrical inspiration, artwork, what’s coming up next, and more. Check it out below.
First, thanks for the interview.
It’s no problem. Thank you so much for having me on again!
Your new single “Night Owls United” comes out April 5th. Can you tell me about writing and recording the song?
Yeah! We recorded at Produce Sound Studios and it was a pleasant experience. El Dusty produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered the track and it turned out really great. Dusty was really cool to work with and was immediately on page and helpful with the vision we had for the song.
We wrote the music for this song last summer. We just started having fun at practice with a riff I wrote and then everyone started adding their own part. Our old drummer Landin really contributed to the structure, and helped us come up with that really cool breakdown part.
Lyrically, I wrote it about feeling distraught and kinda feeling a little scared not knowing what my life is going to be like the next couple of years. Especially trying to just navigate in a neurotypical world while being autistic.
We name the song “Night Owls United” as a way to show a form of solidarity with the union while fighting for better working conditions. I used to work at Night Owls in my early twenties. After some self reflection on the lyrics, it is definitely a feeling felt while working at Night Owls. It’s a sucky feeling.
All the solidarity to Night Owls United who faced unjustifiable union busting attempts by Eric and Val Solomon. All rank and file employees have been unjustifiable terminated and there is currently a go fund me to help them out during this hard time. Help out and donate if you’re able to!
Do you have a favorite musical or lyrical moment from the song? Why?
Probably the breakdown. It is such a fun part to play live. Especially when we have the rest, and Jeremy screams, “1,2,3,4”. That part gets everyone so hyped. I remember how fun that part felt playing it for the first time live at Arnold House a while back. It has so much energy and build up. Originally that part was not going to be in there, but I’m glad we kept it.
Is this a single or can we expect more new music anytime soon?
Yes! We are set to hit the studio again soon to record some songs for a couple of splits we have lined up. We are also currently writing music for another full on release. We don’t know if we’re making an EP or LP yet, but more music will definitely be coming this year.
The artwork is a neat mirror image. Where was that photo taken at and how does it fit the song?
The photo was taken at this food truck in Austin by the Rock House where our friends live while we were in Austin for Skaexplosion Fest. The food truck is called “Mami’s”, and it’s definitely some of the better Mexican food I’ve had in Austin. Nothing beats Corpus though.
The cover wasn’t the original cover we had set. We were going to use a picture of our trombone player Burger dressed like a cowboy when he was a kid. The mirror picture felt more fitting because it’s a nice contrast to the lyrics. The lyrics are about feeling lost and distraught, but I can’t think of more of a time when I feel grounded than when I’m with my friends. It is really awesome when you’re in a band with some of your best friends.
The vinyl pressing for your album ‘Getting Worse’ sold out pretty quickly. Do you plan on releasing another pressing?
To be honest, we haven’t thought that far ahead. We were honestly really surprised when that happened. Like we had no idea it would sell out online. It was definitely a cool feeling and made us really appreciate the fact that we are part of an awesome community. D.I.Y is awesome, and you’ll meet some of the coolest people ever. We still have a few copies left on our end that I’ve been thinking about putting online, but I would like to have a re-pressing done in the future.
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you so much for having me! Support Night Owls United, Free Palestine, and shout out to the Texas D.I.Y community.
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