Doggin' Around

To paraphrase the title of Julien Temple's 2007 documentary on Joe Strummer, the future may indeed be unwritten, but the past isn't as set in stone as we might think. Good historians know that their job isn't just to collect and collate facts, but to find new meaning and nuance in them, especially as previously unknown details come to light — even the ones that make them question their previous theories.

For those of us who are obsessed with the history of American punk rock, the last year or so has witnessed the excavation of some amazing artifacts that have shaken up our long-standing musical timelines in a pretty intriguing fashion. Chief among these is ...For the Whole World to See, a seven-song compilation of mid-70s proto-punk tracks by Death, a black Detroit hard rock band so obscure — and so oddly similar in sound to the Bad Brains, who wouldn't emerge until several years later — that many collectors initially believed them to be a hoax. But Death were the real "ahead of their time" deal, baby... and so, too, were the Imperial Dogs.

The Imperial WHO? Well, chances are, unless you're a serious punk collector (or you know waaaay too much about Blue Oyster Cult), you've never heard of the I-Dogs. They only played a handful of Southern California gigs in 1974-75, including a debut show at Gazzarri's that was so raucous, they were banned from the club for life. They broke up in '75, released one posthumous single (the A-side, "This Ain't the Summer of Love," was cannibalized by B.O.C. for their Agents of Fortune track of the same name), and were briefly immortalized about 20 years ago with a limited-edition compilation released by Australian indie label Dog Meat. So, not exactly "household name" territory.

In fact, the only reason I'd ever even heard of the I-Dogs was because my pal and fellow journo Don Waller was the band's lead singer. (That's him glowering at lower left from the above photo.) Earlier this year, Don told me that he'd unearthed a 35 year-old videotape of the I-Dogs rocking out in front of a somewhat baffled Cal State Long Beach crowd, and invited me over for a screening. What I saw (and heard) totally blew me away. It also made me do more than a few double-takes, because — aside from the black and white, public-access style production — no friggin' way could this performance have ever taken place in Southern California circa 1974. Boston '78 or New York City '77, sure, or maybe even Akron '76 at the absolute earliest...

And yet, there it was before my bloodshot eyes: Just two months after Richard Nixon retired in sweaty shame to nearby San Clemente, the I-Dogs were roaring through a hopped-up, hippie-baiting, willfully aggro set at CSLB that included hard-edged covers of Mott, the Velvets and the Kinks, along with 10 muscular originals that fell (musically as well as chronologically) right between the Stooges and the Dead Boys, with a touch of Doors/Seeds/Music Machine "dark side of the mushroom" mojo thrown in. Don't believe me? Czech out this clip of them howlin' their way through "Midnite Dog":

If you dig that — or have someone on yer Xmas list who might — you can get yer sweaty mitts on the whole performance, which is now available to the unwashed masses on a DVD called Live! At Long Beach (October 30, 1974), that comes complete with a lavishly illustrated booklet and copious liner notes. To get yerself a copy, just go here to the I-Dogs' official website to order one, and tell 'em The Robe sentchya...

Comments

[Rich]

Thanks for the tip, Dan! As a huge BOC fan, I've been aware of these cats for ages and have the vinyl release of theirs that you mention (was that really 20 years ago? Yeesh!), but had no idea any video was available. I'll have to check it out!

[Suggadelic]

Damn, that's good...