Kerbdog - Kilkenny/Cork/Belfast/Dublin Sept/Oct 2024

[Pagan Saviour]

too. I wonder then could an oul third album have done anything to turn things around?

No! Yiz are really underestimating the climate back then and the Foo Fighters comparison is a bad one. Musically speaking good comparison but as to whether Kerbdog could've found success, not a hope and a third record would've done nothing to further their cause. There were tonnes of other bands in similar musical territory that had time called on them. Even Therapy?, who had found mainstream success died a bit of a death after A&M collapsed.


I think people are forgetting that Kerbdog weren't doing many numbers at headline shows here or anywhere else even at their peak when some of those on the turn singles got into the top 40. I remember seeing them at whelans etc and the place was less then half full. They even joked about it at their farewell gig in the mean fiddler that it was the first time they managed to sell out a show in Ireland.

And just to note, they haemorrhaged money recording On The Turn £500,000 punts, details in the liner notes on the reissue. Playing to 150 or so in Whelans a 6-7 years into your professional career wasn't gonna clear that bill.

[astfgyl]

My point was that without the Nirvana connection that Foo Fighters would have been in a similar position.

Didn't know that obscene amount of money had been thrown at those recording sessions though. That's nuts.

[Carnage]

Produced by Gggarth, he was en vogue at the time.

Fuck ye anyway, with all this Kerbdog talk I've had Sally playing on a loop in my head all morning.

[Pagan Saviour]

Didn't know that obscene amount of money had been thrown at those recording sessions though. That's nuts.

Sign of the times, I doubt there's many bands in similar position now that would receive that kind of financial input.

Some of the things listed on the inlay that contributed to the cost were 4 months rent in LA, GGGarths fee, An Australian expert in guitar tuning... mad shit altogether.

[jpm4]

I remember an interview where they said the video for Sally cost hundreds of thousands to do....nuts when you think about it, as someone said they never pulled huge numbers.

[StrangersWithGuns]

Yeah sounds like the pitfall of many irish bands, republic of loose spent like 80k or something on their last record which doesn't sound any better or worse then previous.

I do be constantly surprised by Theraphy? success, i think they stink but like they still get good slots, play Germany a lot, think the Germans just have a thing for Irish.

[Pagan Saviour]

i think they stink but like they still get good slots, play Germany a lot, think the Germans just have a thing for Irish

Baffling statement.

Where to start. Therapy worked their bollocks off in the early days between the EP's and Nurse, then had breakthrough commercial success with Troublegum so on the back of that alone they've retained a loyal core fanbase. In fact they've been able to continue to tour on their own terms based on what they achieved during their first decade.

Maybe I've picked you up wrong but "Germans Have a thing for the Irish" and "They Still get good slots" sounds like it's unwarranted or undeserved? Their studio output does fluctuate in quality but festivals aside they tend to headline..  i.e they're playing to their own fanbase that they built from ground up... it's not something that was just handed to them. The festival slots will always be given to them because of the success of Troublegum and to a lesser extent Infernal Love, and they're great live in that setting.

Edit. Just scanned their tourdates too, they're all over the place. UK, Europe, Australia, USA?

Double Edit Just Copped you're the Strangers With Guns Guy, surprised to hear you think the band are rubbish I would've thought your own band were influenced by them?

 

[Hellyeah]

All of the above, massive therapy fan.

[Carnage]

For a band that's been on the go for 35-odd years, I've never heard of them playing a bad show.* And one bad album out of 16 (Shameless) is a pretty damn good batting average. Fantastic band, wish there were more like them.


*There was one a few years ago where someone in the audience took ill and died. Obviously that was the end of the gig and it was hardly their fault, but they came back later in the tour and played the date again.

[Pagan Saviour]

I'd dispute the album thing there - a few clangers in the repertoire Shameless, Never Apologise, then the likes of One Cure, Crooked Timber, Brief Crack are just plain dull.

I do commend them for doing whatever they want though and I've seen them loads of times, the only bad show was the crooked timber tour where they played the whole feckin album, it tested everyone's patience.

[Eoin McLove]

I've yet to pick up that Jaaw album but the bits I heard were way more to my taste than any post-Nurse album. It's different sounding while tapping into that early era in certain ways.

[jobrok1]

One Cure Fits All and their latest one are the biggest duds, in my opinion. Just pure boring and utterly unmemorable songs.

Still love the band, though.
My first big obsession band back in my formative years. Had to collect everything I could get my hands on.

[Pagan Saviour]

I was the same, to be fair to them they were very prolific and the ep's were always worth picking up due to the amount of new material, bsides etc on them. Summer of Hate from the Teethgrinder single for example! Killer track

[Hellyeah]

Back on topic, been revisiting kerbdog albums after all this time. Tickets bought for Dublin. Would be raging if I missed out.
Albums are still class imo, holding up well giving there age.

[Necro Red]

Shame they never took the finger out and made another album. It's only been 30 years ha ha ha