Dogcatcher
Mountain View, California, United States | SELF
Music
Press
To come up with the songs for "It's Easy," Dogcatcher strove to develop an organic sound where everyone in the band contributed. Bassist Jared Milos came from a reggae background and drummer Ramon Esquivel is drawn to hip-hop. Also on the record is guitarist Ryan Kingsmith, who has an indie rock background; Kingsmith has since left the band.
"It's Easy," takes the strengths of the band members and is a well honed, excellent indie rock record that you can dance to. - San Francisco Chronicle
"This is Dogcatcher and yesterday they released their second ever album! I bought it and listened to it yesterday (and am listening to it while I type this) and I got to say, it's a really nice break from the whole electronic and indie pop and crazy indie rock stuff that I normally listen to. If you have been looking for a nice relaxing indie folk or indie rock band I think I found it for you. This band is so chill in songs like "Lay Back Down" and "That Stone" and it's just so well put together. I just wish the album was longer!" - Thisblogisaboutmusic.blogspot.com
"Blending indie-rock beats, jazz-styled piano and guitar licks and groove-driven vocals, Dogcatcher seem to have found their sound on It's Easy and you can hear that via their first single, "I Need You," which we are premiering below." - Filter Magazine
"This is Dogcatcher. The Mountain View-based alternative rock band recently released its second album, "It's Easy" -- a six-song set, peppered with jazz-funk syncopation and rough-around-the-edges indie charm. The band is scheduled to play its first Mountain View show since the release of "It's Easy," this Saturday, Aug. 4, at Red Rock Coffee." - Mountain View Voice
"After making Dogcatcher a more official group, the four-piece allowed their sound to change significantly, even when playing songs off of KILR. Most of the folk-sounds were replaced with elements of soul, giving the live sound a very groove-centric, rhythm-section-oriented blend of rock n’ roll and R & B. Yet the songs still remain full of understated emotion and philosophically depth." - Silicon Valley Metro
Hailing from California, KILR, the debut full-length from three-piece band Dogcatcher is a record ripe with folk-pop tunes heavily influenced with blues and jazz. Sounds like it’s killer. (Pun intended)
Frontman Andrew Heine, bassist Jason Wei, and drummer Ramon Esquivel make up the bands trio. “All at once… nobody move a muscle, it’s a sucker punch,” croons Heine on “All At Once,” a captivating jazzy number further enriched by the addition of backing vocals from Jenn Grinels. The addition of strings to “So Thank You,” a lament to a former lover is melancholy loveliness. “Dusty Trail” is trumpet-filled dirty-sweaty blues. Dogcatcher claims that KILR is an album about two lovers’ journey and it sure is that, and so much more.
Discovering Dogcatcher is akin to walking into some random, dimly lit, intimate, music venue with no expectations apart from getting a quick drink. Hanging by the bar, nursing a drink facing away from the stage, the music starts, and suddenly, Heine’s velvety voice rings out, slowly seducing you, song after song, deeper and deeper, weaving a spell over you, and then it’s over. You’re left with the feeling that one day you’ll look back on this moment and think, “I knew them when…”
- The Owl Mag
Hailing from Mountain View, California, Dogcatcher is a three-piece outfit that isn't the easiest to pin down stylistically. To assist in this difficult task, Dogcatcher are offering a bunch of their music, for free.
Led by Bay area native Andrew Heine, the band has had a rotating cast including Brian Holwerda (The Blackout Party, Kimberly Kills), Damon Delapaz (Ape Machine, Fenix TX) and Jim Hughes (Pretty Too Bad, Irrado). After moving back to the San Francisco area from San Diego, Heine recruited the current line-up of Ramon Esquivel on drums and Jason Wei on bass.
Just because they are feeling real generous, the band is also offering a free download of the entire KILR album to the first 200 people! So get going and click here!
Get all things Dogcatcher, Right Here. - Filter Magazine
It was with a slight sense of dismay that I searched our submissions inbox to find that we had indeed been contacted by the band Dogcatcher over a month ago, and that we had even requested a download from them, and somehow, we still passed right over them. Which is why I’m thankful for Twitter, because when I see other people speaking glowingly about a band, I can make up for my initial mistakes. The band caught my eye because of the folks at The Owl Mag, so I went and listened (again).
Formed from members of a backing band in San Diego, the band is a piano heavy jazz/blues type outfit that you might find holed up in a smoke filled bar playing a set of covers, with a few of their originals thrown in. (NOTE: It might be difficult to find a bar that allows smoking inside at this point.) To that end, I’m putting up their cover of James Brown’s 1966 single “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” along with an original from their new album KILR, which had its official release show this past Friday. I have it on good authority that they nearly sold the place out, 300-plus people.
You can (and should) grab KILR for $7 over at their Bandcamp page.
Connect with Dogcatcher // Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp | web
Dogcatcher // A Man’s Man’s Man’s World [mp3]
Dogcatcher // A Good Idea [mp3] from KILR - Tympanogram
Discography
"It's Easy" - 2012 http://dogcatcher.bandcamp.com
"KILR" - 2011 http://dogcatcher.bandcamp.com/album/kilr
"Feudalism" - 2005
Photos
Bio
There’s something magical that happens when four musicians come together from four completely different backgrounds. For Mountain View’s Dogcatcher, the result is a mellow, subtly-intense blend of soul, jazz, folk and indie-rock.
“All of us have individual flavors and they’re all there equally. It’s like cooking with four ingredients,” says lead vocalist Andrew Heine.
Their first album, KILR, was a quiet folk-oriented solo album Heine wrote while living in San Diego and digesting the Iraq War he’d recently returned from. After KILR, Heine returned to his hometown, Mountain View, and formed a proper group, plucking musicians out of totally different bands to create an eclectic, genre-defying sound. On Dogcatcher’s second album, It’s Easy, the four members demonstrate that they have truly come into their own.
“You have Ryan Kingsmith on guitar, who comes from a more indie rock background. I’m coming from a jazz background,” Heine says. “Jared Milos has been playing bass in a reggae band for a long time. Ramon Esquivel’s got marching drum roots and he likes a lot of hip hop.”
Rather than take all of their individual styles and blending it into something unrecognizable, Dogcatcher has found a way to develop a cohesive sound, without losing any of the member’s unique voices.
It’s Easy is the end result of a gradual evolution the band members took to find their unique sound. The band’s early shows involved playing full band renditions of Heine’s folk songs off of KILR. But they weren’t happy with the sit down atmosphere their shows created. They wanted people to dance and have fun.
“We were just trying to keep ourselves entertained. I wanted people to have a good time. This album specifically aimed for that. We want people to move and get into our music,” Heine says.
“The style change was purely motivated by the vibe we wanted to have at shows,” says Esquivel.
As they started to write new music they continued to follow this groovier, more eclectic path. Rather than focus on the guitar, like KILR, they started with the bass and drums, building danceable rhythms and growing from there, with the guitar adding texture and depth. Heine switched to the Fender Rhodes electric piano, which naturally gave the songs a more soulful sound.
The six songs on It’s Easy reflect not only Dogcatcher’s distinct sound, but each song has a unique vibe. Some of the songs lean heavier into rock and roll, while others fall more into a jazz or soul sound.
Heine’s soft, hushed voice and simple-stated lyrics compliment the easy, hip-shaking nature of the music. But for listeners looking for lyrics with depth, Heine will not disappoint. Rather than aim for overt expressions of emotion, Heine always goes for the understated, which makes the emotionality behind the music that much more powerful with repeat listens. On the closing song “Sezio” Heine sings, “It’s amazing I’m alive today/now let’s make it an event.” This simple line was inspired by Heine’s time in Iraq and seeing firsthand how fragile life really is.
While KILR is an album of more obvious personal expression, It’s Easy is no less emotional. In fact, what Heine and the rest of Dogcatcher have created is something few bands can boast, intelligent, thoughtful dance music.
“It’s Easy is written with the same intellectual intent as KILR, but there are definitely more parts where it’s fun, where everyone can feel good and relate to it,” Heine says.
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