The Sundogs

I went into The Sundogs show thinking they'd sound like Spawn of Uncle Tupelo. They do advertise themselves as "No Depression Rock" after all. But I found that they had a lot more going for them than that.

They've got three songwriters in the band who can actually sing, harmonize, and rock out. Pretty cool. Two of them (Lee and Will) are brothers and I have to hand it to any siblings that can make music together for five years and not kill one another.


Besides the Jeff Tweedy/Jay Farrar similarities, I heard influences like Booker T. and the M.G.'s, Bo Diddley, Marshall Tucker Band, the Black Crowes and "Girlfriend"-era Matthew Sweet. There was also some outlaw country going on too with the pedal steel action. Lee managed to make it sound naughty instead of sweet, which was cool.

One thing about reviewing live music is that you don't get more than a cursory sense of the lyrics, even from the vocalists with the best of diction. But I did get the impression that they were worth a second pass.

The three songwriters brought their own style to the table. Will's songs were more Southern bad-boy rock, which is complemented by his baritone. Lee's got more of a Jay Farrar meets Billy Joe (from Green Day, not Shaver) thing going on and Matt's had a burning intensity to them. Overall they were tight and I came away in a really good mood. It didn't hurt that their second set was full of dance floor fillers like an extended take on the Stones' "Miss You."

Bassist Will told me they recently added a keyboard player (who wasn't there last night) and that's opened a whole new realm for them. I wish they'd had one there, because there were a few numbers where I could totally hear a Jerry Lee Lewis thing waiting to happen. I would also have added hand claps to at least one song, but that's kind of hard to pull off when your hands are full of guitars and drumsticks and such.

On a more random note, besides the usual crew there were some honest to goodness celebs in the audience. Right after the band broke into "You Wreck me" I learned that Tom Petty's bass player was there. I have no idea what he was doing in Macon but that amused me. And the adorable blonde at the table next to me turned out to be Baby Jessica, the girl who fell down the well all those years ago. I suppose either of those things could be untrue, but I'd like to believe they are.

Posted by Maggie on September 10, 2005 at 01:29 PM | Permalink
- Amped- The Macon Telegraph

The Sundogs’ BB Gun Days opens like a house of fire, with the guitar blast of “Oasis” filling your speakers with a sound that is reminiscent of the Black Crowes’ eye-opening $hake Your Money Maker. Just vintage, retro rock n’ roll. This is how you are introduced to the sound of The Sundogs.

The Atlanta, Georgia quartet is led by two brothers, Lee and Will Haraway who team up to write all eleven songs on this independent release. I’d seen them live at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta and was taken by their energy and their versatility as they powered through straight-ahead rock that would often launch them into brilliant jams. The Haraways have great chemistry on stage, fusing bass and crunchy rhythm guitar in thick grooves that allow creative lead guitarist Matt Ulmer to shine, while their melodic vocals mix as you would expect from two guys who have been singing together their entire lives. I was hooked, and picked up the record that night.

Several tracks stand out on this well-rounded album: the boogie stomp of “Wastin Time on You”, the laid-back groove of “Food Hook”, the peaceful easy feeling of instrumental “Greenfinger” (featuring Lee Haraway on pedal steel), the Uncle Tupelo simplicity of “My Last Drink” and the Skynryd-esque rocker “Long Gone”- on which Ulmer really gets a chance to shine. But “Oasis” is the pinnacle, just a great performance by a talented band. Lee Haraway’s vocals and signature riff convey rock n’ roll attitude throughout the cut while Ulmer blasts his wah in rhythm with Will Haraway’s funky bass line and Kevin Leahy’s powerhouse drumming. It’s got drama and makes me want to drive fast as hell- I just don’t understand why songs like this aren’t on the radio.

Lyrically, the Haraways' best effort is probably evidenced by “The Last Song”- the haunting ballad about death and loss that closes the record:

This is the last song before I go pack up my guitar / This is the last drink before I pour another for sure / Hear the last words on your lips, I feel I’m breathing slow / Cause I’m walkin around on my last legs, or didn’t you know

BB Gun Days is a terrific first effort for The Sundogs, a sign of great things to come from this promising band from Atlanta.
- JamBase

Treading the muddy ground between traditional and modern Southern Rock, Atlanta's Sundogs have emerged with BB Gun Days, an enjoyable selection of songs that
bridge sweet tea, back-porch ease with rocking, guitar drenched anthems.

When you catch them live, The Sundogs barnstorm the sonic Americana landscape in a rickety biplane stocked with an arsenal of rich harmonies, insanely catchy medodies and the string driven attack of modern Southern rock.

- Lee Smith, Creative Loafing - Creative Loafing

Hailing from Atlanta, Southern rock quartet The Sundogs is actualy led by two Millington brothers, singers/guitarists/songwriters Lee and Will Haraway.

When they open their new album, BB Gun Days with the song "Oasis"- a rather obvious, if gloriously so, Black Crowes homage- one suspects that the Memphis siblings are out to rival the Robinson clan..... - The Commercial Appeal