Holy White Hounds

“Want a beer? Want nine?”

That’s the greeting Holy White Hounds singer/guitarist Brenton Dean gave in the driveway of his Ankeny home where the Des Moines rock band practices. Practice was over, but the Hounds’ evening wasn’t.

The four-piece band plays hard, but in the last few years it has also become more intensely focused on its music. The group occupies a unique niche among the sea of indie and hard rock bands filled with 20-somethings in Des Moines: Holy White Hounds is just rock and roll. There’s no pretense, no attempts to fit some subcategory. Think early Foo Fighters or Queens of the Stone Age. They’re not trying to be a band that everyone would love, but they’re not instantly turning away certain listeners with labels, either.

In recent months, that has meant more sold-out shows, bigger shows and interest from smaller labels for the band’s forthcoming full-length debut. And the Hounds are just as at home performing with a band like Parlours as opening for Rob Zombie. It’s one of the few Des Moines bands that would fit in just as well playing 80/35 (which HWH has done) as Lazerfest (maybe next year).

“Those crossover shows, ultimately why it works is having a frontman (Dean) who can relate to any type of crowd. That’s why it works,” said bassist Ambrose Lupercal. “We’re not going to change the key or play harder or softer. We’re going to go out and make a connection with the crowd.”

Dean interjected:“That’s a boring story, let’s tell a good story.”

A long friendship, evolving bands

Dean, 27, and Lupercal, 26, have been playing together since they were in high school. Dean was a student at Lincoln and his friend, Steven Rood, had moved to Johnston where he became friends with Lupercal. Rood introduced Dean to some of his new friends, and Dean said Rood warned him to “play it cool” with the kids from the suburbs.

They hit it off and formed the Dig Angees, a surf rock band that Dean, Lupercal and Rood performed in together for five years. The Dig Angees performed at the first two years of 80/35 and in 2008 finished third in the nation in the LG: Rally For Music Battle of the Bands in New York City, opening for Gym Class Heroes.

The Dig Angees faded away when Lupercal went to the University of Iowa in 2010. Dean started recording music on his own under the name La Strange, which had more of a blues-rock sound. Dean recruited various drummers for live shows, including Rood, but the band was short-lived.

For a while during the La Strange period, Dean considered giving up on music. He was uncertain anyone would want to listen to his music. In 2011 Lupercal came back to Des Moines and he and Dean reconnected and started jamming.

Dean said they toyed with playing as La Strange, but the music they were working on seemed different than either of the prior incarnations. Dean said he also started to realize that maybe he had gotten too out there at times with his friends.

“I think we were like aliens to each other,” Dean said. “Maybe up until the last year I didn’t really understand some of our differences. It’s never something that made us pissed off at each other, but it really did seem like we were from different countries for a bit. I know the south side and Johnston are just different parts of the same town, but they are really different.”

Refining a sound

Two of the new songs on Holy White Hounds’ 2013 “Oh Mama” EP, “In Your Skin” and “Switchblade,” sum up the shift from the Dig Angees/La Strange days. They’re sharp and succinct, the musical equivalent of a shot of whiskey followed by a shotgunned beer.

In the past Dean had written and demoed songs before bringing them to his bandmates. “In Your Skin” and “Switchblade” came from seeds planted by Lupercal and Dean credits “In Your Skin” entirely to the bassist. That song has become Holy White Hounds’ closing number in recent months, “because it’s so awesome,” says Dean.

When it came time to record Holy White Hounds’ music, Dean was weighing the band’s options. He struck up a conversation with Parlours singer Dana Halferty (Dean describes Halferty as his “big sister,” despite the fact that he is older). Her advice was to work with the person who would make the Hounds’ material the best that it could be.

Among those on his list to possibly work with were Envy Corps guitarist Brandon Darner, who produced Imagine Dragon’s platinum hit “It’s Time,” and worked with Iowa acts like Radio Moscow, Bonne Finken, Bright Giant and others.

“They’re a straight up, unapologetic rock and roll band. We’ve been joking they’re a dirty rock band,” Darner said. “They’re about 180 degrees away from hipster. I hadn’t made a straight up rock and roll record in a long time, so I was really excited to work with them and help bring out something that seems to be missing in the scene.”

Over the course of a year, Darner and the Hounds recorded the “Oh Mama” EP, as well as the forthcoming full-length album. It’s been completed for some time, but there is some interest from smaller labels and the band is looking for the right one. The hope is for a spring release.

Dean said Darner helped put things in focus for the band. Like anyone who starts playing music as teens, Dean and Lupercal wanted to be rich and famous rock stars one day.

“Brandon said to us, ‘You guys have to do this just because you love music,’” Dean said. “He reminded us that getting rich and famous is not a good reason to be doing this.”

Gaining momentum

Changes came about during the recording process. Rood bowed out, with Cedar Falls drummer Seth Luloff stepping in. The band also added a second guitarist, James Manson, taking some of the performance pressure off Dean’s guitar work.

“On the record we did some overdubs, and I’m a big believer in being able to pull off the record in live shows,” Dean said. “There’s not a whole lot worse than a band that can’t play their record, so adding another guitar made sense.”

Darner also made the band commit to its sound and name, when Dean would get tempted to stray from the formula or possibly rework the lineup under a new band name like he had before. Darner knows they have potential with this music, as the Holy White Hounds.

“I think it’s theirs to win or lose,” Darner said. “I know they’re a hungry, driven band. I’m cautious with every band I work with, because I know the realities of the music industry. Especially when it comes to a straight up rock and roll band. But if the circumstances are right, there’s really no limit to what they can achieve.”

Holy White Hounds shows are getting to be a hot ticket in town. The band has sold out Gas Lamp multiple times and was a strong draw at Wooly’s earlier this month in a co-headlining gig with Parlours.

The band is hesitant about moving to the larger venue for most of its shows.

“That’s our preference, because that’s how our music is meant to be taken in,” Dean said. “We want people close enough that they can hear the music from our instruments, not the amps. We have so many people coming back that I feel like I’m making friends with a lot of our fans. We’re not regionally big, but I like the feeling of playing a sold-out show to your friends. I take it as a compliment to be able to hold someone’s attention over so many repeat shows.”

When Dean is on, he’s on. At the Nov. 1 show at Wooly’s, Dean thanked the (many) fans who were standing close to the stage, saying in the interest of helping people to hook up, he wanted everyone with herpes to stay in the back, while all the “clean” fans gather at the front.

Dean insinuated that about a quarter of the band’s crowd had an STD, but no one stormed out. Many did draw closer. It’s just a showman’s trick, inviting the crowd to be part of the cool kids club and drawing them to himself in the process. At times he seems like the class clown acting out for attention. But the funniest kids in class always got it.

“I hate when I see bands that say ‘Come up front, come up front,’” Dean said. “I guess that’s my way of doing that … . But we never ask people to come up front. If the crowd is not up front, it’s because you’re not enticing them. But if you’re playing to your audience, they’ll come up front.”

Several times he made the request that this article make him look bad. “I insist you make me look like an a**hole,” he said after the practice. But he’s not. He plays the role at times, but it’s because he’s trying for a reaction. And he’s not trying to have a laugh at the audience’s expense; you’re either laughing with him or laughing at him. But you’re noticing him.

With the upcoming album, people are going to notice him and his band even more.

“I’m a chatty Susan, I like to relate to people,” Dean said. “It’s just part of what we have to do on stage. And why wouldn’t someone get up on stage? You get to be the luckiest person in the room … . Why wouldn’t you let them know you’re grateful they’re there? I’m very sincere; I need to talk to people and let them know I’m happier to be there.” - Juice

Every band goes through a time of existential crisis. For Holy White Hounds, that time probably came two summers ago, right around the 2012 80/35 Play-In finals. Talking to front man Brenton Dean outside Gas Lamp that afternoon, I got the feeling I was talking to a guy who was about done. Dean was clearly frustrated and didn’t seem to be having much fun.

When a band hits those moments, it either breaks them or it finds its light at the end of the tunnel and comes out the other side. Anyone who’s been paying attention to the local scene this summer will tell you that the Hounds found its way, making 2013 a year of rebirth for the band.

“I think that I just realized that I couldn’t stop doing it,” Dean said.

“I don’t know what changed exactly,” added bassist Ambrose Lupercal, before motioning to Dean, “but this kid got a kick in his ass and started writing kick-ass tunes. Watching him crank out the majority of the LP in a week, it was like, ‘OK, it’s time to strap in and get serious about this.’ So as lame as it sounds — getting inspired by my front man — I watched him get it together, and it’s like, ‘I’ll follow that.’ ”

“I’ve always been in this, but I wasn’t the pilot. I’m the mechanic. I can keep things moving, but I’m not steering the ship.”

Dean’s renewed sense of purpose has stoked the Hounds to new creative heights, which, along with its relationship with producer Brandon Darner, resulted in its latest album, “Oh Mama.” While it might be melodramatic to say that Darner saved Holy White Hounds, it’s perfectly legitimate to say that he professionalized the group.

“I can’t say the band wouldn’t be without (Darner),” Dean said. “But I think we’d look a lot more pathetic without him.”

Nobody’s calling the Hounds pathetic, as a sold-out “Oh Mama” release show reflects. The band has been more selective in its gigs, and the product it’s turning out is tighter and better constructed. Creatively and professionally, they feel like they’ve turned a corner and are doing their best to build upon that. - Cityview