Garage Dog is an 8 piece band that plays for crowds that love to dance! Presently we are focusing on recording a followup to our 2017 Ghost EP. We will be sharing these new tunes as we line up shows for the summer of 2019.
Our name comes from our love of the 60's Garage sound that our song catalogue tends towards, especially neglected but still loveable tunes - just like a garage dog that needs some love!
Garage Dog is a band that had a fateful beginning back in 1992 that would not come to its fruition for 17 more years. It took that long for Port Hope native Mike Woods to begin a musical partnership with his former Grade 8 teacher, Dean Smith. They reconnected in 2009 while being in two different bands but saw the potential in creating a new band which would dig deep into the forgotten treasures of rock and roll. Garage Dog was born.
The promise of this new band was not to cover the same ground as other cover bands but to pay honest tribute to rock and roll's history through sweat- drenched performances of rock's misplaced gems. Along the way, Garage Dog rediscovered its collective love of soul, Celtic, rhythm & blues, and rockabilly. For Mike Woods, collector, curator and custodian of the almost-underground Northumberland Rock and Roll Experience and now producer & engineer of Log Jam Studio, this band sought to bring to life the blood and tears of rock's history.
Garage Dog believes in its responsibility to stay true to the spirit of rock and its myriad influences by emphasizing the restorative powers of getting out on the dance floor and forgetting about life's troubles for a few hours.
The band has seen a Spinal Tap-like amount of personnel changes in the last 10 years,. Mike (lead guitar, vocals) and Dean (rhythm guitars, vocals) were soon joined by Roxie Milne (keys, vocals) and are still kicking it. A few years ago now, Todd Garrison (lead vocals) and Joe Azzarello (bass) signed on after their former band Summerhouse folded and the energy behind the drums is courtesy of Phil Taylor, local legend from Jackhammer. As of January 2019, guitar wizard Pete Faragher makes his status with the band official! If that wasn't enough of a good thing, Anne Finlay brings her beautiful spirit and vocals to our musical family.
The Dog's vision has now evolved into creating original music to further its mission. After the critical and local support of the band's first single, "What's Handed Down," new music with the EP "Ghost" has been released in September 2017 with local recording producer and sound engineer Matt Azzarello.
Thanks for taking the time to read our story, listen to our originals, joining us at our shows - we are deeply appreciative.
Hope to see you out on the road and stay tuned for new material!
