Dr. Dog might not have the best band name — more on that later — but it hasn't stopped them from scoring glowing reviews, high-profile opening-act slots, and an appearance on their favorite late-night talk show. The past few months have been a whirl of firsts for the band. In fact, few indie acts have enjoyed a more successful 2007.
"What a rollercoaster ride," says Dr. Dog lead singer/guitarist Scott McMicken, 28, his voice teeming with enthusiasm. "It was straight-up overwhelming." On the night before our interview, McMicken's band performed on Late Show with David Letterman. Dr. Dog went with the piano-driven charmer "My Old Ways," which is the second track from their album We All Belong.
Released earlier this year on the tiny indie label Park the Van, it's a record that finds young men singing lively about life, love and other timeless subject matter over a warm, classic pop sound that's a cross between smooth Philly soul and the loose, rustic approach of The Band. The result is one of those energetic, hook-heavy, heartfelt albums that resonate with listeners ranging from critics and hipsters to housewives and small children.
Earlier, Dr. Dog did an in-store performance in front of friends, family and throngs of fans at the massive, three-story F.Y.E. on Broad Street in the band's hometown of Philadelphia. McMicken is running on minimal sleep thanks to a post-Letterman house party that found him putting away beers until 3 a.m. before having to get up at 9:30 to set up at F.Y.E. But there's not a trace of fatigue to be found in his voice.
"In Philly, a lot of our fans who are under 21 rarely get to see us play," McMicken says. "So today it was nice to see younger kids, like 7-year-olds, and their parents there who let their sons and daughters skip school to see us."
In the past, Dr. Dog has shared stages with My Morning Jacket, The Strokes, The Black Keys and The Raconteurs. But when Dr. Dog makes its Tampa Bay debut at Crowbar on Saturday it will be part of their first national headlining tour. Whereas supporting roles might find Dr. Dog in front of thousands, top billing at rock clubs in cities like Mobile, Ala., and Athens, Ga., might only produce a crowd of a couple hundred — or less.
"We feel real fortunate for being able to get in front of big audiences but we really feel we owe it to ourselves to just carry the burden on our own," McMicken says. "[Headlining] gives us the opportunity to go out and really see tangibly what we have achieved.
"When you're opening, you never have a sense of whether you're building an audience," he continues. "You just don't know how many people bought tickets to see you. Maybe 20 came for you, but you never know."
Headlining has also changed Dr. Dog's approach to playing live. On this tour, the band is emphasizing the pacing of their performances and allowing for improvisation. The musicians follow their instincts and play off the mood of the audience. "We had 'opening band syndrome' — that certain mentality where you get out there and fire away and try and knock people back real quick and make a quick impression," McMicken says. "Now that we're headlining, I can feel us improving as a band, making an arc to our set, making it more dynamic. It's not all just 1-2-3-4 kind of rock. We're really taking the band in a more diverse direction — one that's hard to justify when you're the opening band."
McMicken is quick to add: "Not that we don't love the material we recorded, we just like to stretch it out, bring another aspect to it in concert."
A week or so after Dr. Dog plays Tampa, the band will perform at the annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee, which typically draws about 80,000. The Police, The White Stripes and Tool are among the headliners. McMicken plans to approach that show the same way he does every other.
"Truth be told, whether it's the biggest rooms or smallest room, I just put my sunglasses on and close my eyes and try to communicate," McMicken says. "That comes from wanting to feel close to the crowd — we do bring the same amount of energy to every show and then if the crowd matches us it can just go up and up, and those are the shows that are really great."
Much has been made of the band name Dr. Dog, which is perhaps one of the worst around. McMicken has heard this since he co-founded the band nearly six years ago. He takes the criticism in stride.
"No, I don't hate talking about it," McMicken says with a laugh. "It's just that I don't quite understand the hangup. Look at My Morning Jacket, a band I have an immense amount of respect for, a band that's just perfect in every sense of the word, like the greatest band ever. My girlfriend introduced me to their music and I was like 'That band name sucks. It sounds like an emo band. This is gonna be crap.'
"For my first few months of My Morning Jacket fandom, I thought, 'This band is great, but the name is shitty,'" he continues. "But then I started to see the name as them. I would like to think that could be possible for people who have a problem with our band name."
Speaking of names, the five members of Dr. Dog all have sobriquets. In fact, the name Scott McMicken doesn't even appear in the liner notes to We All Belong. He is credited as Taxi alongside band members Tables, Text, Triumph and Thanks.
"It's a way of acknowledging yourself within this band," McMicken explains. "We work real hard to keep up the spirit of being in the band. It's the idea of not letting outside problems affect us. It's just a small gesture towards that. If people do really great things for us — like our manager, our booking agent, little clubs that have been real supportive — they get a name."
Thankfully, Dr. Dog is taken.
This article appears in Jun 6-12, 2007.