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HAIR OF THE DOG SET TO 'RISE'
from Spitfire Records

"Kick-ass rock 'n' roll the way mom used to make it. Good, solid, stick-to-your-ribs party music." Such is the domain of L.A.'s Hair Of The Dog, according to drummer Mike Dupke, who hits the nail on the head harder than the opening stomping chords to the band's warcry 'Rise', a song that lays down the rules for a resurgence of crunching power-chorded rock anthems last heard on the Kiss Alive II tour. (Hair of the Dog has been played on HardRadio long before the band had a label deal)

Kiss is a prime wellspring for this band, as is Van Halen, Aerosmith, AC/DC and hard, simple and tuneful '80s legends like Motley Crue and Skid Row, two bands most would be scared to dredge in the course of a conversation, let alone cite as influences. To a man though, each of the four rockers in Hair Of The Dog stresses the importance of the song, guitarist John Sepetys citing Eddie Van Halen as his primary inspiration, but not for his shredding but "his songwriting, and his ability to create solos with teeth but also memorable melody." Vocalist Ryan Cook (who is know to play a mean slide) leans the same way. "My favorite guitarist is Eric Clapton, so that should tell you something. I like guitarists who write solos you can sing, something a non-player would remember, a song within a song."

And throughout Rise, you can hear this ethic at work, this second album for the band going for a wide range of emotions, hues, speeds, and volume levels, while within each track, the band's collective years of chops can be heard to focus in reverence of the almighty song. These boys can all shred, make no mistake, but that's not what you will walk away humming. That's not what has woven classic rock into the fabric of our times, and that's not what has fans thirsting for more at the band's celebrated live gigs. "These are simple, almost instant songs, but the simplicity is deceptive," offers bassist Brian Saputo (just call him "Boot"; everybody else does). "This is definitely a sonically more polished machine than our first record. It was written and conceived as an album. We started pre-production and writing six months before we recorded, while the first one was more a string of demos and other ideas."

HAIR OF THE DOG SET TO 'RISE' Page 2