Kerbdog

Originally named Rollercoaster, Kerbdog were formed in 1991 by Cormac Battle (vocals/guitar), Colin Fennelly (bass guitar), and Darragh Butler (drums) while attending St Kieran's College.{{Cite web |date=3 November 2020 |title=An interview with Cormac Battle from Kerbdog |url=https://www.jamesjammcmahon.com/-indie-heaven-1/kerbdog |access-date=29 July 2023 |website=jamesjammcmahon.com}}{{Citation |title=The Story of Kerbdog's On the Turn – Dan Hegarty – November 16, 2022 |url=https://soundcloud.com/rte2fm/the-story-of-kerbdogs-on-the-turn-dan-hegarty-november-16-2022 |access-date=29 July 2023}} The band went on to obtain their Leaving Certificates, but they devoted their energies to music rather than studies.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} Their early live shows primarily consisted of cover versions of songs by Sonic Youth, Loop, Spacemen 3, and Fudge Tunnel.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} Rollercoaster spent a year in London, but they failed to win much interest from the UK music press and returned to Kilkenny.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

Billy Dalton joined the band in early 1992 as a second guitarist and his fondness for heavy metal acts Metallica and Slayer complimented Battle's fascination with the British and New York City underground.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

They changed their name to Kerbdog in 1992.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In early 1993, Kerbdog signed with Mercury Records subsidiary Vertigo. That summer, they recorded{{cite web | url=http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/3792/article07.html | title=Jack Endino interview on the recording of the first Kerbdog album |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050315224320/http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/3792/article07.html |archive-date = 15 March 2005}} their self-titled debut album{{cite web | url=http://www.xanthein.co.uk/kerbdog/front.htm | title=Comprehensive Kerbdog Discography | access-date=7 December 2009 | archive-date=7 January 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107084319/http://www.xanthein.co.uk/kerbdog/front.htm | url-status=dead }} at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth in Wales. It was produced by Jack Endino.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Whilst recording, Kerbdog were also planning a major tour of British clubs. A winter support slot on The Almighty's UK tour brought added exposure, promoted by the band's second single, "End of Green".{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

1994 saw another run of gigs, including a support slot with Therapy?. The debut album was released that year to acclaim,{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} and two further singles were released, "Dry Riser" and "Dummy Crusher".

In July 1995, the band travelled to Los Angeles to work on their second album. Produced by GGGarth, On the Turn was rehearsed at Full Blast Studios before recording was completed at Sound City Studios and A&M Studios over the following months.

Billy Dalton left Kerbdog a few months after the band returned from Los Angeles.{{cite web | url=http://www.kerbdog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=312&p=2539&hilit=billy#p2473 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130814040905/http://www.kerbdog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=312&p=2539&hilit=billy%23p2473 | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 August 2013 | title=Info from Darragh on Kerbdog.com in the thread "Re: Billy's contribution to On the Turn" }} In early 1996, the Mercury Music Group was bought over by Polygram, and Kerbdog shifted to Fontana Records, Vertigo's sister label at PolyGram.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} "JJ's Song" was released in July 1996 as a limited-edition EP, preceding the "Sally" single in September 1996.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The album was repeatedly delayed before being released in the UK in March 1997, preceded by the single "Mexican Wave". It sold poorly, the record label dropped the band, and their back catalogue was deleted in 1997.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} Kerbdog recorded a six-track demo at Sun Studios, Dublin in May 1997, with the aim of securing a new record deal.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} An unnamed record company (believed to have been Dreamworks Records, a subdivision of Geffen) expressed interest in bringing the band to the United States and buying the rights to On The Turn from Mercury Records; an offer was made to Mercury and rejected. Without an album to promote Kerbdog in the States, the record company declined to sign the band.{{cite web | url=http://www.irishdrummers.com/2014/08/interview-with-darragh-butler-drummer.html | title='Irish Drummers' interview with Darragh Butler, 2012}}

"There were two labels that wanted to sign us at the time and came to see us supporting Placebo who, the first night, we blew away and the second night they wouldn't give us the PA in Belfast, but anyway they came to see us but they couldn't afford the album. They wanted the album and had Mercury sold that album we would have kept functioning as a band and moved straight to the States, everything was pretty much in place to do that, so I would be curious to see how much it was sold for now [in 2012]. I think it was about a hundred grand Sterling put on the table for the album [in 1997] but I presume the record label [Mercury], maybe wrote it off and perhaps there is a fifteen year [legal] thing or something that it's available now again."

Darragh Butler – Irishdrummers.com, 2012

The band continued without a record label for a few months but eventually disbanded in late 1997 and played their final gigs at the Krazy Horse, Cork over Christmas 1997 and at the Mean Fiddler, Dublin on 7 March 1998.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

{{Main|Wilt (band)}}

In 1998, Cormac and Darragh, with new bassist Mick Murphy, went on to form another band, Wilt. They played their first gig at The Funnel in Dublin on 26 March 1998.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} Rock Sound magazine tipped them as being Ireland's version of Hüsker Dü and Weezer. However, after two albums (Bastinado and My Medicine),{{cite web | url=http://www.xanthein.co.uk/wilt/disc/disc.htm | title=Comprehensive Wilt Discography}} Wilt broke up in 2003.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Following Wilt's split, Kerbdog reformed in 2005. They played a total of thirteen gigs in Ireland that year, most notably two sell-out concerts in February at the Temple Bar Music Centre, Dublin, followed by a set at the Oxegen music festival in July.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} They continued to play occasional one-off Kilkenny and Dublin shows in both 2006 and 2007.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} August 2008 saw the group play the Camden Barfly in London as part of the Kerrang "Week of Rock", and a show at the "Pumpalooza" in Kilkenny in aid of the Susie Long Hospice Foundation.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} Dalton rejoined them on stage for seven songs during the Pumphouse gig, marking the first time since 1995 that the four-piece had played together.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

A tribute album, entitled Pledge: A Tribute to Kerbdog was released on 8 March 2010, via the Derby-based record label Stressed Sumo Records.{{cite web | url=http://www.kerbdog.com/forums/index.php/topic,366.0.html | title=Kerbdog website post regarding tribute album | access-date=8 December 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713144707/http://www.kerbdog.com/forums/index.php/topic,366.0.html | archive-date=13 July 2011 | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url=http://www.pledgeatributetokerbdog.com/ | title=Kerbdog tribute album artwork | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213045256/http://www.pledgeatributetokerbdog.com/ | archive-date=13 December 2009 }}

Kerbdog played the Temple House Festival in Sligo on 11 June 2011,{{cite web|url=http://www.kerbdog.com/forums/index.php/topic,392.0.html |title=Info from Darragh on Kerbdog.com in the thread "Kerbdog Live News Coming Soon.." |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310080443/http://www.kerbdog.com/forums/index.php/topic%2C392.0.html |archive-date=10 March 2011 }} also playing a gig at the Set Theater in Kilkenny on New Year's Eve 2011,{{cite web|url=http://www.kerbdog.com/forums/index.php/topic,416.0.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905050639/http://www.kerbdog.com/forums/index.php/topic,416.0.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 September 2012 |title=Info from Darragh on Kerbdog.com in the thread "Kerbdog and Souls, this new years eve at the Set Theater Kilkenny" }} at which Wilt reformed for a few songs on the same night/stage.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

On 7 April 2012, the band returned to the UK to play a one-off gig in Bristol, with Souls (Butler and Dalton's new band) on the same bill, to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the release of On the Turn.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} This show was the first of three recorded by Dave Draper for a future live album.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} In late 2012, Kerbdog also recorded their Dublin and London shows.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} The result, Congregation, was released on 10 October 2014 as a CD/DVD package.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

On 16 June 2014, it was announced that guitarist Billy Dalton had rejoined Kerbdog after an eighteen-year absence.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} The group also announced that they would enter a recording studio in Evesham, the day prior to Sonisphere, to begin recording a track entitled "Soaking Wet", which was demoed originally in 1997.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} This marked the first time the band recorded studio material since the 1990s.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} The track, completed a few weeks later and retitled "Electricity", was included on the new live album.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} A 7" vinyl featuring "Electricity" and "Pointless (live)" was also made available.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} A Pledge campaign was unveiled on 23 June 2014 to help fund and promote the new releases.{{cite web | url=http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/congregation | title="Congregation" Pledge campaign}} The campaign reached 100% of its goal on 6 October 2014.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} That same day, Kerbdog recorded a studio session for Today FM radio in Dublin, first broadcast on the Paul McLoone show in November 2014.{{cite web | url=https://www.facebook.com/kerbdogband?hc_location=timeline | title=TodayFM Session| website=Facebook}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2018}} A UK tour in support of the live album took place in November 2014.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In an interview with Irish Metal Archive in 2015, Dalton confirmed that the band had plans to release an EP, for which they had three new songs waiting to be recorded.{{cite web | url=https://www.irishmetalarchive.com/interview-kerbdogs-billy-dalton/ | title=Billy Dalton Interview}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2019}}

Studio albums

• Kerbdog (1994) (UK #97){{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/29990/kerbdog/ |title=Kerbdog |website=officialcharts.com |access-date=8 May 2023}}
• On the Turn (1997) (UK #64)

Live albums

• ''Live at Concrete (US promo – 1994)
• Congregation (2014)

Singles

• "Earthworks" (demo – 1993)
• "End of Green" (1993)
• "Dry Riser" (1994) (UK #60)
• "Dummy Crusher" (1994) (UK #37)
• "JJ's Song" (1996)
• "Sally" (1996) (UK #69)
• "Mexican Wave" (1997) (UK #49)
• "Electricity" (2014)

Soundtrack appearances

• "Dummy Crusher" – Highlander III: The Sorcerer soundtrack (1994)
• "This Is Not a Love Song" – Bordello of Blood soundtrack (1996)

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.kerbdog.com Semi-official Kerbdog website]

{{Kerbdog}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Irish alternative rock groups

Category:Musical groups established in 1991

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1998

Category:Vertigo Records artists

Category:1991 establishments in Ireland

Category:People educated at St Kieran's College, Kilkenny

Category:1990s in Irish music

Category:2000s in Irish music

Category:2010s in Irish music