Rile ‘Em Up

Street Dogs’ Mike McColgan Spreads Words of Punk Rock Wisdom
Words by Anthony Giannotti – Photo by Cindy Frey

“There’s a lot of fucking shit pissing me off right now,” Mike McColgan, lead singer of Street Dogs, gruffly says in response to a question about where he gets the inspiration for his politically and socially charged lyrics. You’d think the emotional and physical toll of releasing five studio albums in eight years and a few world tours would have squelched McColgan’s fury. “All the shit that happened with Bernie Madoff, the tough economy is affecting everyday Americans. A lot of people are living beyond the breaking point. Society is really pissing me off right now.”

He’s not kidding. Not only have they had the privilege of sharing the tours with bands such as Bad Religion, The Bouncing Souls, Rancid and Flogging Molly, but they released their fifth full-length album this summer and are heading out on another headlining U.S. tour this fall. The Street dogs show no thought of slowing down either, McColgan says, “After releasing Fading American Dream in 2006, there was no looking back for us. This is what we do.” I got the chance to catch up with the man, the myth, the legend Mike McColgan to talk about the new album, more of what pisses him off, the spirit of punk rock and The Clash.

You guys have changed it up a little bit for this summer’s self-titled release. This album seems to have faster songs and a fuller sound. The deluxe iTunes version of the album features a few different versions of some songs, giving it a much more Celtic tinge than previous Street Dogs releases.
Nothing is off the table with us. We recorded 35 songs for this album and these are the best 18. We feel that this is our best collective effort to date;
that’s why we went with the self-title for this release. It’s five guys working collectively. This record was an easy record to make, and it’s the most honest
representation of us.

The drums really stand out on the new album; they seem to be very prominent. I like the way it changed your sound a little.
[Laughs] I joked while we recorded this album that we were just four guys lucky enough to play in a band with [drummer] Paul Rucker. I think recording in his hometown of Fort Collins [Colo.] really motivated him. It motivated all of us. It’s such an amazing city. Recording at the famous Blasting Room helped too.”

The lyrics of the new album cover a lot of different topics, everything from the U.S. economic situation, the still turbulent political environment, how the tech age overloads us with useless crap and songs about blowing off the steam created by these problems with friends. But would you agree the underlying message is self-empowerment?
We wanted to make a bold record. We have songs about personal empowerment, personal freedom and the search for personal redemption on
this record. I hope our lyrics encourage people to get off the couch and do something with life and not take anything lying down. We want people to
make a difference in their own lives. Don’t sign out of life; find something to believe in, find something that compels you… There is so much bad stuff going on right now. There are a lot of injustices in our society that really piss us off. If enough people stand up and change the things they don’t like in their own lives, it will eventually change everything.

So you believe being confrontational is what punk rock is about; if you don’t like something, get in someone’s face and change it?
That’s what punk rock has always been about. Don’t follow along with the norm, shake things up, question authority, don’t follow the status quo like sheep. I like being the underdog. I like being the outcast. I like being different. It’s where I feel comfortable. It’s where I fit in.

You’ve been in this comfort zone of outcasts for quite a while now. Where do your punk rock roots stem from?
Without The Clash I don’t think I’d be in a punk band; I honestly don’t think I’d be compelled to sing or write. We wanted to play it like Stiff Little Finger or The Clash. The Clash was public service announcements with guitars. The Clash took you all over the world with their songs, showed you where the problems were. They got people to take part in life. That was the first band that ever did that for me. [Laughs] I don’t think we are the next Clash or want to copy their style; we aren’t even fit to hold their jock straps, talent wise or music wise. They just put forth such a good example.

You are very adamant about the spirit of punk rock. In the song “Punk Rock and Roll” you talk about the spirit of punk not being able to die. Do you believe that the spirit of punk can’t die, that it is an ever-evolving being?
There is no way the spirit of punk can die. There is always going to be an underdog out there fighting for himself and his friends. Even though punk is not very commercially viable right now, we have faith in the younger generation “carrying the torch” so to speak. Out there on the road we see it in every town we visit. That is one of the reasons why we love touring so much. We get to see the kids go crazy just like we did.

While the music industry is struggling and a lot of bands are having a hard time, especially on the road, you guys seem to tour almost year ‘round.
We are a throwback band when it comes to touring. We go grass roots with it; we want to earn fans the old-fashioned way. We want to go out every night
and give our fans the best live performance we can. A little bit at a time, over time, has given us a crowd. We have pretty good followings on both coasts,
but we always try to visit every corner, nook and cranny of the country. Those out of the way spots are where we find the most enthusiastic kids.

With the expectations and comparisons a band like Street Dogs brings, did you guys have to do your time, cut your teeth to prove that you were in it for real?
We had to prove that we weren’t just jumping on a hot wagon, and I think we have done that because we have no axes to bury, no resentment toward other bands. Some of us came from successful bands [Dropkick Murphys and Mighty Mighty Bosstones]. We didn’t want to rely on past successes. We wanted to start something new, fresh. We are out there doing it because we love it.