There’s no denying it: 2011 was the year of the Sheepdog. The trigger, of course, was the Rolling Stone contest for the first unsigned band ever to appear on the venerable magazine’s cover, and the publicity fount from which the Sheepdogs’ win sprang. But if 2011 was the year the band broke out, then 2012 looks – at least so far – like the year they hunker down and get comfy.
Rolling Stone’s cover story, by veteran writer Austin Scaggs, infamously depicted the band’s hometown, Saskatoon, as a Deliverance-like backwater, but winning got the ’Dogs a slot at the Bonnaroo music festival and a record deal with Atlantic; in that way, the ’70s-style southern boogie rockers became a pre-packaged entity not unlike a Canadian Idol winner.
Except, of course, there’s the music. No one sounds like them. And as long as that continues to be the case, the Sheepdogs can chop a unique swath through rock ’n’ roll.
Black Keys drummer produces Sheepdogs album
Exhibit A? Patrick Carney. The Black Keys drummer, Coachella headliner and arena rocker is now notching his producer belt on the Sheepdogs’ new album. They’re in studio as we speak, and Twitter photos from the sessions – with Carney at the drum kit – show that this is a hands-on investment. (Interestingly, another producer on the album is Rolling Stones writer Scaggs. Conspiracy, I say!)
But there’s more to the Sheepdogs’ arrival than the embrace of a well-respected rock ally. Like the Keys, the Sheepdogs could become an outsize indie, getting huge while staying cool. Or, they could head in another direction: middle-ground accessibility.
Coachella caps run of big bookings
Of late, the band has booked family-friendly shows like the New Year’s celebrations at Niagara Falls and the NHL All Star weekend. Now, that could be because of the band’s nostalgic ’ 70s sound, with its bouncy, inviting rhythm. But it might also be the sheen of mainstream American acceptance. Like Kings of Leon before them, could they careen into superstar status? Could they attract douche bags, moms and teens alike to the safer sides of their southern sounds? After all, the Sheepdogs do sing about Facebook and don’t sing about your sex being on fire. It’s possible that their high profile entrée into the culture could dictate a wide, rather than deep, career path.
Whatever their fate, the band is starting 2012 at full speed. After wrapping with Carney, they’ll join him and Auerbach at Coachella on both of the fest’s weekends. “Sheepdogs” appears in teeny-tiny font on the poster, but so did the words “Black Keys” not too long ago.
Related:
Concert on Demand: The Sheepdogs at 'On a Cold Road'
Podcast: Breakfast Club #78 - The Sheepdogs