It’s the “reunion you didn’t ask for and didn’t know you needed!”
On Monday, August 5th @ 7pm, Cuppa Joe hosts SF rock band, Short Dogs Grow, for a live in-studio interview ahead of their show on August 10th at Kilowatt in SF.
Tom Pitts and Carmela Thompson formed Short Dogs Grow in 1985. Tom and Carmela were both working for Lightning Messenger service at the time. Carmela was the only female motorcycle messenger in San Francisco. They drew their band’s name from the lyrics of the Tom Waits song “On the Nickel” from the 1980 album Heartattack and Vine. The song’s title refers to Fifth Street in Los Angeles, long known as a slum, and a “short dog” is a small bottle of cheap wine favored by winos. Pitts and Thompson felt it symbolized the band’s philosophy of “not being tied to anything and giving yourself room to grow.”
Maximumrocknroll, the San Francisco-based zine of punk subculture run by Tim Yohannan, described Short Dogs Grow in 1987 as “a Bay Area band that tirelessly supports their scene, play great shows and just ‘care’ in general.”
The music of Short Dogs Grow was also likened to Sticky Fingers-era Rolling Stones. Short Dogs Grow was also influenced by the San Pedro band the Minutemen – SDG’s demo tape was called Short Songs in a Row. Another writeup noted “power-chord harmonies and bold time changes, reminiscent though not derivative of early Hüsker Dü, with strong, unconventional imagery.”
The band self-released a cassette in 1985, and was signed to Rough Trade records in 1987. They released two LPs and then disbanded in 1990. They reunited with all original members for three shows between 2008 and 2012 and are now back in action!
