Pavlov’s Dog
The US pomp proggers are still going strong with their latest, Prodigal Dreamer.
“Art should be dangerous. There is nothing to be gained by playing safe. If you do that, your music will be boring.”
Pavlov’s Dog mainman David Surkamp knows how to make an artistic statement, and isn’t afraid to take a risk or two, as evident on the band’s new, sixth album Prodigal Dreamer.
“We started to do a mix of the song Paris,” continues Surkamp, referring to a track on said new album, “and it seemed to be missing something. What it obviously needed was a guitar solo at the end. So I picked up my guitar, went in and did it on the spot. It was purely spontaneous – one take.”
Surkamp has always stomped to the beat of his own drum. Ever since Pavlov’s Dog first released their remarkable debut, Pampered Menial, in 1975, he and the various musicians who have sashayed through the band have set out to make progressive statements that capture the spirit of the moment.
“I grew up in St Louis, where all you heard was blues and soul,” Surkamp remembers. “For me, seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan TV show in 1964 was a major turning point. But what really inspired me was seeing Procol Harum on their Shine On Brightly tour in 1968. I was 16 years old, and they made a massive impression [on me]. And they were supported by Nazz, Todd Rundgren’s band. Witnessing Rundgren and Robin Trower with Procol Harum made my mind up: I went straight out and bought my first Fender Telecaster. I still have it to this day: that was the guitar I used to do the solo I mentioned on Paris.
“But what I learned very early on is that you should never copy somebody else,” he says. “Those two bands were a big part of what propelled me towards being a musician. However, does my guitar style remind you of Rundgren, Trower or anyone else? No, it doesn’t. My vocals are also unique, and so is the way I write. You either conform and become a faceless part of the crowd, or you live dangerously and go out on your own.”
Surkamp is slowly beginning to reap rewards for a career that has earned him many critical plaudits, but little commercial reward. Yet, every studio album that Pavlov’s Dog have
From finding joy in risk-taking to appearing on film soundtracks, Pavlov’s Dog’s David Surkamp assures Prog that there’s life in the old dog yet as they celebrate the release of their sixth album…
done – astonishingly only six in more than 40 years – offers a singular insight into the mind of the man who defines what they represent. And if you look at the cover of the new album, it clearly has more than a passing resemblance with the iconic sleeve of the aforementioned debut. That’s no coincidence.
“Remember the butcher’s dog on the cover of Pampered Menial?” Surkamp asks. “He was under the table trying to get scraps. Now, the dog on the new artwork is a lot healthier, and is picking off the meat from the butcher’s table. I guess that represents who I am. I feel like I am finally getting more response for what I am doing than I have ever done before. It’s not like I am seeking big record sales, or a Grammy. But it’s a relief to know that all the heartache hasn’t been for nothing.”
On the new album, Surkamp has brought together material that spans the decades. Paris, for instance was something he and original bandmember Doug Rayburn first worked on in the early 70s, while Hard Times is a lot more contemporary.
“The latter reflects the way I felt when Donald Trump was inaugurated as the president of the United States,” Surkamp explains. “When I saw that happening, I felt so depressed. Not that the lyrics are specifically about him, but it represents how we are now living in dark times. I feel like what I did on this track was similar to what Woody Guthrie did in the 1930s. He had Roosevelt as president, and I have Trump!
“I guess all my songs draw on my situation, although not everything is autobiographical. I suppose you won’t get many laughs from my songs! Writing is very cathartic for me.”
For Prodigal Dreamer, the band collaborated with engineer Paul Hennerich, who has worked with orchestras and on jazz projects.
“Paul is one of those people who knows how to get the best out of musicians,” Surkamp says. “And he is a master at recording in a live environment, which is what I wanted this time. So we had all of the band in the same room playing together. Paul miked everything up to capture the ambience of what we were doing. All the basic tracks were done that way – which is really old school. But nothing beats having everyone in there looking at one another and bouncing off what we’re all doing.”
This is the first studio album that Pavlov’s Dog have released since the deaths of three people who were closely associated with the band. Rayburn passed away in 2012, original bassist Rick Stockton died in 2015, and keyboard player Nathan Jatcko (who was in the band for three years from 2015) committed suicide earlier this year. Surkamp feels their loss heavily.
“It’s very hard for me to come to terms with the fact they have gone,” he says. “The album is not a morbid acknowledgement of their passing, but I hope to some extent it reflects on what they did for us. I am 66 now, and I know I have to get used to losing bandmates and former members this way. It’s a fact of life.
It would appear that the band are beginning to get noticed by the wider community. Their track Of Once And Future Kings (from Pampered Menial) features on the soundtrack for new movie Beautiful Boy, alongside Bowie, Mogwai, Massive Attack and Sigur Rós.
“It’s the latest movie from actor Steve Carell,” Surkamp says. “I haven’t seen it yet because the band have been busy recording and touring. I hope it’s good and ends up winning an Oscar. Just think what that would do for the band’s profile!”
Moreover, there’s also talk of a movie based around Surkamp.
“There’s a filmmaker in Missouri who apparently wants to do a movie inspired by the love story involving Sara [his wife, who is also in the band] and I,” Surkamp explains. “It’s still in the very early stages, and who knows whether or not it will happen. But they are also talking of re-recording some of our music for it using an orchestra. I think that will make for a very interesting project.”
After more than 50 years in music, Surkamp remains adamant to do things his way.
“I am not someone who has ever been comfortable playing anything written by others,” he says firmly. “In my earlier days, I could perform some of Bob Dylan’s simpler compositions, but that’s about it. I even have problems sometimes performing my own stuff onstage. I always screw up certain songs when we do them live, even now.
“But there’s a real joy for me in being out on a limb. Shaking Me Down [from Prodigal Dreamer] started off as a live performance. What happened was that at one concert we needed to fill up some time, so the rest of the band pushed me out on the stage, and told me just to play something. Now that is pressure! I had literally nothing prepared, so I made it all up on the spot! I then forgot about what I’d done, until we were in the studio doing the new album, and someone said that I had to take what I’d done that night and turn this into a proper song. Which is where Shaking Me Down came from.
“This would never have happened without me standing in front of people with nothing to play, and having to rely on inspiration striking. That’s what I mean by art for me coming from jumping off a cliff: not knowing if you’re going to crash and burn.”
Prodigal Dreamer is out now via Rockville Records. See www.facebook.com/pavlovsdogband for more.
“You either conform and become a faceless part of the crowd, or you live dangerously and go out on your own.”