12 Questions With Mexican Dogs
We spoke to Liverpool’s ‘Mexican Dogs’ about their meteoric rise to find out how this is going and what more they have in store for us!
With an earth-splitting sound and uncompromising attitude, Mexican Dogs are Gaz Wilcox (ex-Bribes), Carl Rooney and Sonny Winder-Rodgers, who formed in Liverpool over the summer of 2021. Tapping into the seminal sounds of T-Rex or Led Zeppelin and re-routing them via the high octane thrills of modern day titans like The Black Keys or Royal Blood, Mexican Dogs balance classic rock and contemporary on an exhilarating knife-edge.
NSG: Hello guys and how are you today? What have you been up to this morning?
Gaz: Hi, Gaz here from Mexican Dogs, This morning I have been feeling mixed emotions one mainly because we are all gutted LFC never won the League and the Champions League which would have been MASSIVE!!! Also, I’m on a massive high because we have just sealed an album deal. So that’s my Monday morning thoughts. As to what I have been up to I have made some coffee/scrambled eggs and answering these questions.. 🤣
NSG: It’s amazing to finally get a chance to catch up with you! We have been following you since you formed last year and it’s been mind-blowing how quickly you have progressed! How did it all begin?
Gaz: It all started in 2021. Me and Carl Rooney (drummer). Being friends for a long time and both being in different bands, we finally got into a rehearsal studio to make some noise! The idea of this was to just play and nothing else, with us both being in previous bands we wanted to kind of put the industry mindset to one side and play for the LOVE of music and to hang out really. This carried on for a few months with us being a 2 piece and quite quickly we were moulding our sound without realising it really. When we both wrote the Single Run, Run, Run we kinda had one of them moments of WTF, we are onto something here!!! I was quickly realising that the 2 piece set up was limiting to how I can scope more songs. We decided to change rehearsal studios to LSD studios in Liverpool, and then (Sonny) our bass player was involved with the place. I remember after a session he was about, and he came in the room and was saying how much he dug the sound and that he plays bass. We instantly invited him down to the next rehearsal and it just worked. That in a nutshell is how the Dogs were born.
NSG: We found out a few days ago that you just signed an album deal! Congratulations! Wanna tell us a bit about it?
Gaz: Yeah thank you, we are really on a high at the minute with some exciting stuff goin’ on that will be announced very soon. We are fortunate to have some really great people around the band from our management/ PR and our Label (Fretsore records) and it’s like one big family. We all know we have a role to play to make this turn into something big and we are very lucky to have such a great relationship as it makes the whole process fun whilst we are all working hard. The initial deal was to record an EP which has just been released, and then we would review how we all feel going forward. We had a sit down with the label the other week and decided that we all share the same vision and passion and want to release an LP. So yeah, that’s what we are plotting and planning to date.
NSG: How would you describe your sound? And what would you like someone listening to you for the first time to get from it?
Gaz: Our Sound! With the EP we have chosen to release direct, punchy tracks to try to grab people’s attention quickly! As we live in an age of streaming this is vital that within 5 seconds you have something people don’t wanna swipe and move on to the next track on playlists. The Spotify streaming is evidence that we are achieving a lot of plays and interest and long may it continue. Also keeping the sound fresh for radio etc which we are now getting airplay from BBC 6 Music, Radio X, Absolute etc, so looks like we are doing something right. Our sound as a whole can really vary tbh, from retro 70s to atmospheric pieces. You would have to watch us live to hear it all! We like doing it this way so we don’t get bored of repeating ourselves.
NSG: You’ve just released your debut self-titled EP that was produced and recorded by the amazing Andy Fernihough at Liverpool’s 3rd Planet Studios. When you recorded it, what was your process? Like did have a detailed plan or was it a more organic experience?
Gaz: Andy Fernihough is an absolute genius. I can probably speak on behalf of most of the Liverpool bands when I say this. When recording with Andy, he has this way of getting the best out of every take and performance. He puts you at ease when tracking. We knew that we wanted to record 4 tracks and drip feed each track as a single then on the 4th release it would make the EP. So we knew what tracks we wanted to do and they all came out exactly how we wanted them to. I won’t bore you with exactly how we achieved this, like what guitars we used and microphone placements etc; we are the performers and Andy steers the ship when laying it down to tape. I’m sure he would technically explain it better. But on a whole, it was done quickly to capture where the band was at that point in time.
NSG: Who has the coolest or strangest hobby out of your band members?
GAZ: Between the 3 of us we all like to do different things but I wouldn’t really say we have anything cool or strange. Well, nothing we’d openly admit to in an interview anyway ha! We have it on good authority that Sonny likes to collect Spice Girls memorabilia although this has never been confirmed nor is there any evidence he actually owns anything by them. However, it’s his own fault as his second favourite hobby is to dodge interviews so we can pretty much make up as many stories about him as we want haha!
NSG: What are your thoughts on the local music scene in Liverpool right now?
Gaz: The music scene in Liverpool is the best it has been for a long time. I mean everyone knows as a city it can produce gold when it comes to music, but honestly, the quality that’s coming from Liverpool is very high. I suppose it’s a good thing and keeps everyone on their toes.
NSG: What’s the most memorable gig you played so far and do you have any funny stories from a show?
GAZ: We have probably done about 12 gigs as a band and all of which have been well attended. The standout for me was when we played with Jamie Webster on his last tour to a sold out venue and honestly, it was wall to wall… The funniest story but maybe not so funny at the time is when we played a venue and backstage there was a kettle and one of our crew wanted to make a brew, and when it boiled there was a crazy mist in the air and apparently it was piss… I mean pretty f**kin sick to think someone would do or even think of pissing in a kettle. We never did find out who the phantom piss kettle man was.
NSG: If you could sit down and have dinner with three people from history, who would they be and why?
Gaz: I’d have to say Henry the 8th as by judging the size of the geezer the feast would be fit for a king. So yeah I like food. 🤣 I suppose these aren’t really historical figures but imagine either Oliver Reed, John Bonham or Keith Moon. Even better all of them! You’d be whammed before the starters!!! me and Henry the 8th would be buzzing with all the scran that was left! Haha! For Sonny. Any of the Spice Girls……..again not historical figures but we’re sure it’d be a historic moment for him.
NSG: How do you feel about the quick success as a band you’ve received? As musicians, it’s extremely hard to become well known and build careers in the industry. What motivated you not to give up over the years you’ve been playing in other bands and projects?
Gaz: We are like 3 brothers literally, I mean that, if we go to a rehearsal and nothing is happening musically in that time we just enjoy being in each other’s company. I think that is the key to our success! I can get pretty down if I have a writer’s block or can’t get something to work and then we can go from being musicians to 3 mates taking the piss out of each other and I think it shows when people are around us or see us play that we are more than just a band, we got chemistry.
NSG: You’ve got some amazing shows coming up like supporting The Zutons at Liverpool’s international music festival in July! Where else can we see you?
Gaz: We have confirmed some shows with Liverpool legends Deaf School later in the year. We also have our massive hometown headline show at arts club Liverpool on Saturday, 2nd July with awesome support from Silent K, Matt McManamon and Dancing to Architecture, which tickets are still available now on seetickets.com and ticketmaster. Hopefully we will be jumping on some big support tours so keep an eye out for announcements.
NSG: How is the rest of 2022 looking for Mexican Dogs?
Gaz: 2022 is about keeping the momentum up. We are still very early into Mexican Dogs and have only just released our debut EP, so it’s about doing as many big shows as we can and more recording.
NSG: Thank you so much for your time, we wish you all the luck in the world! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Gaz: Thank you to everyone so far for standing by us and to the fans for coming to the shows and buying the records. We f**kin love ya all x
Sorry Sonny we love ya la x
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