“A Very Special Experience”

Interview with Ernie Denov

By Sergio Vilar

To begin Ernie, could you define Bad Dog U?
Define the band itself, or it's name? The name is just a means of identification. People get used to a name eventually, even if they're not particularly fond of that name. The band is my little musical utopia; an oasis where I can play the way I want to without worrying about someone else's musical vision and how I can best adapt to it. It's an ensemble that I can write music for, and that can present the music to the listening public in a way that suits me. And it's an opportunity to play with musicians that I admire and trust, both musically and personally.

Well. Bad Dog U? Reason that name? 
The band was called “The Ernie Denov Band” for the first year or so, but I didn't want to give the impression that I was the star and the other guys were the sidemen. It became “Bad Dog” and that was our name for about 10 years until I did a google search and found 5 other bands with the same name. I added the “U” to give the name something unique. It's open to interpretation. When people get angry with their domestic canine friends, they'll usually say to them, "You bad dog, you!" Also, the letter “U” is often an abbreviation for "university." But to tell the truth, the name doesn't really have any special significance. You have to name a band something! I've found that most people think it's either an odd or silly name. Oh well, it's too late to change it now!

How would you describe your music? 
I dislike genre categorization, but I suppose it's a necessary evil if you want to market your music. Honestly, I never gave much thought to what kind of music it was when I was writing it. Recently, I found out that it fits most comfortably into a subgenre of progressive rock called "symphonic fusion”. I'd never even heard of the genre until seeing it in a review on our CD. If I were to describe what we're doing musically, I'd say it was instrumental music with elements of jazz, rock, classical, and a pinch of what is generally referred to as "world" music.

Is it complicated for a band of your characteristics to be able to play in direct in the United States?  
Yes, it can be difficult to get work playing this kind of music in the US. It's not a very widely accepted style, and most clubs are concerned with what kind of a draw a band has, which is perfectly understandable. I'm usually able to find a local venue in Chicago, our home town that will have us once every month or so. But touring the US with a band as relatively obscure as Bad Dog U would be pretty improbable; there's just not enough money or interest to make it worth while.

Well, how if we speak of your CD? Which are your impressions about "Bad Dog U"? 
I'm relatively happy with the CD, given that artists are generally never completely satisfied with their work. I can still listen to it without cringing, so I think we must've done something right!

Is it conceived as an album of the conceptual type?  
No, not at all. It's just a collection of compositions that are hopefully not too diverse to be on the same CD.

What process you do usually use to compose your music? 
I can only speak for myself; two thirds of the material is mine, and I don't know the methodology that Rick Snyder (who wrote the remaining third of the material) uses for composing. Although guitar is my instrument, I do the bulk of my composing at the piano; I find the instrument to be much more condusive to writing music for an ensemble. I find a few ideas that I like, and I keep trying to expand on them until I find enough material to form a cohesive composition. I have no idea what I'm trying to express until the piece is finished; then it becomes clear to me. More often than not, the proccess takes me months because I veto a lot of the ideas that I come up with. Then I bring it into band rehearsal, and we try out different approaches. The band is a democracy in that everybody is encouraged to contribute their own input. However, the rule is that whoever composed the piece has the last word, otherwise we'd never get anything done!

How would you say that the sound of the band has evolved along the time? 
Some of the tracks on our debut are pretty old; “Romance” was recorded in 1987. You can probably detect some evolution between the older tracks and the most recent. I'd say the music has gotten a little more complex, both harmonically and rhythmically. This is pretty normal for artists who are making art for art's sake, and have no expectations of wide acceptance.

Do other projects exist in those that Bad Dog U members are involved? 
Yes, we're all a bunch of music mercenaries, and we all try to balance our careers between making enough money to survive and having enough fun to keep sane. I'm actively involved with a Brazilian band called A Cor do Brasil and a pan-latin band called Chevere. Both bands have CDs out. I also do a fair share of touring with (actor/musician) Gary Sinese's band, Lt. Dan Band, which plays a lot of USO shows.

From now on, which are Bad Dog U plans? Are you already working in the material for your next disc? 
Bad Dog U has been in a state of hibernation lately, due to obligations of the various band members. But I plan to do some recording soon; a couple of tunes at a time until we eventually have an album's worth of material. I have a decent backlog of material that hasn't been recorded yet, and I've been working on some new material. The personnel has changed and we've been discussing writing music together as a unit; we'll have to see if that works out. I'm very excited about the abilities of my new band though, these guys are some powerful players! I loved the old band too, but it's going to be different now. I won't attempt to describe how it's changed, but it will be self-evident when we finally release a second CD.

A last question: What are you listening at the moment? Which are your favorite artists? 
That's always a hard question to answer because I have lots of "favorite" bands and artists, and I try to distribute my listening time equitably amongst them. Just a few of the many bands and artists I enjoy and get inspired by are: Genesis, The Beatles, Chick Corea, Allan Holdsworth, Joao Bosco, Bruford, The Police, XTC, Michael Brecker, Joni Mitchell, Guaco, Yes, Mike Keneally, Kenso, Steve Morse and the Dregs, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Brahms, King's X, Steve Vai, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Elis Regina, Elvis Costello, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Herbie Hancock, Scott Henderson, The Yellowjackets, Kevin Gilbert, Ruben Blades, Jimi Hendrix, Tower of Power, Holst, Extreme, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Nik Kershaw... and the list just goes on and on.

Thank you Ernie. If there is something that has not asked you and want to comment, you can make it.  
I just want to thank you and your readers for your interest Sergio, I enjoyed answering your questions! Let me know if there's anything else you need. Once again, it's been a pleasure!
 

www.baddogu.com

Nucleus interview: 20/09/05