Birmingham SlossFest profile: Dr. Dog
With 15 years of musical success, the hit-making Dr. Dog will treat SlossFest-goers to their special blend of indie-psychedelic-rock-folk-basement-Americana sounds on July 17 at the Blast Stage.
Dr. Dog’s latest album – “The Psychedelic Swamp” – could have been their first. 
It could have been their only album or it could have never been made at all. It’s either a refined culmination of 15 years of collaborative music-making or the blunt instrument on which they cut their teeth.
“The Psychedelic Swamp” is Dr. Dog’s ninth album and their third stuio release with the ANTI- label. Most of the songs were among the first written together by lead guitarist Scott McMicken and bass guitarist Toby Leaman, along with the friends and cohorts who would evolve into Dr. Dog. McMicken and Leaman got an early start, writing music together in the eighth grade. Their early endeavors helped shape their worldview of a label-defying, multihyphenated, indie-psychedelic-rock-folk-basement-Americana-touring band. Many artists might cringe at the idea of revisiting the works of their younger selves, many believing that their beliefs and talents evolve over time. But not Dr. Dog.
“I’ve never looked back at that time with anything other than real affection,” McMicken said. “The original tape could have disappeared and never been heard again, and I still would have held it dear to my heart, because it was the closest I’ve ever been to a true creative process.”
SlossFest-goers will recognize Dr. Dog’s harmonies, the puckish wordplay and their usual introspection.
Follow Dr. Dog on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Sources: www.wikipedia.org and www.slossfest.com.
Discography: “Live at a Flamingo Hotel,” “We All Belong,” “Easy Beat” and “Toothbrush.”
You might have heard: “Heart it Races,” “Bring My Baby Back” and “Broken Heart.”
Playing at SlossFest: Dr. Dog will perform from 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. at the Blast Stage on Sunday, July 17.
Sloss Music and Arts Festival takes place at the historic Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham July 16-17 and features 40 performers on four stages. Tickets can be purchased here.
