Last summer, rock ‘n’ roll six-piece Dr. Dog made a return to its Philadelphia home studio to record its seventh album, Be The Void (Anti-). In MAGNET #85 (order a copy here), we talked to the group’s founding members, co-songwriters and vocalists Scott McMicken (guitar) and Toby Leaman (bass), about that journey, and what it takes to bring a band with a formidable label deal and a professional touring setup back to its DIY roots. One thing that has remained consistent in Dr. Dog’s music across its evolving career is a juxtaposition of existential, occasionally desperate lyrical concerns with exuberant pop songs. Dr. Dog keyboardist Zach Miller will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with McMicken and Leaman.
Miller: We love maté, and on past tours we’ve had to resort to some pretty hobo methods to get our fix: straining it with an old window screen or a T–shirt. This time we got seriously hooked up by Guayaki, which produces organic, sustainable harvests and is working to reforest the maté-producing regions on which it (and millions of people in South America, lest we forget) relies. Anyway, the stuff gives you a great energy boost and doesn’t make you all jittery like coffee. I still love coffee, but I can drink maté all day and feel very relaxed, yet focused and energized. You can keep brewing the same leaves multiple times, and over the summer I had a pretty killer mix of cucumber-water maté that I would keep going all day. And if you’re ever in Berlin, look for Club Maté, which is a maté infused soda that is really tasty.
