"It's not the way things gotta be
We can live a life less ordinary"
Aug. 5, 2003 -- Three Laramie men are taking these lyrics from one of their songs
to heart as they head to New York City to finish their first album and to fulfill
a longtime dream.
What gives freshness to their story is that it is uniquely propelled by University
of Wyoming bonds.
Meet the "Den Dogs:" Bassist Dennis Feeney is a research scientist for the College
of Agriculture's Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Guitarist David
Eisenhauer is the editor of UWyo magazine and a colleague of Feeney's wife. Drummer
Aric Hageman is a UW music education student.
While all three have been connected with music most of their lives, they have only
been pickin', playin' and croonin' together in an Americana, roots-of-rock style for
a couple of years.
The result is "Boots, Belts, Irons," an album that will debut Sept. 20 and feature
such titles as Feeney's "Reliance," "When We Get Bored (We Get Dangerous)," "No News"
and "Song of Hope" and Eisenhauer's "Feelin' Good Blues."
The band recorded at Colorado Sound Studios in the Denver area and fine tuned their
music with mixing and mastering at the Cowboy Technical Services Studio in New York
City with Eric Ambel, a UW student in the 1970s. He now plays the guitar professionally
with artists such as Steve Earle and has created a successful career supporting new
and established artists.
Associate professors Rod Garnett and Katrina Zook of the UW Department of Music have
guided and advised the trio. Shane Wallace of the College of Engineering, a UW art
graduate, is designing the graphics for the album.
Ambel will feature the Den Dogs and help launch their CD Aug. 11 at a gig at his own
Lakeside Lounge club. "Going out to New York will be a real exciting trip for us,"
Feeney says, especially since most of their performances so far have been in small
venues in Wyoming. The band is working with Ray Martin, UW project coordinator for
physics and astronomy, to plan a CD-listening party, light show and reception at the
UW Planetarium to mark the album's official September release.
Since theirs is an independent production, the trio wants to secure the kind of regional
and national radio support it has received from Don Woods, coordinator of programming
for Wyoming Public Radio at UW. Fans can order the CD and follow the band's progress
and performance dates on their Web site at www.dendogs.com. The album also will be
available on Internet music sites such as www.Amazon.com.
Vaulting the group from Laramie fame to American household-name status is a job Feeney
finds overwhelming. He hopes that the moniker "Den Dogs," which comes from an old
nickname that a friend used to call him, will be catchy enough.
"Coming up with a band name is a very difficult thing to do," Feeney notes. "We didn't
want a name that sounded pretentious or goofy. We were looking for something between
clever and stupid," he quips.
Feeney is closely attuned to selecting words carefully since he is the group's chief
songwriter. His ideas, he explains, come from "all over the place." As he says in
"Reliance" from the "Boots, Belts, Irons" offerings,
" . There's a place
Unchained in my soul
Wild and restless
Unbreakable and outta control."
This spirit has translated into songs about relationships and also about his work
in the field of environmental concerns. "I deal with issues involving open spaces
and conservation. A lot of my research does spill off into my songwriting," Feeney
says.
He describes "No News" as the "bleakest" song in the collection. "It's a commentary
on everything that has been going on in the world." In contrast, "Song of Hope" swells
with Feeney's strong faith and clings to the idea that positive solutions are within
the world's grasp.
"I'm gonna sing a song of hope
I'm gonna fall to my knees and pray,
'May the morning sun open up our eyes to a brand new way'
I'm gonna sing a song of hope
To quell this sea of rage
And let all souls come to know
The peace we can see someday."
Feeney has been writing songs since he was in the sixth grade and he and his brother
used to ride their bikes to hear a Laramie band called "The Dirty Dogs" rehearse.
"They were kind enough to let us little punks hang around and listen to them," he
jokes. Ambel, a member of that band, inspired Feeney to buy his first bass guitar.
"I am trying not to have too many delusions of grandeur," Feeney says, about following
in Ambel's footsteps. "I'll just put it in God's hands and see what happens. I am
going to look back on this with very fond memories," he adds.
"Too much time spent in your own head
Makes you think about the life you could've led."
Feeney's lyrics in "When We Get Bored (We Get Dangerous)" do not seem to apply to
the Den Dogs as they take their first step toward musical celebrity. As he puts it
in spoken words, "Why not chase a dream?"
Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2003
