And to be honest that’s something that is really great about The Sheepdogs – all that pure Southern Rock (albeit with just a tiny sprinkling of Glam on ‘Take Me For A Ride‘) without any of the stuff that sometimes impinges on that subgenre that makes it unpalatable. Because they are Canadian. They’ve been making music for some time now – twenty years in fact – and today’s song comes from their new EP ‘Paradise Alone‘ which was released digitally last Thursday. It marks the first release on their own fully independent label Right On Records. And how does it sound – it sounds like a classic The Sheepdogs song is how it sounds.
Bassist Ryan Gullen explained why the band have made the move to their own label: “We’ve been a band for 20 years, and pretty comfortable with who we are and how we do things. We’ve lasted this long by staying true to ourselves, doing things our way, and not chasing trends. Acquiring our catalogue and starting our own label is about taking things to the next level. We want to be in the driver’s seat, doing things our way, and maybe even helping other artists do the same. With so much constantly changing, we’re focused on staying true to our approach. In a world of content, we believe that the best thing a band can offer is music, and that’s how we want to approach our releases. While funny videos are great, people ultimately are here for the music, so we’re setting up a system to deliver as much of it as possible (and yes, we’ll still make those funny videos too). This record is the first in a series of planned releases, allowing us to experiment, collaborate, and take risks. Instead of sticking to the traditional album cycle, we want to challenge ourselves creatively and share more music with people.”
And… they will be again touring the UK later this year as part of a longer European tour kicking off in Spain in November. Here’s the UK dates:
Nov 29 – Porthcawl, UK @ Planet Rockstock
Nov 30 – Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
Dec 01 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
Dec 02 – Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
Dec 04 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Dec 05 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall
