Biography
The Workdogs are built around Rob Kennedy on bass and vocals with Scott Jarvis on drums. These two supplied the rhythmic drive for Half Japanese, Velvet Monkeys, and assorted other groups across the years; Jarvis also produced and engineered the Beastie Boys’ Pollywog Stew EP and served as their tour manager during the 1985 Like a Virgin dates with Madonna.
Variability is the group’s one fixed trait, because nearly every release and performance featured an entirely new lineup. Jon Spencer of Pussy Galore and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Jerry Teel of Honeymoon Killers and Chrome Cranks appeared so regularly that they came close to permanent status. Additional New York and New Jersey indie-rock and avant-jazz players regularly augmented the core on guitar, saxophone, and further instruments.
Their first single, “Funny $,” surfaced in 1986 on the band’s own King Dog Biscuit label and included Rudi Protrudi of the Fuzztones plus Mark Dagley of High Sheriff. Okra issued the blues-oriented debut album Roberta a couple of years later.
In 1990 the 45 “Haunted House of Love” appeared on Vital Music with Bond Bergland and Malcolm Riviera of Gumball and Velvet Monkeys; the same year the duo joined Ohio’s Gibson Brothers for the album Punk Rock Drivin’ Song of a Gun. The 1992 single “Electric Mutt” on In the Red again featured Spencer and Teel.
Workdogs in Hell, a self-described blues opera, followed in 1993 and enlisted Moe Tucker, Lydia Lunch, Jad Fair, J.G. “Foetus” Thirlwell, Gibson brother Jeffrey Evans, and underground filmmaker Richard Kern; Kennedy and Jarvis in turn backed Tucker on the road. Sympathy for the Record Industry released the 1994 single “A Tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson” with Spencer and Marcellus Hall of Railroad Jerk. The label also reissued Roberta (with a bonus track) that year, then issued the comparatively accessible Old in 1995; the album track “Robert Kennedy Blues” came out as a single the same year.
One Night Only!, a live-in-the-studio set again spotlighting Spencer and Teel, arrived in 1996. After this run of activity the Workdogs stopped recording and instead served as house band at Max Fisch in New York City, convening on the first Sunday of each month for several years to jam with more than two dozen different guitarists.
Variability is the group’s one fixed trait, because nearly every release and performance featured an entirely new lineup. Jon Spencer of Pussy Galore and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Jerry Teel of Honeymoon Killers and Chrome Cranks appeared so regularly that they came close to permanent status. Additional New York and New Jersey indie-rock and avant-jazz players regularly augmented the core on guitar, saxophone, and further instruments.
Their first single, “Funny $,” surfaced in 1986 on the band’s own King Dog Biscuit label and included Rudi Protrudi of the Fuzztones plus Mark Dagley of High Sheriff. Okra issued the blues-oriented debut album Roberta a couple of years later.
In 1990 the 45 “Haunted House of Love” appeared on Vital Music with Bond Bergland and Malcolm Riviera of Gumball and Velvet Monkeys; the same year the duo joined Ohio’s Gibson Brothers for the album Punk Rock Drivin’ Song of a Gun. The 1992 single “Electric Mutt” on In the Red again featured Spencer and Teel.
Workdogs in Hell, a self-described blues opera, followed in 1993 and enlisted Moe Tucker, Lydia Lunch, Jad Fair, J.G. “Foetus” Thirlwell, Gibson brother Jeffrey Evans, and underground filmmaker Richard Kern; Kennedy and Jarvis in turn backed Tucker on the road. Sympathy for the Record Industry released the 1994 single “A Tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson” with Spencer and Marcellus Hall of Railroad Jerk. The label also reissued Roberta (with a bonus track) that year, then issued the comparatively accessible Old in 1995; the album track “Robert Kennedy Blues” came out as a single the same year.
One Night Only!, a live-in-the-studio set again spotlighting Spencer and Teel, arrived in 1996. After this run of activity the Workdogs stopped recording and instead served as house band at Max Fisch in New York City, convening on the first Sunday of each month for several years to jam with more than two dozen different guitarists.
Albums
