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“It’s been crazy since the album came out,” Rob Keenan said. “One of the biggest changes is having the ability to go out on the road and have everybody in the place singing along. It happened in Philadelphia and Dayton, too. The amount of radio play we’ve gotten has been insane. It’s a trippy experience because we get to these places and there are all these people I’ve never met and they already know the music and love it.
“Rest in peace to WNKU, who was huge in getting our music out there,” he continued. “WNKU and public radio exposed our music to people who wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. As we’ve traveled out, the support from affiliates of NPR and public radio everywhere has been incredible.”
What has clicked with music fans is Dawg Yawp’s bewitching mix of harmony-rich country folk, psychedelic pop and atmospheric electronica created by Tyler Randall (vocals, sitar, mandolin) and Rob Keenan (vocals, guitar, synth, drum machine). In the wrong hands the sitar could be nothing but a novelty but the powerful songwriting of the two longtime friends is the real selling point here.
“It’s totally surreal because Tyler and I have been writing together on and off for 10 years and the only people that enjoyed our music was a small circle of our family and friends,” Keenan said. “Now we get to these places we’ve literally never played before, and they’ve been listening to the album and they already know all the words. We’ve had some really cool experiences and met all kinds of people who tell how they’ve connected with our music.”
Dawg Yawp has worked on all of its recordings with Rob Fetters, who was a member of the Raisins and the Bears, and still leads the Psychodots.
“Rob has been a family friend for a really long time,” Keenan said. “I was lucky enough to grow up listening to him and absorbing a lot of that stuff. Tyler and I have both learned so much about songwriting and production. Being around him in that tiny little house studio and absorbing stuff has really been cool.”
WANT TO GO?
Who: Dawg Yawp with Lioness and the Boxcar Suite
Where: Yellow Cab Bldg., 700 E. Fourth St., Dayton
When: 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27
Cost: $9 in advance, $12 at the door
More info: www.yellowcabtavern.com
Artist info: www.dawgyawp.com
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