The Juxe: How to Introduce New Music to People featuring A Giant Dog
/I’ve really been enjoying your Saturday music posts and I’ve found half a dozen or so bands and artists I really like through them. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on ways to introduce people to new music. My wife is open to discovering new music but I find it hard to get her hooked on any. —SR
Well, I never push music—or anything for that matter—on anybody. So let me put that out there first. I treat everyone like cats. I don’t pursue cats hoping they’ll let me pet them. I sit back and get on with my life and if a cat jumps in my lap, well then buddy, you’re going to get your little face scratched so good.
I try to be that way with music, magic, conversation, etc. I never push any of that on people. But I try to make it clear there’s an open invitation and then make it worth their while if they decide to join me.
So all that is just to say that I don’t try to introduce people to music unless they’ve expressed an interest.
Once they do, then I have a little plan I follow.
Here’s the mistake people make. They’ll say, “Oh, I know this great band, you have to hear them,” and then they’ll play them a song or an album. That doesn’t work too often. A song is too little. An album is too much.
I have a playlist on my phone that is made up of a bunch of different three-song introductions to some of my favorite bands. Three songs is good to give people a flavor for the band without wasting their time if they’re not into the music. The three songs might be all from my favorite album from the band. Or they might be songs from across their oeuvre.
So, let’s say you had never heard of the Beatles. I might play you something from their earlier records, then something from a more experimental phase, and then something from their final record. So you’d get a general sense of how the band evolved over time. Or maybe I’d pick a John song, a George song, and a Paul song (fuck Ringo) so you get a sense of their various personalities through their music.
I’d play you that three song introductory mix sometime, usually when we’re driving somewhere. A long road-trip is a good time to focus in on music. If you were into the band I might play you more at that time or get together sometime later to listen to my favorite Beatles album. I’m a big fan of the “let’s hang out and listen to an album” meetup. I know that seems like something out of the 1960s, 70s, or 80s. But it’s still my scene, and I’ve really connected with a number of people in my life that way through music.
Of course, for some people, that’s just not something they’re into. So, as I said, I don’t force it. I’ll connect with them in some other way.
Here’s a little three-song mix from the band A Giant Dog out of Austin, TX. They’re a rock/punk outfit featuring an incredible front-woman, Sabrina Ellis. She kinds of reminds of Janis Joplin but with a ramped up sexual energy.
She’s joined frequently on lead vocals by guitarist Andrew Cashen. They have a great chemistry together and also front the less-punkish, but equally awesome band, Sweet Spirit.
Here are three A Giant Dog songs:
First is “Sleep When Dead.” one of my favorite songs from their first album on Merge records, Pile, which came out in 2016.
This toned-down acoustic rendition of their song, “Jizzney,” showcases how nicely their voices mesh.
This video for the song, “Lucky Ponderosa,” does a great job of capturing the infectious high-energy of their live shows, which are so damn good.