Short Dogs Grow was an American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

group, based in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, that released two albums on

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

in 1987 and 1988. Fellow Bay Area group

Samiam Samiam (pronounced "sam-I-am") is an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, active since 1988. History Samiam was formed in late 1988 after the breakup of the 924 Gilman Street, Gilman club mainstay Isocracy (band), Isocracy. Their ...

counted this band as a major early influence. Samiam guitarist Sergie Loobkoff said, "There was also a local band called Short Dogs Grow that we were really into. They had this great sound that was similar to early

Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit " Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of Dave Pirner ...

." Short Dogs Grow included Tom Pitts, who went on to a notable career as a writer, mainly of dark crime fiction.

Career

Tom Pitts and Carmela Thompson formed Short Dogs Grow in 1985. Tom and Carmela were both working for Lightning Messenger service at the time. Carmela was the only female motorcycle messenger in San Francisco. They drew their band's name from the lyrics of the

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

song “On the Nickel” from the 1980 album ''

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''. The song's title refers to Fifth Street in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, long known as a slum, and a "short dog" is a small bottle of cheap wine favored by winos. Pitts and Thompson felt it symbolized the band's philosophy of "not being tied to anything and giving yourself room to grow." ''

Maximumrocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and ...

'', the San Francisco-based

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

run by

Tim Yohannan Tim Yohannan (August 15, 1945 – April 3, 1998), also known as Tim Yo, was the founder of '' Maximum Rocknroll'', a radio show and fanzine documenting punk subculture in San Francisco. He also helped in establishing a number of DIY collectives, ...

, described Short Dogs Grow in 1987 as "a Bay Area band that tirelessly supports their scene, play great shows and just 'care' in general." The music of Short Dogs Grow was also likened to

Sticky Fingers ''Sticky Fingers'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released on 23 April 1971 on the Rolling Stones' new label, Rolling Stones Records. The Rolling Stones had been contracted by Decca Records an ...

-era

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. Short Dogs Grow was also influenced by the San Pedro band the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

- SDG's demo tape was called ''Short Songs in a Row''. Another writeup noted "power-chord harmonies and bold time changes, reminiscent though not derivative of early

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

, with strong, unconventional imagery."Beaver, J. Mark - "Short Dogs Grow," ''The WARD Report''. July 9, 1987. The band called it quits after playing its last show on July 20, 1990. It reunited with all original members for three shows between 2008 and 2012.

Personnel

* Tom Pitts: vocals, guitar (1985–1990) * Carmela Thompson: bass (1985–1990) * Greg Kim (a.k.a. Greg Foot): guitar, backing vocals (1986–1990) * Joe Pethoud: drums (1985–1987) * George Grunewald (a.k.a. George Fenley): drums (1987–1990) * Marc Heathfield: vocals (1985–1986)

Discography

* ''Self-Entitled'' (1987) * ''Matt Dillon'' (1988)

References

External links

Band website
{{Authority control Musical groups from San Francisco Rough Trade Records artists Alternative rock groups from California