Pet Sounds #91: A Member of Indie-Rock Squad Morning Line Has a Dog Who Is (Named After) a Drummer
Veteran San Francisco Bay Area indie-rockers The Morning Line recently signed to Big Stir Records earlier this week, the label announced Thursday – and wouldn’t you know it, they already have a new studio record spick-and-span for release on September 18. Big Stir are good people, so The Bad Penny quickly jumped on the opportunity to interview frontman Stephen Smith hours after the signing was announced.
We’ll bring you our feature on The Morning Line’s new album, Stars, closer to its release date, but in the meantime, we’ll tide you over with the latest edition of our long-running series Pet Sounds, for which the band surely qualifies. Smith has Dot, a small, 4-year-old black mutt he refers to as a “Teacup Wolfhound” (more on that later). Drummer Peter Craft owns a 6-year-old half-boxer/half-pit called Levon. And guitarist Brian Mello has a 13-year-old cat whose breed is a Korat (a breed from Thailand) and whose name is Dr. Zira.
How often do all three of these troublemakers get together?
Dot, Levon and Dr. Zira have never met! But all have expressed interest in collaborating on a record of their own, recorded over Zoom. It may take awhile for our human abilities to enable their canine and feline wishes.
Which pet gets along best with which? Which ones don’t see eye to eye (or claw to claw)?
Since they haven’t met, it’s hard to know, but Dr. Zira regularly trolls the other two on Reddit.
How did each of these beauties enter your life?
Every one is a badass who came up in the shelter. Fifteen-pound Dot had given birth to some huge pit bull’s spawn, but made it out fine. Levon had to fight his way out of Santa Rosa. Dr. Zira was immaculate. Nothing can touch her.
Where did you come up with the name Teacup Wolfhound?
When you have a dog, everyone asks, “What breed?” And it gets boring to say, “Oh, a mutt. Some of x, maybe? Some of y?” Teacup Wolfhound seems to capture her. And I’m not sure it’s wrong.
Is Levon a reference to Levon Helm?
Yes, named after Levon Helm. Though most people don’t know who that is and ask if he’s named after the Elton John song, in which case I say, “sure.”
Who is Dr. Zira?
Dr. Zira was named after the character played by Kim Hunter in the original Planet of the Apes because, like the character, she’s a smart troublemaker. There’s even physical resemblance.
How do your pets react to your music?
Dot doesn’t seem to care about music generally but seems very interested – she glows, even – when I sing. This suggests that I am so unusually talented that I can inspire any creature.
Levon doesn’t give a shit about music, but he has barked at various musical instruments, especially “the saw.”
In general, Dr. Zira hates it when I play guitar. I try not to take it personally. She doesn’t seem to mind when I sing operas about her. I’m not sure if she likes music in general, but she was intrigued by an old Laurie Anderson video I was watching the other night.
Do you ever bring them into your rehearsal space?
We do not want their Reddit fights to turn into real ones.
Do you guys help each other out with dog-sitting and cat-sitting?
We all live within two hours of each other in the SF Bay Area, but that’s not close enough to make pet-sitting practical.
Have any of your pets made it into Morning Line songs, whether it be in lyrics or audio samples?
Levon is around for all the recordings at Boxer Lodge, but he’s a very good boy and keeps quiet, so we haven’t heard him on any recordings. I really should write songs about animals, but I haven’t done it yet.
The Pet Sounds archive is here. Go here to shop for Morning Line music and merch. They’re also on Facebook, and their Big Stir label profile page is here.
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