Archive for the Pet Sounds Category

Pet Sounds #94: Tiger Bear Wolf’s Frontman Shares the Touching Tale of His Sorely Missed Wonder Dog, Robo

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , , on 09/15/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Jon’s daughter kissing Robo on his head

“The moral of the story is:
Say yes to every dog.”

-Jon Moore of Tiger Bear Wolf

It would be sacrilege, blasphemous, a crime worthy of punishment by death were The Bad Penny not to rabidly pursue a band named Tiger Bear Wolf to participate in our ongoing – and, thanks to our rad readership, very popular – Pet Sounds series. In keeping with that thought, we chased down the post-hardcore math-rock band from Greensboro, North Carolina – and wouldn’t you know it, they were immediately into the idea.

Tiger Bear Wolf consists of four human beings – Jonathan Moore (guitar, vocals), Noah Howard (guitar, vocals), Matt Bostick (bass) and Lawrence Holdsworth (drums) – who recently released a self-titled album 17 years in the making. (Yes, you read that right.) In a story that will pull at your heartstrings, the pink-cheeked punks found themselves on a roll after putting out their first two records in 2002 and 2005. But Tiger Bear Wolf’s third effort was not the charm. Hard drives containing the songs intended to be on that next record went awry, and the band wasn’t able to recover the material until much later.

A source of solace and comfort for Moore during those trying years when the Tiger Bear Wolf recordings were lost was, no doubt, his dog Robo. You might want to keep a box of issues handy for this very special installment of Pet Sounds, as Robo is no longer with us and the rare photos that Moore so generously shared with us are rather breathtaking. Either way, here is the story of Robo the dog, unwavering companion to the frontman of the band Tiger Bear Wolf.

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Pet Sounds #93: Music Supervisor and New Solo Artist Gary Calamar’s Dog Ringo Is the Star(r) of the Show

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 09/13/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Ringo Starr may always be regarded as the weakest link in the Beatles, but when it comes to music supervisor and debuting solo artist Gary Calamar, his dog Ringo is an invaluable source of strength, inspiration and silliness. A longtime music industry executive – and DJ, and author, and five-time Grammy-nominated producer and music supervisor, and songwriter – Calamar is teeing up his first-ever solo record, Odd Numb3rs and Slanted Rhymes, for release October 23 on Big Stir Records. It will feature guest spots by his famous musician friends including Robyn Hitchcock, Maria Taylor and Mark Mothersbaugh.

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Pet Sounds #92: Left Arm Tan’s Best Friend Is Goose … the Dog

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , on 09/10/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Seasoned musician Daniel Hines launched his band Left Arm Tan (RIYL Calexico, the Jayhawks) in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2010 with relatively modest ambitions. The charming alt-rock crew also includes Brian Lee (lead vocals, piano, guitar); Mark Belding (horns, steel guitar, guitars, harmonies); Jeff Scroggins (bass, harmonies); Shawn Light (guitars, mandolin, keys, harmonies); and Tim Manders (drums, harmonies).

Hines underwent a series of surgeries last year but also wrote a gobsmacking 57 songs, breathing new life into his band, which had split for a short period. The resulting record, When Tigers Smoked (which means “once upon a time” in Korean, and was produced by Old 97’s and Damnwells collaborator Salim Nourallah), comes out October 9.

Arguably even trustier than Hines’ band, though, is his Australian Shepherd, Goose, who entered Hines’ life during COVID and just turned 6 years old. Enjoy our exchange with Hines and, of course, the pics of him and his pooch (yes, we know you well, dear readers).

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Pet Sounds #91: A Member of Indie-Rock Squad Morning Line Has a Dog Who Is (Named After) a Drummer

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 08/22/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

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.

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Pet Sounds #90: Fires in the Distance’s Cat Narrowly Escaped Strict Landlord – and Lived to Pee About It

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , , , , on 08/13/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“She was just my perfect companion for 14.5 years. Every day I was happy to see her, and I’m honored to say she was happy to see me too.”

-Fires in the Distance vocalist/guitarist Brendan Hayter

There’s a strong case to be made that melodic death-metal bands gain notice and recognition, and cultivate their fanbases, by devoting far more time and energy to their recorded output as opposed to touring. Fires in the Distance are an exception to that generalization – because their exceptional live performances are as exceptional as their studio material. Amorphis and Dark Tranquillity helped the Connecticut band gain notice with an opening slot on the European heroes’ joint tour three years ago, on the strength of just two Fires in the Distance full-lengths: 2020’s Echoes From Deep November and 2023’s Air Not Meant for Us.

Like clockwork (as another Scandinavian extreme-metal band, Meshuggah, would say), Fires in the Distance just issued their third record, Circadian Promise, after another three years of dutiful songwriting and recording – and issued it via Prosthetic, which put out the quartet’s first two gems. (That’s notwithstanding an instrumental album released in ) On paper, what’s most striking about the new record is that it features a new frontman: vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Brendan Hayter, whose surname is as well-suited for a metal band as his chops are for the doomish MDM crew.

In an effort to further acquaint Fires in the Distance fans with Hayter, The Bad Penny recently connected with him to participate in our ongoing Pet Sounds series, to which he graciously obliged. He told us all about his cat Mimsy, and while we typically don’t include discussions about pets post mortem, Hayter’s touching recollections about his companion and how he worked through her loss are valuable advice to pet owners about how to deal with both love and grief over animals.

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Pet Sounds #89: Strange Mono’s Strange Dog Product Promo Is the Cat’s Pajamas and the Bees’ Knees

Posted in Esoterica, Features, Pet Sounds with tags on 07/26/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Not entirely sure what this Strange Mono product promo means, or who it’s even trying to reach, but we adore it as much as our lab/hound. We’re pretty sure there’s a reference to the movie Seven in there, and maybe Jules Winnfield one too.

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Pet Sounds #88: PR Legend Rey Roldan Is the Proud Owner of Dogs That Murder Pillows

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 06/05/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Rey Roldan is one of the most prominent, amiable and successful publicists in the world of independent music – and he has the résumé to prove it. Now in its 22nd year, his company Another Reybee Production, Inc. boasts a stellar roster that includes The Alarm, Butthole Surfers, The Cranberries, Gipsy Kings, Candy Whips, Shonen Knife, Pansy Division and loads more prestigious artists.

Roldan doesn’t just represent musicians, though – he also takes care of two rescue dogs (Cillian, a 3-year-old Australian Cattle Dog; and Saoirse, an 11-month-old Australian Cattle Dog); as well as a 24-year-old Sun Catfish of the horabagrus brachysoma species. In between working tirelessly as the president of Reybee, Roland granted us some time to talk about his pets.

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Pet Sounds #87: Silver Liz’s Dachshund Mix Milo Is Pure Gold

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , on 05/30/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Eleven years ago, Carrie and Matt Wagner met each other in central Pennsylvania, fell in love, moved to Chicago and founded an experimental pop duo named Silver Liz. It was a pretty busy 12-or-so months, especially because Carrie was studying at Second City Conservatory. The two got married as well, but their lives weren’t complete until another addition to their family entered the picture: Milo.

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Pet Sounds #86: Black Heart Procession Leader’s Love for His Cats Can’t Be Beat

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , , , on 05/29/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

The Black Heart Procession was the most funereal, and one of the most entrancing, bands on revered Chicago indie-rock label Touch and Go Records’ roster during its heyday in the 1990s. That they fell under the umbrella of “indie rock” was evidence that the term didn’t really signify a sound as much as an ethos, that being the prioritization of art in song craft and the value of musicians’ creative freedom over corporate control.

Founded and led by Pall Jenkins – who could’ve used “Bearer” as his stage surname had he wanted to put a fine point on his aesthetic – the band’s recorded material was as darkly contemplative and emotionally wrought as that of Nick Cave. At The Black Heart Procession’s live performances, Jenkins often dressed in all black but wore a battery-powered beating red heart as a corsage-like flourish to his attire.

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Pet Sounds #85: Nuzzle’s Bassist Loves to Snuggle With His Cats, Stormy and Butter

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , , on 05/10/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Los Angeles post-hardcore Nuzzle belong to a very exclusive and special contingent of bands that only made one proper album but left an indelible footprint nonetheless. The band’s releases are limited; three of the four are a live recording, a collection of non-album tracks and a split single. But the fourth, Nuzzle’s first and only proper full-length, was so impactful that it warranted a 30th anniversary edition reissue late last year. The new version of Follow, for Now features a remixed sound that makes even more clear why the band made its mark despite its short lifespan.

Much to our delight, Nuzzle’s bassist – Simon Fabela – expressed interest in participating in The Bad Penny‘s ongoing Pet Sounds series. A cat lover through and through, take a gander at smile-inducing pics of his cats, Butter and Stormy, as well as some commentary Fabela provided in the form of answers to questions we sent him.

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