Finnish doom-metal cult band Hooded Menace can come across as, well, a wee bit intimidating. But the Finnish Grammy (equivalent)-nominated trio of vocalist Harri Kuokkanen, guitarist/bassist Lasse Pyykkö and drummer Pekka Koskelo temper those fears by throwing curveballs every so often. Look no further than the out-of-nowhere cover of Duran Duran’s “Save a Prayer” that they surprised fans with three months ago.
Turns out all three members of Hooded Menace have a soft spot. For his own part, Kuokkanen touched base with The Bad Penny shortly after the October release of his band’s smoldering seventh record, Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration (Season of Mist), to talk about his coterie of cats (and one dog).
“Everyone involved in this effort isn’t making a penny. It’s so humbling, it’s hard for me to get over it, to be honest. It makes up for the times when the record industry and the music industry are an absolute shit show. It restores my faith in it a bit.” –The Dogs of Hope compilation creator Tom Bejgrowicz
Punk-rock can save human lives, providing catharsis and community to young people in particular who struggle with being ostracized, anger issues and mental health problems. But just last month, Boston’s Iodine Recordings – which Casey Horrigan founded 30 years ago and is one of the most legendary indie labels in the Northeast – demonstrated that punk can save the lives of dogs too.
The label proved as such by teaming with Tom Bejgrowicz, an industry vet who worked on projects for artists ranging from Quicksand to Johnny Cash, for a uniquely laudable compilation called The Dogs of Hope. Consisting almost entirely of previously unreleased songs exclusive to the collection, participants include Jeromes Dream, Deadguy, Killswitch Engage, Snapcase, Enforced, Walter Schreifels of Quicksand, and other bands Iodine devotees would eat up. All proceeds from sales of the collection support the Randolph County Animal Shelter in rural Alabama.
Bejgrowicz started volunteering for the no-kill, privately run facility five years ago and decided to pursue his Dogs of Hope project as a way to offset the total lack of funding the shelter receives from the public or Randolph County region. To make matters worse, the county has zero public animal control or spay/neuter programs, and the shelter is four years into being at full capacity.
When The Bad Penny caught wind about The Dogs of Hope project, we immediately got in touch with Iodine and Bejgrowicz, as it appeared to be – and, it turns out, certainly is – supremely fitting for our ongoing Pet Sounds series. Here’s what Bejgrowicz had to say about the impact volunteering at the shelter has had on his life, his motivations for making the compilation and the tsunami of support Bejgrowicz didn’t expect to receive for giving a hand to man’s best friend.
St. Louis’ progressive/blackened sludge metal band The Lion’s Daughter were adamant that their farewell performance would barely resemble the inescapably dire mood that characterizes most bands’ sayonara shows. Read my New Noise feature that reveals intimidating frontman Rick Giordano’s surprising soft spot for animal rescue.
The Bad Penny (beta) 