Archive for Pet Sounds

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

Pet Sounds #83: Dandy Warhols Synth-Bass Player Saved 6-Month-Old Mutt From Gang of Chihuahuas’ Bullying

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 02/15/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

The Dandy Warhols surely had a blast creating PIN UPS, a collection of cover songs they’ve recorded over the years. Coming March 20 via Beat the World Records and Little Cloud Records, the reputed psych-rock band take on The Beatles, The Cure, Gang of Four, The Clash, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, The Runaways and more.

That said, one member of the Dandy Warhols – synth-bass player Zia McCabe – is equally if not more passionate about spending time with her dog than making music. The exuberance she feels when with 6-year-old Alice is clearly evident in the above photo. Those emotions are probably heightened due to the fact that McCabe recently lost her pet cat.

We dare you not to smile at the words and photos McCabe generously gave to us for this joyous entry in Pet Sounds.

Continue reading

Pet Sounds #82: Products Band’s Drummer Has a ‘Freakishly Fast’ Cat That Can Maybe Talk, Too

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 02/14/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

In the 81st edition of Pet Sounds, we learned a little bit about the music that Products Band produces – and we learned an awful lot about bassist/vocalist Wooley’s two cats: Casper and Disney. There are more pets in Products Band, and one of them, Lucy, got a bit jealous and felt she wasn’t getting the attention she deserves.

That stare you see in the photo above is Lucy saying, “Can I please be in Pet Sounds too?”

Lucy belongs to Konner Johnson, who handles drums, percussion and synths for the Minneapolis art-rock band that is signed to Solid Brass.

Products Band consists of Johnson, Woolsey, Jo Kellen (guitar, vocals, synths) and Alex Hanson (guitars, vocals, piano). Woolsey and Johnson jumped at the opportunity to participate in the one and only – or at least extensive – online series in which musicians gush over their pets.

And boy did Johnson gush. Here’s our email conversation about Lucy, Products Band and … lots more Lucy. Enjoy one of the most tender entries so far in Pet Sounds.

Continue reading

Pet Sounds #79: NORMANS Mastermind Insists ‘You Will Be a Better Person’ for Rescuing a Pooch

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , , on 02/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck


Matthew Reid handles vocals and plays guitar and bass for his noise-rock band NORMANS. But as much as he loves music, we’re pretty sure he prefers playing with his two gorgeous dogs. The L.A. band consists of former members of FEELS, Prissy Whip and Blonde Summer and released their self-titled debut through Solid Brass in January 2024. Fans of the Jesus Lizard, Metz and IDLES will appreciate and get hooked on NORMANS’s penchant for creating cacophonies.

A press statement said NORMANS tap into the “terrified animal caged within us all.” But Reid’s limitless love for his dogs ensures they rarely get terrified, if at all – and he’s not the type of dog owner who would coop up his pooches in cages. For this edition of Pet Sounds, Reid answered our questions via email, resulting in the most superb writing of any installment in the series thus far. It’s hard to decide which is more breathtaking, Reid’s superbly poetic writing or the photos he provided. Either way, enjoy this consummately beautiful entry in Pet Sounds.

Continue reading