Ferocious Dog Talk New Album, UK Tour And More

English folk punk band Ferocious Dog have their new album ‘Kleptocracy’ which is out now and an accompanying UK Tour. Bassist Nick Wragg kindly chatted to us about the new album and more: 

Who is in Ferocious Dog, what do they play and how did you meet?

 

Ken Bonsall – Singer

Jamie Burney – Violin

Sam Wood – Banjo/Mandolin/Acoustic Guitar/Mandocello/Bouzouki/Whistle/Accordion

Kyle Peters- Electric Guitar

Luke Grainger – Drums

Nick Wragg – Bass

 

Most of the band are local to Mansfield area.

Jamie is further afield from Sheffield and was recommended to the band in 2022 when they needed a new violinist due to his previous work with the band “Silk Road”

Nick is from Cumbria – he was invited to join on bass by Sam after they met playing shows together in the UK folk metal circuit.

 

Your new album ‘Kleptocracy’ is  out now.  How did you want to approach the making of the record?

We all get together in the rehearsal room with our own ideas for tunes/riffs/songs, and mashed it all together for a couple of weeks until everyone was happy! Then Ken took the music away to write lyrics for the songs he didn’t already have ideas for. Ken already had song topics and titles he knew he wanted to include in this album.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

It was recorded locally at Arch Audio studios (run by our previous touring sound engineer), produced by Sam Wood our folk instrumentalist, mixed and mastered by Bob Cooper.

One of the singles is ‘A Place We Call Home’. What was the story/inspiration behind the song?

The lyrics confront the pressing issues of poverty and homelessness we see growing in the UK; this critical issue is of paramount importance to Ferocious Dog and is evident to anyone attending our shows, where fans contribute to a local food banks each night. However the topic of the song is approached in a subtle way telling the story of lovers who loose everything but each other and are left out on the streets.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals etc?

Sam uses a mix of Mullins and Barnes /Faith Guitar instruments

Kyle uses a Neural DSP guitar pedal

Nick tours with a Kemper Profiler

Jamie uses a Bridge – Lyra electric violin live. He recorded on his Czech made acoustic violin.

 

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Nottingham – vibrant, diverse, musical, bustling, beautiful

Do you have any plans for live shows in Europe/UK in 2024?

We have a 16 show album tour around England starting on release day 17th May, along with many summer festivals –

 

May 17th – Fri – London – 100 Club (ALBUM LAUNCH)

May 18th – Sat – Nottingham – Rock City

May 19th – Sun – Cardiff – The Globe

May 20th – Mon – Exeter – Phoenix

May 21st – Tue – Brighton – Chalk

May 22nd – Wed – Dover – The Booking Hall

May 23rd – Thu – Cambridge – MASH

May 24th – Fri – Bradford – Nightrain

May 25th – Sat – Hertfordshire – Stone Valley South Festival

May 26th – Sun – Derbyshire – Bearded Theory Festival

May 31st – Fri – Milton Keynes – MK11

June 1st – Sat – Stroud – Sub Rooms

June 2nd – Sun – Lincoln – The Drill

June 7th – Fri – Stockton – Georgian Theatre

June 8th – Sat – Carlisle – Old Fire Station

June 9th – Sun – Blackpool – Bootleg Social

June 15th – Sat – Northern Kin Festival

 

July 26th – Southwick Community Centre- acoustic show

July 27th – Poole Harbour Festival

August 2nd – Oxford – The Bullingdon

August 3rd – Wickham Festival

September 6th – Perranporth – The Watering Hole – acoustic set

 

October 5th – DogFest, Boston, Lincolnshire. Our own festival

October 10th onwards – Autumn tour starts. Dates and venues tbc

 

Given your vast catalogue, is it difficult picking a setlist and do you have a specific song selection process?

We have songs that we have grown to like and know go down well live. We tend to rotate the setlist slowly! Changing one or two songs each time between shows.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Moby Dick – we already have the opening theme ready in our song “Moby Dick” from the Kleptocracy album.

 

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Happiest – Blood on the Streets. We add this tentatively… the music might be the most upbeat and uplifting FD song yet. However the lyrics are an anti-war song diving into a very serious topic

Angriest – Anger on the Streets. The title says it all. At risk of repeating ourselves – this may be the angriest FD song yet. Inspired by 80’s extreme punk.

Most reflective – Protest Singer / or A Place We Call Home. The two songs on the album that slow things write down and have more solemn lyrics and music.

 

 Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Traditional folk, The Pogues, Billy Bragg, Rancid

Was it a difficult album to write?

This album came at a crazy time for us, with line-up changes, touring, festivals. We were in and out of the rehearsal room and studio doors non-stop for songwriting while still playing shows, and with a relatively fresh line-up writing the songs together. We wanted to put our own stamp on FD – that better reflected how we play the live sets now. Faster, heavier, melodic.

Who designed/created the album artwork?

The artwork was designed by Ken Bonsall and created by his long time friend Colin. The artwork reflects the political discontent of the album.

How do you look after your voices?

With difficulty while on the road! Ken can be found in the dressing room with a steamer from time to time. Off the road he is up and at the gym every morning keeping fit.

What makes Ferocious Dog happy?

Community values and social justice make us happy.