Shaggy Dogs interview « The blues is a living language »

Shaggy Dogs are one of those bands who keep the blues alive without freezing it into a postcard from the past. For more than twenty-five years, the band have been forging their own path between blues, rhythm’n’blues, rock’n’roll and raw live energy, with a direct, generous approach where groove matters as much as substance. Their new album Pinball Boomers sums up that mindset perfectly: stage-driven, collective music, fueled by life on the road, by humour, by a clear-eyed view of time passing and a world that keeps changing, without slipping into a moralising stance.

Good news for music lovers in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region: Shaggy Dogs will be stopping by in March 2026 for two concerts in partnership with Blues Actu Radio. Two chances to experience on stage the album’s energy, the room left for improvisation, and that direct connection with the audience that has become their signature:

⭐️ 13.03.2026: Salaise Blues Festival, Saint-Alban-du-Rhône (38) with Monsieur Bosseigne
⭐️ 14.03.2026: Espace Morgado, Bourgoin-Jallieu (38) with surprise guests

With this news in mind, we took the time to sit down and talk with Shaggy Dogs. A conversation in the band’s image: frank, approachable, and firmly rooted in real life.

🎙️ Shaggy Dogs interviewed by Cédric Vernet

We know you well on Blues Actu Radio, but for someone who’s never heard of Shaggy Dogs, how would you define your music?

Defining our music in a single word would almost contradict what we do. The blues is our foundation, but we’ve never wanted to be its orthodox guardians (we leave that to others!). To us, the blues is living matter, an open language that has always fed on cross-pollination. With Shaggy Dogs, you’ll hear British rhythm’n’blues, soul, rock’n’roll, pub rock, and sometimes even a punk edge. It all comes together through groove and one simple idea: making music that speaks to people, whatever their age or social background. We call it “Fiesta Blues’n’Roll”. The idea is that blues can still be joyful, collective, and unifying without losing its depth.

What meaning do you give to the title of your latest album, Pinball Boomers?

Pinball Boomers works as a generational metaphor. Pinball evokes a time when music was lived in physical places: bars, venues, jukeboxes, amps heating up. A time when you discovered music through chance and encounters. The pinball itself, constantly bouncing, also represents our trajectory: a succession of impacts, detours, moments of grace, and fresh starts. As for the word Boomers, it’s deliberately embraced, almost ironic. It’s not nostalgia, but a clear-eyed look at time passing, without giving up on vital momentum.

You come across as a band that doesn’t overthink things, and that handles humour and a kind of lightness as well as the six-string. Am I wrong?

No, you’re not wrong! It’s a necessity: overthinking is a sterile waste of time. Humour is a way of staying human, keeping a critical distance from ourselves and from the world. In the blues, self-mockery has always been a form of survival. We sometimes deal with heavy subjects, but we refuse any preachy posture. Humour opens a door instead of building a wall. It’s also a powerful stage tool: it creates immediacy and complicity, making the message more accessible.

“Overthinking is a sterile waste of time.”

How did the collaboration with producer Nick Brine come about? What did he bring to your sound?

Working with Nick Brine marked a turning point. There was a “before” and an “after”. He brought us a demanding outside perspective, deeply rooted in British sound culture: live performance, economy of means, expressive efficiency. Nick worked on dynamics, breathing space, and the album’s overall cohesion. He pushed us to fully embrace our collective identity, especially with the definitive integration of horns. Thanks to him, Pinball Boomers sounds like a band playing together, not like a sterile studio construction. And that matters today, considering the kind of album releases we’re offered here and there.

The album suggests both celebration and social commentary (like in “Who’s Gonna Vote?”, very timely in a municipal election period!). How do you balance those two dimensions in your writing?

Historically, the blues has always been political, not in a partisan sense, but in a social one. “Who’s Gonna Vote?” fits into that tradition: asking a question, not imposing an answer. We believe groove is a powerful vehicle for reflection. Music engages the body before the mind, and that’s often how things get through. Celebration isn’t an escape: it can also be an act of resistance, a way to rebuild connection in a fragmented world.

Some tracks like “Lee’s The Man” reference your influences, especially Dr. Feelgood. What place does that legacy hold in your music today? And what are your all-time favourite bands?

Dr. Feelgood is part of our founding DNA. Lee Brilleaux (Dr. Feelgood’s singer) embodied absolute integrity: no pretence, no unnecessary staging, just total intensity in the service of the audience. That legacy is still there, but it isn’t frozen. We’re not trying to reproduce a sound or an era, but to carry on a philosophy: play it real, stay connected to the audience, refuse blandness. Our favourite bands are those with that same demand, whether they come from blues, rock, or soul. For instance: J. Geils Band, Southside Johnny, Bo Diddley, Lee Dorsey.

Can you tell us about the variety of tracks on Pinball Boomers? You move between party tunes and slower-tempo songs…

Yes, definitely. We designed the album as a narrative format, not as a string of singles. The variety of tempos creates breathing space and a sense of drama. The slower tracks aren’t breaks, they’re spaces of depth. They give the more festive songs extra relief and allow us to explore other emotional shades. That diversity also reflects our maturity: we don’t need to prove anything anymore in terms of raw energy!

From your first record in 1999 to this ninth album, how has the band evolved musically… and humanly?

Musically, we’ve gained freedom and precision. We trust silences, textures, and collective intelligence more. Humanly, lasting is probably the biggest challenge. Nearly twenty-eight years: that’s a lot of compromises, discussions, and self-questioning. Today, we run on a kind of shared intuition. That bond is rare and precious. A lot of people envy it!

“The stage is a living organism.”

The presence of horns and harmonica gives the album a wide range of textures. How do you choose the instruments and arrangements for each track?

Saxophone and trombone are now an integral part of the band, and that has deeply changed the way we write. They’re no longer an ornament, but a voice in their own right. Today, we have to share the sonic spectrum between seven full-time musicians. Arrangements are built collectively now, with close attention to balance. Horns widen our expressive palette. Each track has its own construction and arrangement specifics. There’s no rule or miracle recipe, except knowing how to listen to each other for the good of the song we’re here to serve. In that sense, endless solos and flashy technical feats have no place with Shaggy Dogs!

Some songs seem inspired by touring experiences… or non-touring experiences (like “We Could Have Been To China”, very Dr. Feelgood!). How does life on the road influence your writing?

Touring is a revealer. It strips individuals bare, along with relationships and expectations. Tracks like “We Could Have Been To China” play with that tension between dreams of greatness and the reality on the ground. But, deep down, it’s human encounters that feed our writing the most. The road always brings you back to the essentials: why you play, and for whom.

On stage, and it’s one of your strengths, how do you manage to recreate the album’s energy? Is there room for improvisation?

The album is a photograph, the stage is a living organism. Our reputation as a high-energy band speaks for itself. We draw that energy from what the audience gives back to us. We don’t play for our shoes, we play for the people who made the effort to come and see us. Whether there are 1, 100, or 1,000 of them, we’re determined every time to give our maximum: we leave it all on stage. We leave a fundamental place for improvisation. The songs evolve, stretch out, and transform depending on the crowd. The horns add an extra organic dimension, perfect for improvisation. Every concert is a unique experience.

What’s your take on the music world today?

It’s a paradoxical landscape. Music has never been so accessible, yet never so economically devalued. Streaming has changed habits, sometimes at the expense of depth. We believe more than ever in live music, venues, festivals, and direct contact. That’s where AI doesn’t have a grip on us yet! For how long? Our approach remains artisanal, almost militant: defending music that’s imperfect, but sincere.

Finally, after the release of Pinball Boomers, what are your ambitions for the months ahead?

To keep this record alive on stage and let it evolve in contact with the audience. We’ll continue to travel the European roads, playing clubs and festivals throughout the year. But also to keep creating, recording, and passing things on. New songs are already appearing on the horizon, a new album is on the way. And above all, to stay faithful to who we are: a band for whom blues and its offshoots are a space of freedom, sharing, and joyful resistance!

🎧 Listen to Shaggy Dogs on Spotify

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