Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs are a group of misfits with eclectic musical backgrounds. They formed back in 2009 and are based in Christchurch, New Zealand. For an aspiring super group with a BIG sound, you can’t begin from a more humble or out of the way place.

It all started with Thomas Reid; a mad, classically trained pianist and self confessed Bowie addict. One day and without warning he was inspired (“compelled by the Rock Gods” he will tell you) to start a rock band.

The first to jump aboard his rock ‘n’ roll odyssey was, old school friend and multi instrumentalist, Rocky. With considerable performing experience, Rocky is a man who prefers to maintain an air of mystery. In concert you’re likely to see him bouncing ‘round the stage like his sneakers are on fire. He’s frequently the group’s lighter relief and therefore an ideal balance in an industry that attracts deeply brooding artistic types, i.e. guitarists. He is, according to Thomas, “the only bass guitarist in the history of Rock that refuses to play the tonic”!

Fast forward to 2012 with the addition of guitarist Tony Pantera and drummer Jay Arthur. Tony has many years’ experience on the guitar, and has had success playing in the well-known but now defunct Christchurch band “the Valves”. He brings an exciting new flavour to Sleeping Dogs, and has an eye and an ear for musical flair which shows in his searingly fast guitar playing.

Jay was plucked soon after finishing his degree at Christchurch’s Jazz School; a young talent who’s only ever destiny was to become a world-class drummer in a rock’n’roll band. Jay’s playing brings to mind the classic drummers of yesteryear; with influences ranging from Kieth Moon to John Bonham being heard along with his own trademark aural-assault style of drumming.

In May 2012, Sleeping Dogs returned home to NZ from the UK after wrapping up their latest album. The album was recorded and produced in Auckland (with the mixing being done in the UK) by the legendary team of Greg Haver and Clint Murphy, who are frequent visitors to this country as they bring their skills to our national acts.

It was not the first time Sleeping Dogs had worked with Haver and Murphy. In 2010, they recorded their debut album, Myth Reducer, at York Street, and released it to glowing reviews in 2011. A mammoth 40+ date tour followed throughout 2011 and 2012, with many of New Zealand’s small towns – including Stewart Island – being visited by the band. A now thoroughly road-tested outfit, Sleeping Dogs look forward to tackling the northern hemisphere in October and November with shows in London, Dublin, Edinborough, Berlin and Munich.

Sleeping Dogs are: Thomas Reid; a sincerely inspired and seriously talented songwriter, pianist and vocalist, Rocky; a melodic and soulful bass player, multi instrumentalist and arranger, Tony Pantera; a skilled and emotionally charged guitarist, and Jay Arthur, a tall and very sexy, long-haired, bearded man, who just happens to be a phenomenal drummer. Their songs have been described as “unavoidable, deep and unapologetic”, their sound and style as “extravagant, big, epic and over-the-top, with long, long instrumental parts”.

Sleeping Dogs; their story is just beginning…