THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG EARTH PLC

Earth plc

Dogman explains his song was inspired by REM

The song Earth plc was written almost 10 years before it was first recorded as a demo and included in the first Dogman album, The Whisperer, released in 2010. It was a family ‘front room favourite’ at parties which sometimes included a novel and rowdy female backing group (I-Phone Girl, her sister Legal Eagle Suzanne and the Lovely Lesley, his brother in law’s partner) for its chorus:

‘And we know - when the world - is spinning around. We know  -  when our world  - is going to down and we know - when our feet  - are touching ground.  We know, we know - we know....’

Dogman used to play REM covers at house parties and gigs, including Man in the Moon and Losing my Religion, and announce that Earth plc was his own REM-inspired song.

In the song, we are all invited to take care of our planet – a sentiment plaintively heard in the lyric – ‘It’s you and me - we’re earth plc  - Buy shares buy shares - this is - our universe’

Dogman says, “We don’t know everything about our world and how the mind works yet and it would be fair to say we don’t always look kindly on others!”

David aka Dogman has long been convinced that we should probably stop looking for aliens and going to other planets and start looking after our own world. He even asks in the song that even if aliens were ever found would we even know how to deal with them. 

Earth plc is from the new Dogman album,‘The cat that solved the String Theory’, released by Expat Records in May 2011.

The superb visuals, created by the wonderful Swiss videographer 

Brigitte Norman can also be viewed on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jLcQVvAl-w

On VIMEO: http://vimeo.com/28066068

EXPAT RECORDS http://www.expat-records.com/Dogman/

http://soundcloud.com/drdavidsands/spotlight

Dogman on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/dogmandavesands

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-cat-that-solved-string/id438076388

VALENTINE LIGHT - THE STORY BEHIND THE DOGMAN SONG

Valentine Light

Dogman explains how this new 'tradional style' folk song is the favourite of live audiences and band members alike

This song is the name of this painting I made from my wife on Valentine Day in 2003. In subsequent years I have photographed many different flower arrangements that she has placed before it on our fireplace shelf.

Valentine Light was born out of my self motivated challenge to write my own new, ‘traditional sounding’, folk track instead of singing one that was long established like Lucy Wan. At first, my opening verse lines were repeated, ‘Walk with me in the Valentine Light’, which made it sound very ‘folky’ indeed but as I played it live the song evolved into more Ryan Adams vibe. 

Lines like ‘Dance with me in the Valentine Light, don’t catch a chill my Lilywhite, watch our reflection in the river’s flight’, nicely roll off my tongue when I am singing it now. The almost erotic line,  ‘Lie with me on this Valentine Night, under the willow in the twilight’, is traditional 'English' in the quintessence sense and could even be a sub plot for a 18th Century landscape painting.

The mandolin riff was put it by producer Mr Smith using my own instrument which he borrowed without informing me of his idea.

It’s a true romantic song that is dedicated to my wife at every gig and I can imagine in years to come it will become one to play for lovers on Valentine’s Day. Dolly Parton would probably make a fine job of singing this as a cover I’m sure. Members of the band love the song and so do many of my friends who are also musicians.

The final song lines, ’and remember this, every Valentine night, every single night’, is now repeated over and over in a rocky folk style by me since the original recording was made in early 2010.

A video with many of my atmospheric cloud photographs used to set the scene can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/JuQ1oBA8V4c