Young Dogs claim hometown hero status

author: amaya lucyk | contributor

The band’s upcoming tour is sure to be a local success. | Photo credit: Christina Alonso

The phoenix from Descalso’s ashes comes back home in February.

There’s no place like home. This February, Regina will be welcoming back our very own home grown musicians for a weekend debut. Lucyk and Sugar Rae Robinson may ring a bell for people who followed the music scene of 2009-2012. Having attended the same elementary school and sharing hours of devoted study to their classic rock and blues idols, Paul Lucyk and Neil Robinson refined their musical genius. With fellow conspirators, they formed Descalso – a trilingual reggae, rock, blues infused band that took Regina by storm. In mid-2012, the band packed their bags for the romantic city of Montreal in an effort to test the waters of a greater musical horizon. After two years of adventures, misadventures, fraudulent band managers, unpaid parking tickets, cramped living quarters, and copious amounts of bagels and beer, the band disassembled. However, childhood best friends Paul and Neil remained hard at work in Montreal experimenting, testing, and tasting a world of new musical concoctions.

By what some may speculate to be divine intervention, Australian musician Ed Denton showed up at Paul’s doorstep, guitar in hand, looking for a place to stay. As chance may have it, Ed became both Paul’s roommate and bandmate. An ethnic hybrid of a band was formed, made up of Paul, Neil, Ed and the Québecois drummer, Vincent Letarte. Young Dogs is the unique result of happenstance and musical genius – with no short supply of Saskatchewan flare!

Over the course of two years, Young Dogs have developed their sound and identity in Montreal, frequenting staple Montreal bars and venues, and releasing a self-produced EP this past May. Young Dogs are finally making a long-awaited journey home to showcase a wealth of original material and performance technique that they’ve harvested diligently since Lucyk and Robinson first left the plains. Upon pressing demand, they will be traveling across Canada back to their original stomping grounds to perform and launch their brand new folk EP, entitled Cliff Side Delirium. This debut will be situated in Regina’s Artful Dodger on Feb. 17 and the German Club on Feb. 18.

Former nostalgic Descalso fans can expect a mirrored performance of Descalso’s high-energy, electrifying, and contagious atmosphere that was so consistently delivered in their shows, yet will be introduced to a sound that is altogether unique. Replacing the fusion of reggae-pop stands tones of electric blues, driving rock ‘n’ roll, finesse, and ultimately brilliant musical arrangements. Young Dogs is a refined projection of the musical skills honed at a fresh and tender age by Paul and Neil and illustrates a genuine reincarnation of vintage blues-rock.

Young Dogs is a corroboration of the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple, spiced with a charming and accessible modern twist reminiscent of the Black Keys and Gary Clark Jr. All the while, Young Dogs’ music has been generating a buzz for having a sound something quite of it’s own.

The return home for Lucyk and Robinson with their new band will be met with curiosity and high expectation. Having left home over four years ago to pursue the life of upcoming rock stars, their skills have been refined and polished through extensive touring, collaboration with esteemed musicians, and complete dedication to the pursuit of art. Save the date, pour a drink, and prepare yourself for these upcoming nights – they’ve got Regina’s music scene shaking with excitement and are sure to leave it resonating with awe. Young Dog’s music can be found at youngdogs.bandcamp.com