motel void

MOTEL VOID: You’re from Boston, Massachusetts. How would you describe the current music scene there? Do you feel that you’re part of it?

BARK DOG: I am indeed from Boston, I just turned 25 a few weeks ago and I am halfway through my senior year at a small college in Southern Vermont, so I wouldn’t say I’m super tapped into the Boston music scene, but I do know some great people who helped me play my first proper live show in the Boston-area this past summer, which was super exciting so hopefully more of that to come.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve been releasing music since 2016 and there’s almost 50 releases on your Bandcamp. Could you pick 3 of them and recommend/introduce them to our readers?

BARK DOG: Yeah I know the discography is a bit daunting at this point! That’s a hard question but I think I will go with these three releases:

• “woke up the eyeballs” (2022) is the album I’ve released that I’m the most proud of to date. It feels super concise while covering a decent amount of ground narratively. I put a lot of love into that one. “fights” is one of my fav songs I’ve ever written.

• “i will learn 2 let u go” (2021) was I think when I first really hit my stride and felt confident in my ability as a songwriter. I had fun experimenting with genre and production a lot here. “want to grow” is my fav song from it.

• “live at bennington college” (2022) is my first live album featuring material from both my 2022 albums (“eyeballs and “magic trick”). I sing and play guitar and my sampler along with my bandmates Garrett Crusan on drums and Laila Smith on bass. That was a really fun show the night before my 24th birthday.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released a beautiful new single ‘absolute free fall’. Will it be part of your new record?

BARK DOG: Yes, absolute free fall is definitely a part of the new album!

MOTEL VOID: Could you tell us more about the recording and writing process of your songs?

BARK DOG: I write and record on my laptop, mostly from my dorm room or common spaces in my house at college. I don’t have one streamlined and solidified process per se, it’s just whatever fits the song or music idea that I come up with in my head. I don’t read nearly as often as I’d like to, but I take inspiration from visual art, movies, TV, lots of music, people, etc I try to write whenever I can (in my notes app).

MOTEL VOID: Your biggest music inspirations right now?

BARK DOG: Been really digging the first couple Modest Mouse albums lately. “Breakthrough” is a fantastic song. I really adore Isaac Brock’s approach to songwriting, his yelps and screams are so good, so full of raw emotion, and his lyrics are always jagged and nuanced and beautiful.

MOTEL VOID: Your plans for 2024?

BARK DOG: I’m finishing up my new album with a release set for early 2024 and just a few months after that, I’ll be done with college. We will see what comes next in time 😊
I’m really excited to get this album out in the world and then maybe take a break from the constant songwriting grind for a sec cause I haven’t done that in a little bit too long. But hopefully some live shows in Boston to come next year