The live funk band died (at least commercially) back in the mid Eighties, after Prince proved that you could replicate the sound of 8 men with a synthesizer. This coincided with a decline in fortunes for many of the large funk bands that had been popular in the previous decade. Even the funk bands that stuck around, like Cameo, underwent a drastic reduction in personnel. The days of TV variety shows having to build extra stage to fit the members of a soul/funk band were long over by the time 1990 rolled around.
Only a couple of bands were able to break through the early-Nineties crowded field of new jack swing singers and harmonizing groups. Mint Condition survived under the tutelage of Jam and Lewis (and still make solid records to this day), and Tony! Toni! Tone! had almost a decade in the sun (and actually got better with time) until Raphael Saadiq decided to break South at the end of the decade. One band that should have definitely been bigger than they wound up being was North Carolina’s Dag. Don’t let the quartet of palefaces fool you-these cats put down one of the stankiest funk albums of the decade with 1994’s “Righteous”.
There are some bands that are fantastic live but can’t make the connection when it comes to recording their material. There are some bands who are fantastic on record but suck live. Then, there are some bands whose records are so good you wish you could’ve seen them live. Dag definitely falls into the latter category for me. I bet these cats would have kicked all kinds of ass. “Righteous” is the work of a band whose spent some time honing their craft on the road-it has a live band feel that was missing from a shit-ton of soul music back in the Nineties. Hell, it’s still absent today.
The obvious comparisons that can be made in 2010 would be to Jamiroquai and Maroon 5, two white bands that dabble heavily in a soul-based sound. While Jamiroquai and Dag borrow heavily from the same era of music, Jamiroquai’s more glittering disco-recalling bands like Skyy or Dynasty. Dag is definitely more on the funk tip. The ascending horns of “Even So” recall peak-era Earth Wind & Fire, while the sexy ballad “You Can Lick It (If You Try)” sounds like something Prince would have maybe put together for The Time. As far as Adam Levine and his crew goes; hey, I like Maroon 5, but “Righteous” is the type of album Maroon 5 wish they could make (and they probably could if Adam Levine wasn’t so deadset on being a pop star). There’s also the fact that M5’s breakthrough single, “Harder to Breathe”, sounds a lot like the first full track on “Righteous”, “Sweet Little Lass”.
These guys had the whole package-a solid vocalist in Bobby Patterson (maybe a little more nasal than the average funk vocalist, but he had a good handle on the falsetto), lyrics that were sly and just a bit eye-rolling (at least to me-when I hear “Sweet Little Lass”, I don’t think the “l” in the last word of the title is really meant to be there), and a major label contract with Columbia. The fact that this album wasn’t a huge success is sort of a mystery to me, although I’m sure the idea of a band of white boys playing funk in the height of the grunge era was a bit weird. What killed Dag’s cause even more was that four years went by before their follow up was released, and in that time, the band had undergone a face lift, becoming a multi-racial, unisex outfit. I’m not sure what the band is doing these days, but if they decide to do any comeback shows, let’s hope they make it around this area. I need some funk in my life.
11 comments
just_kap says:
Oct 14, 2010
I hear ya… I could use some funk in my life too!
I love this place, FYI.
blerd says:
Oct 14, 2010
Why, thank ya!!
KG says:
Jan 5, 2013
I got to see them live once in Georgia and you’re right, they kicked all kinds of ass. The guitarist, Brian Dennis, would lock into incredible rhythm grooves while doing little dance moves, then step up on a solo and rip your face off, then fall right back into the dance move. The guy knew when to play and when to hold back. Awesome. -KG
Big Money says:
Jan 6, 2013
Man, I wish I’d gotten the chance to check them out live!!
Sylvester Stewart says:
Jun 11, 2013
Maroon 5 blows donkey dix. Dag is where its at!
Tim Poole says:
Feb 21, 2014
Being from North Carolina, I knew these guys Pre Dag, and was a big fan of their previous bands, and as individual musicians already. I guess I saw DAG live over 100 times during their run, both as a 4 piece, and as a 6 piece. Never a bad show. They could turn ANY venue on it’s ear! The highlight for me was watching them as a 6 piece DISMANTLE the H.O.B. in New Orleans, La, on a weeknight in the Summer. Watching a non NC crowd have the same or bigger reaction to them was really cool! As for now, as far as I know, Bobby and Bryan are in Mr. Potato Head, and Bobby also plays w Kenny Soule in a jazz fusion trio called My 3 Sons. There has been a lot of talk around NC about trying to convince them to do some reunion shows. If I hear of any confirmation of shows, I will post them here!
MJ says:
Feb 22, 2014
Please do! I would definitely do a post if reunion shows come to light!
Mike Brown says:
Nov 28, 2014
Wow, these guys were the real deal. Great sound! We heard about Dag through our next door neighbor. Apparently our Neighbors’ daughter is married to the DAG’s bass player. Pretty wild, huh? They said we should Google the band, and of course, we did. Wow. Maroon WHO???!
MJ says:
Nov 29, 2014
Haha. Let’s not forget–Maroon 5 used to be kind of good. Actually, there’s a band I found about recently called Mama’s Gun. They sound a lot like Dag. You should check them out too.
Mark says:
Mar 9, 2015
Ay yo, MR Potatohead ceased to exist when Dag was born. Brian played me some of the songs from Righteous before they went into the studio to start working when we were riding in his car, songs that became “As” and a ballad from 365. Brian is a touring musician, played with Gavin DeGraw among others. Jen is teaching at Vanderbilt. Yeah Bobby and Kenny are doing jazz fusion. I wouldn’t count on a reunion show, though I suppose it could happen. Musical tastes among some of them have changed. Brian might not play the funk but he still loves it, like a first girlfriend.
Latanya says:
Mar 29, 2015
The live show was one of the best I have ever seen. In fact they opened for another band in Atlanta and the second band started with an insecure “Hey we can rock the house too!”