Hi, everyone! I had the honor of chatting with Chase Macinski, the bassist of the Detroit punk-based band Dogleg. The band has been together since 2016, and aside from Chase, the band consists of vocalist Alex Stoitsiadis, guitarist Parker Grissom, and drummer Jacob Hanlon. These guys are quite the studs. They released their debut album, Melee, back in March after a four-year writing process. It opened to high acclaim, but not just any high acclaim, though. They were bestowed the honor of "Best New Music" and "Best New Track" from respected music journalism site, Pitchfork. I will be publishing a review on this album later this month, but I was excited to learn more about the process behind the album in this interview!
bazzreviews: Congratulations on the success of your debut record, Melee! What were your reactions to receiving such high praise from outlets such as Pitchfork?
Chase Macinski: Thank you! We did not expect that whatsoever, and we were all like, “holy s--t, this is awesome.” We knew we’d probably get a little bit of buzz, but not at this volume. It’s crazy to now have a new wave of eyes on us, and we cannot be more thankful of those who are writing about us, listening to us, and telling their friends about us.
br: Which albums or artists inspired you to start a music career in the first place?
C.M.: I think it all started back in middle school, around seventh grade or so. I was really into a lot of grunge bands at the time. Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, the classics. A little bit later, I started listening to some punk rock. I think Rancid and the Ramones were my introduction to the genre. It was these bands who made me feel the urge to pick up my own instrument and be in a band. I think my first music memory was having some of my friends wanting to play “Holiday” by Green Day at our talent show, and they said they needed a bassist. I was like, “s--t, well I want to be in a band.” I had never touched an instrument before, but I figured I could learn pretty quick. I ended up ordering a bass, but it didn’t come in time for the show. Even though I didn’t get to play in that show, it was something that I still wanted to learn how to do because I had a guitar now.
br: How did you meet the other members of the band?
C.M.: Three of the four members met through the School of Rock in Rochester, Michigan. I met Alex and Parker in that program in my eighth or ninth grade year of school. It was Parker who was on drums before we met Jacob (Hanlon), our now drummer. We met him in the Michigan DIY scene, because he was playing in about three or four other bands at the time. We figured he’d be a perfect fit for the band.
br: What’s the significance behind the band’s name?
C.M.: It is a direct reference to the “Greatest Band To Ever Come out of Michigan,” Bear vs. Shark. The final track on their debut album is called “Broken Dog Leg.” Alex is hugely influenced by Bear vs. Shark, as we all are. When Dogleg was only his solo project, he thought it would be cool to pay homage to their music by taking that song title and making it one word.
br: Tell me a little bit about the Melee tournaments you host on Twitch?
C.M.: We don’t host tournaments, per say, but I just play different Smash players online using this thing called Netplay. The connection is kind of bad compared to playing in person, but it’s bearable. Anways, when we decided to start streaming on Twitch, we decided to ride on that Melee shtick and play that. I practice Melee competitively and play in a lot of local tournaments and stuff, so whenever we stream we let people comment in the chats to challenge me to games. It’s awesome, because I’m playing against people who are fans of Dogleg but are just Melee players. We’re now at a point where we have “regulars” on the channel who come and support us every time we’re online. We get a lot of donations from people, too, and we’re very appreciative of that. It’s a great way to let people to see us in a personal light removed from the context of live shows and our music in general.
br: I also hear you’re a big anime fan, why is My Hero Academia your favorite?
C.M.: Yes, I do love anime. I was once a fan of My Hero Academia, but I don’t like as much after watching this past season. In the meantime, I’ve been reading a lot of manga while I’ve been at work. Also, since coronavirus is impacting a lot of Asian countries right now, there haven’t been a lot of big anime series out. So, my roommate and I have been having a Studio Ghibli watch party, too.
br: Some people have told me that you make an awesome bowl of ramen, what’s your secret?
C.M.: It’s nothing too crazy. For starters, like my noodles a little al dente, that’s bascially about it. The Maruchan packs tell you to cook it for three minutes, but I go for about two-and-a-half minutes. I’ll also add a little bit of onion and garlic powder with the chicken flavor. I’ll also add some red pepper chili flakes if I’m in the mood.
br: I’ve heard that the live show is a big part of Dogleg’s image, would you say that you prefer playing live or working in the studio?
C.M.: I would say playing live, simply because I have a lot more fun doing it. Funny enough, we haven’t had any studio experiences, except for mixing and mastering. I would much rather play a 30-minute set with full energy instead of cranking out a few tracks in a two-hour session.
br: Can you talk about the writing process on Melee?
C.M.: We released our first EP, Remember Alderaan back in 2016, and we had one track already written for Melee, which was “Headfirst.” The song was at about 90% at that point, so we ended up not putting it on the EP and saving it for the future project. We weren’t sure what it would be at the time, but we wanted it to be something big. I was sort of a critic of the other albums getting released in the Michigan DIY scene a few years ago. They were about six or seven tracks long, with one of those tracks being an interlude or another being an intro. So basically, you would have just four full-length tracks, which is, in essence, an EP with “flavor.” I told the guys that I wanted to make a ten-plus track project with only bangers. “All killer, no filler” was our mantra. We got to work on the beginnings of the record in the winter of 2016. We finished writing the album in the middle of 2018. That’s around the time we put “Fox” out. We wrote everything as a group. Usually, one small element would be brought into the studio by one of us, maybe a riff, or a chord progression. Each one of us would then add our own nuggets of wisdom to these ideas until we found something that sounded cool. All of Melee was recorded in Alex’s basement. Oftentimes, not all four of us were present when we recorded. It would usually just be Alex and one of us doing parts individually. He spent so many hours researching the perfect way to record instruments with microphones, so it’s all thanks to his efforts that make the record sound the way it does. After we finished the rest of recording, we sent it to a few studios to mix and master it before we really liked the final cut. That’s why the time frame between Alderaan and Melee is so long. It took just as long to make as it did to get out there. We put our hearts and souls into that record, and we cannot be happier that it’s being received so well.
br: What’s more important to you- lyricism, or production value and instrumentation? C.M.: I would say the production value and instrumentation is the most important for the band, 100%. For every song that we wrote on Melee, lyrics came last. We would only think about how the song was going to sound until we really liked the instrumental. We’d then shift our focus to how we wanted to sing over it.
br: What are some of your favorite songs from the new record, or songs that have released over the years?
C.M.: I think my personal favorite from the record is “Wrist.” A lot of Dogleg’s best elements come out on that song. It’s such a driving, fast-paced track, and the guitar pre-chorus is awesome. The key change and background vocals sound great, too.
br: If you could choose one song to delete or rewrite from the band’s discography, what would it be and why?
C.M.: I don’t think I’d delete any songs from the album, but I’d say we could have invested a little more time in “Cannonball” to make it feel like a stronger pre-cursor to “Ender.” If we added another bridge to make it longer, that would be ideal. We also struggled a lot on “Hotlines” with the melody and lyrics, so fine-tuning that a little bit more would be my second choice.
br: Knowing what you do now about being in a band and pursuing music, what would you change about your approach?
C.M.: I’m sort of taking this whole music thing as it goes, so I don’t really have anything too major I would tell myself. I still feel like I do a lot of the things that I did when we were first starting the band, too. However, I would definitely tell myself to buy a second bass You’ll need it. You think it’s indestructible until it actually gets f----d up.
br: What music goals do you have for the future?
C.M.: I’d like to become financially independent based on our music. That would almost be more of a milestone, not a goal. It would also get my mom way more off of my back about financial stability. I would also love to discuss touring with other groups that have been of influence to us. If we are within grasp of sharing a stage with those bands, I hope we can take that opportunity. We’ve already been given that opportunity with the upcoming Joyce Manor tour, because they were our idols for a very long time. Even though it’s getting rescheduled because of all of these health concerns, it is still an incredible feat that we are looking forward to.
I would like to thank Chase for sitting down with me again. The band is one of the hottest acts of 2020 so far, and I wish them the best of luck with their future endeavors. For those of you who like punk, definitely check these guys out! In the meantime, thank you all for checking it out, and I hope to see you back reading more bazzreviews content down the road!
To hear Melee and support the band during COVID-19, go to https://dogleg.bandcamp.com/
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