"I've got something I wanna say, don't just sit there, get up!" - 'Get Up'

"Dog Eat Dog is a party band, our music is celebration and we write songs that we're going to feel good playing and that, hopefully, will make other people feel good listening to." - John Connor

Remember the good old days when rock music was about having a laugh? When you could put on a record and literally feel your mood being carried away by a soaring melody, a sizzling guitar riff, an infectious bassline, or an uplifting breakbeat? When you didn't have to stomach wave upon wave of existentialist angst or introspective analysis ripped from the back pages of a schoolkid's rough book? Well so do New York's premier good time band Dog Eat Dog and, much like their third full-length album 'Amped', it's a joy to behold.

If the name sounds familiar then there's a good reason for it: busting onto the scene some five years ago with their 'All Boro Kings' debut and inimitable sound a fresh blend of NYC metalcore, hip hop stylings, funk, punk, skunk 'n' horns they scored a world-wide chart hit with their celebratory manifesto 'No Fronts', picked up the '1995 Breakthrough Artist Of The Year' gong at the European MTV Music Awards and toured the length and breadth of the known world, spreading their infectious joie de vivre, making friends and draining beer supplies everywhere they went. In '96 they put out the follow-up 'Play Games' album, roping in such illustrious collaborators as the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA and Ronnie James Dio to keep the joint fresh, and hit the road again, brightening up the UK's Donington and Reading festivals and spreading the word as only they know how. And now they're back once again with the ill behaviour, a new collection of tunes and a rejuvenated, stripped down outlook.

"'Amped' is a total musical growth for Dog Eat Dog," boasts guitarist Sean Kilkenny. "We have been dubbed a NYHC type band, but we are not just about hardcore. We love all types of music and try to incorporate all of them into what we do. This album has a full spectrum of musical styles from hardcore to funk and we will continue to progress as a band and as musicians. We're just happy we've been given the opportunity to show what we're capable of."

"'It's a complete leap forwards from anything we've done before," beams justifiably proud frontman JC, "from start to finish I'm really proud of the work we all did. It's way better written and produced than the last record and it's definitely going to be considered our finest work to date. I can look at this record and not say, 'Oh damn, I wish I did this,' or 'I wish I did that' because we did pretty much everything that we wanted to do."

'Amped' is pretty much as pure a Dog Eat Dog record as you're gonna get. Prior to its recording the band amicably parted ways with saxophonist Scott Mueller and guitarist Mark De Backer, their manager and their A&R man, resulting in a core quartet who holed up with drummer Brandon's longtime pal Italric (DED's "Rock of Gibraltar" and a soon to be recognised name in his own right "he did for us what Bob Rock did for Metallica" claims Sean) in a Washington studio to put together the most important album of their lives.

"We've definitely cut off the excess fat, we've become a lot tighter, and it's a lot more fun because the four guys that are doing this are way more into it," says JC of the reorganisational process. "'Amped' is very much a make or break thing for Dog Eat Dog. We had great success on our debut, we had some nice success on our second album which was a rush job admittedly and for us it was, 'OK, cool. Now what do we do? Are we going to continue with this band, is this going to be a career for us or have we moved on? Where are we right now?'"

"The third album is always the toughest for a band, especially if they've had success with the first two," considers Sean. "People like a band for what they do, and if they change too much they may lose some of their original fans. With 'Amped', we tried to give people what they like about Dog Eat Dog while expanding our own musical range to attract new fans. This LP is definitely an important one for us. We've finally been able to put on record what we're all about. We've never really been successful at trying that yet so we're excited to see what people think."

"At the end of the day we all wanted the same thing: a great album and an album that was very '90s," continues JC. "We wanted a lot of diverse sounds and subjects on this record."

And diverse it is. Opening shot 'Whatever Man' is a smooth talking funker in the vein of '70s Blaxploitation soundtracks, derived from JC, Dave and Brandon's mutual love of Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield and Shaft while elsewhere on the album there's astute nods to r'n'b (the soulful 'Right Out'), reggae (the loping rhythms of 'Big Wheel') and hip hop (the call and response of 'Always The Same'), all underpinned, but not constrained by, by Dog Eat Dog's characteristic take on good old rock 'n' roll.

"Yeah there's influences of hip hop and reggae and punk and this and that, but essentially it's four-piece rock," agrees JC. "The challenge on the album was how do we make it more than that? We added little textures. A friend of ours came in and played wah wah guitar on a lot of tracks, a friend of Brandon's came in and played a lot of percussion, we had Greg Boyer and the guys from the P-Funk horn section come in and lay the horn parts down. We had a lot of help from friends and that's what makes 'Amped' broader than just the four of us."

The most startling musical development of all, however, is surely the record's centrepiece 'In Time'. Something of a departure for Dog Eat Dog, it's a gorgeous acoustic based ballad, all the more notable for John Connor's coming of age as a proper singer.

"This is absolutely a definite move forward for me and it has to be," he agrees. "I have to credit Italric he worked the hell out of me, man! We spent a lot of time working on vocals and he helped me out with harmonies and things. I'm not somebody that's very comfortable in the studio to begin with but the entire group wanted to come off moving forward and sounding better than ever. 'In Time' is definitely a mature song and I think it's a step in the right direction for us. We're constantly trying to push what we do, the parameters of our sound and styles, and the last thing we want to do is be pigeon holed by people as 'rock/rap' or 'punk rock' or 'heavy metal' or 'pop'."

"We all stepped up with all we had musically, and JC did the same," adds Sean. "It was not something we needed to encourage, it was just his natural progression. The music was so big, that there was no way he could just yell over it all. JC had to prove himself this time, and he did just that. His vocals on 'In Time' are tremendous, and it just goes to show you that he's grown musically as well. He's not just a pretty face anymore, the guy can really sing"

And if 'Amped' is the album where Dog Eat Dog mature musically then the ante's also been increased lyrically.

"It's the day to day Dog Eat Dog experience, things that we can relate to," explains JC. "We've always been a band that hasn't really run with deep themes or messages but some of the heavier songs, like 'Modern Day Devils', deal with ethical and moral issues. In the pre-Millennial tension there's a lot of people talking about the end of the world and now is the time to get your soul in check. That song deals with both sides of that coin, getting people to think about it.

"'One Day' is about what it's like coming from a broken home or an abusive family and, more importantly, about being able to overcome that, to get on with your life and be stronger for it. All the songs in a way relate to us and our experiences I don't come from a broken home or have been abused but know through experience from friends and other people what it's like, and I know what it's like to have every type of shit thrown in your face and think 'Damn, how am I going to get through that?'"

First single 'Expect The Unexpected' deals with the unpredictability of life and the fact that in the grand scheme of things we're all equal, containing as it does the line, "Accidents happen, we don't know why / Just look what happened to Princess Di one car crashed and the whole world cried".

"That shit shocked the hell out of me!" remembers JC. "We'd just finished playing Reading and I was in Ireland chilling out. My cousin and I woke up after a night on the piss and we turned on the TV and it's like, 'Boom! Princess Diana's gone!' You think that shit only happens to the regular people but in reality you never know when it's your time so expect the unexpected."

Indeed. And who knows what fate has in store for Dog Eat Dog? One thing that is for sure though, with 'Amped' Dog Eat Dog are well and truly back and, to borrow one of the band's phrases (which, incidentally, is also the title of one of the album's cuts), they're slamming like gangbusters!

"We spent alot of time making this LP, so we can't wait to hit the road and play it live," concludes Sean. "We want to tour till the new year and get back in the studio soon after that. Three years between records is way too long for us although at least the world has had enough time to brew more beer before we get back on the road. It's time to cause a drought!"