The Street Dogs not only put on one of the best live shows in punk rock, they practice the goodwill they preach.
The band will release the internet-only single ‘War After the War’ on March 10. The Street Dogs will donate 100 percent of all profits from the sale of the track to Homes For Our Troops, a non-profit organization that assists those who have returned home from service with disabilities and injuries. ‘
The song was inspired by front man Mike McColgan’s own personal experiences as a veteran of the first Gulf War.
‘(‘War After the War’) is definitely personal to me,’ McColgan said. ‘(The experience) is very stressful (and) heavy. What you go through and see, and what I went through and saw, pales in comparison to what some of these kids are going through now in Iraq.’
‘War After the War’ was written for the Street Dogs’ latest release, the ambitious and inspiring State of Grace, but didn’t make the final cut.
‘Some books I recently read, War Comes Home and The Winter Solider, had a profound impact on me,’ McColgan said. ‘One of the biggest issues was veterans with serious injuries trying to get affordable housing. I just felt like it was an instance for us to put our money where our mouth is, take the song and give it to them.’
The Street Dogs kicked off its headlining tour Sunday in Houston, playing to a raucous crowd at Warehouse Live.’ The band ripped through staple songs like ‘Not Without A Purpose,’ ‘In Defense of Dorchester,’ ‘Back to the World’ and the ode to rhythm guitarist and local hero Tobe Bean ‘Tobe has a drinking problem.’ State of Grace’s crowning achievement, the acoustic song ‘Free’ made the encore, smashing stereotypes of the traditional punk rock song.
The band will return to Texas for Austin’s South by Southwest music festival March 18-21. In the meantime, Street Dogs hopes to continue to inspire its fans and be proactive in its message behind the music.
‘I think at the end of the day we want to be helpful and help those less fortunate than us,’ McColgan said. ‘We don’t want a pat on the back, but at end of the day it is just the right thing to do.’
