Who are you and where do you originate from?

Tamzin – I’m Tamzin from, originally, Portskewett, near Caldicot, and Iamthe singer, songwriter and uke player in Ghost of a Dog. Iamalso an ex-teacher, nowdoing a doctorate in anthropology and folklore.Weare Ghost of a Dog, an alt-country- /Americana (Welshacana !) band.

Matt – I’mMatt, also from Portskewett, and now Monmouth, and Iamthe guitarist, songwriter and backing vocals in Ghost of a Dog.

Lyndon, who plays lead guitar, is fromMonmouth, Brett, the drummer, is from Lydney, and Jon, the bass player, also lives up in the forest, so basically we’re fromthe border badlands of Monmouthshire and the Forest of Dean.

From where does the name Ghost of a Dog originate?

Matt – It’s actually from the title of Edie Brickell and the Bohemians’ second album, which was particularly relevant at the time of forming the band as we (Tamzin andMatt) had just lost our dog, so it seemed like a fitting tribute.

Tamzin – It also had a kind of darkness about it, too, which appears very much in our songs. Our songs tend to look at fairly disturbing subjects, such as domestic violence, vampires, werewolves, dead men and bounty hunters, lost love, heartache; generally typical country- style angst really… Howlong have you been together as a band?

Matt – Weformed in 2007 in an early acoustic incarnation, and went on to get a full band together in 2008/09.

Tamzin – Our debut album, Full Moon Crime Spree, came out in 2009, and we’d been playing around the year before, so I guess we are almost five or six years old. ButMatt and I met as teenagers, and we have written music together since then. It’s a bit weird, as we are also married, but when we are writing and being in the band the marriage is irrelevant – as the only girl in the band, I have to fightmy own battles, so I tend to be a bit of ladette, really!

Tamzin – The current lineup grewout of musician mates in our local area.We had done the audition thing for years, and had some great players through that, but it involved a lot of travelling to Bristol, or Cardiff etc so eventually, in austerity Britain as it is and fuel costs, we thought about being nearer to home, and found a band on our doorstep.

Who are your musical influences?

Matt – Across the whole band influences are pretty varied, anything frompunk to 17-verse murder ballads, but the music that really inspired us to start the band was our love of American roots music, and specifically its influence on the late 60s/early 70s Laurel Canyon scene, which gave birth to Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Crosby Stills and Nash etc, and also the music’s influence on the likes of The Byrds and other bands of that time. There’s a bit of classic 70s rock in there too, plus a fair smattering of British folk. Vocally, there’s probably Janis Joplin, Sandy Denny, Kate Bush plus loads of others.

Tamzin – Formeit has to definitely be Kate Bush; she was the first– I grewup wanting to be her. Alsomy step-dad had a wicked record collection of American Folk music, so I started copying singing styles like Canadian Joni Mitchell,Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, The Byrds, and the whole Laurel Canyon thing. I walked around rainy Newport in the mid 80s dressed like a Californian Hippy, with swishy long skirts, much to Matt’s despair!

How would you describe your style of music?

Tamzin – I would say that it’s a strange brewof altcountry/ Americana/folk rock, roots and soul. There are commercial country moments in some songs, then in others its back to the American folk singer/songwriter.

There is something really for everyone. .

Matt – I suppose we’re primarily a country rock band with an acoustic flavour and some dark lyrics wrapped up in catchy tunes!

What’s your best live experience so far?

Tamzin – Ooh, that’s easy forme. It has to be supporting Jace Everett in concert in 2011. I love that guy – he did the theme tune to True Blood a US vampire series, a song calledWanna do bad Things with You. He was a perfect gent, just like the Southern vampire character that plays the main part.We had a great time.

Matt – Probably supporting Jace Everett in Kent, but every gig delivers something that you don’t expect, so the most workaday gigs on paper can turn out to be the best night of your life (again!) Tell us about your new album.

Tamzin – The newalbum Coyote has been well over two to three years in the making. It was produced by Ron Rogers (ex-T’Pau) who did a most excellent job. The length of time of us being in the studio was due to some line- up changes,. As a result some lovely people have contributed which has made it all the more special.Wehad a finished product by September, but at that time no label.

Then a fluke meeting with Chris Rogers of Habit Formed Records occurred. It was like a dream. There we were, in a tiny acoustic gig in Builth Wells, and Chris walks in with his wife, sees us, we chat, and the rest, as they say, is history. The artwork was the next problem as we wanted an album, not just aCDbut something that could scale up to a vinyl product, too. I remember the great artwork of the 1970s albums made by bands like Little Feet etc and so I decided to do a painting and see what came out of that.

The result was the giant hare wearing a mask of my face, with a blood red moon, in the woods. It is definitely a talking point.

Matt – Well, it has taken us a while, true (Full Moon Crime Spree was released in 2009), but hopefully we’ve delivered something that was worth the wait.Wethink the albumsounds much more like a band working as a whole, and hopefully the many months spent writing, rehearsing and recording are reflected in the final product. Lyrically, we tend to be a little dark and gothic (not surewhy, we’re quite a happy bunch!), with song subjects such as sleepwalking husband killers and 1930s Welsh actresses who commit suicide by jumping off the top of the Hollywood sign, surreal funerals, pirate and prostitutes – that sort of thing, you know?

Where can we catch you live?

Matt – We’re lining up a mini tour aroundWales and the borders in the NewYear, plus some festival appearances which we’re at the moment sorting – keep an eye on our website/Facebook page for more details.