Dog Trumpet | |
---|---|
Also known as | Reg & Peter / Peter & Reg |
Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Genres | Rock, Pop |
Years active | 1990–present |
Labels |
Regular, TWA, Half a Cow Orange Lounge |
Associated acts | Mental As Anything, Dynamic Hepnotics, The Whitlams, The Reels, Happening Thang, The Go-Betweens |
Website | http://www.dogtrumpet.net/ |
Members |
Reg Mombassa Peter O'Doherty |
Past members | John Bliss Mike Grubb Mark Honeybrook Tony Martin Amanda Brown Andy Travers Jess Ciampa Bernie Hayes Hamish Stuart Jonathan Zwartz Peter Mitchell |
Regular, TWA, Half a Cow
Dog Trumpet or Reg & Peter's Dog Trumpet is an Australian rock band, formed by brothers Reg Mombassa (aka Chris O'Doherty) and Peter O'Doherty. Both Mombassa and O'Doherty were formerly members of the iconic Australian band Mental as Anything, and they formed Dog Trumpet as an outlet for their original material. The Dog Trumpet sound reflects a sincere affection for classic 1960s pop and whimsical psychedelia.
In 1990, Mental As Anything members had agreed to take a sabbatical from their band work and turned to solo or side projects. Mombassa and O'Doherty formed the duo Reg & Peter/Peter & Reg (they alternated names whenever interviewed). Under the name of Reg & Peter, the duo issued the single "Jean"/"Nobody Home" in March 1991 on Regular Records, the song is described by Mombassa as "a fusion of psychedelic and Celtic rock 'n 'roll dealing with metaphysical romance", before assuming the name Reg & Peter's Dog Trumpet for the album Two Heads One Brain. The album made the Rolling Stone's list of top albums for the year. Two further singles were lifted from the album, "Made of Wood"/"Red Brick Home" in June 1991 (the cover art for which is a painting of a howling dog trumpet by Mombassa) and "I'm So Handsome"/"Dream" in October 1991. The name "Dog Trumpet" came from a piece of Mombassa's artwork which featured a creature resembling a cross between a dog, a trumpet and a jet engine. The album was produced by Steve James and helping out in the studio were Mike Gubb (keyboards; ex-Dynamic Hepnotics, Mental as Anything, The Whitlams), John Bliss (drums; ex-The Reels) and Mark Honeybrook (bass).
The next two years saw the release of two EPs, Kiss a Gun Down in October 1992 and Strange Brew in October 1993. Film clips were made for "Beast of Prey" and "Melancholy Way", although they were not released as singles. Strange Brew was an inspired reworking of the old Cream song. The artwork for Strange Brew, was painted by Martin Sharp, who designed several album covers for the real Cream in the late 1960s. Tony Martin had replaced Honeybrook on bass.