“What’s This All About Anyway?”
If you are new to The Dawg Bones family, here’s our story.
In 2025 we are heading into our eighth season. We are sticking to our root concept of playing Great American Music—which is a blend of classic country, rockabilly and early rock-n-roll—but we have broadened out to include a number of other sub formats to our show. You might hear some southern rock. Maybe a folk tune here and there. We love to find some pretty ancient “hillbilly” material we think should not be forgotten.
The feedback we continue to receive is on two basic themes. First, we play a wide variety of tunes within our Great American Music theme. Within a fifteen minute span you can hear Johnny Cash, Elvis, The Stray Cats, Buddy Holly, Merle Haggard and CCR. (Okay, that spread might take us a half hour to actually play. But you get the picture.)
Second, we engage with the audience. To us this is an elementary concept we simply go out there and do. One of us learned this during his time in Mike Leckrone’s UW Marching Band. Another watches it happen in front of him as the drummer for one of the area’s exciting up-and-coming original artists. The other picked it up in 40-plus years gigging on two or three continents. We hear this so much we are stunned it seems to be such a unique aspect of our show.
We invite you, your friends, and your family to come out and see this act for yourself! Let us know what you think!
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If you want to add us to your schedule or bring us in for a party, contact us at info@thedawgbones.com
What Do You Mean By “Great American Music”?
Certain styles of music are uniquely American. Among these are rockabilly, country, early rock-‘n-roll, western swing and blues. This is the gritty, down to earth, bare-bones type of music this band chooses to perform. Guitar, bass, and drums. That’s all you really need.
Great American Music is simply the best music created by the best artists of the last two or three generations. We bring Johnny Cash, The Stray Cats, Chuck Berry, Buck Owens, Elvis, John Fogerty, Merle Haggard and more to the party!
We’re a little different from other bands who cover these artists. Sure, we play the standard tunes you’d expect. But we toss in numbers you may not have heard in a long time. Hot Rod Lincoln, One Piece At A Time, The Auctioneer—great tunes not many others will play!
We have received a lot of positive feedback from audiences for the music we pull from modern regional bands. Hillbilly Casino and BR5-49 are a couple of groups making great music we think you’d love to hear.
Overall, it’s a fun show for all ages and classic musical tastes!
Meet The Guys:
Carl Gitchel—Upright Bass
Carl’s been a bass player all of his life, but until the summer of 2017 all of that was done on a tuba. It’s hard to play a tuba and sing at the same time so he picked up an upright bass and took rockabilly slap lessons from one of Brian Setzer’s bass players. The result is a style of play not common in the Madison area. Between that and Carl’s years of experience fronting The Horn Dawgs everybody’ll has a great time!
Steve Oasen—Guitar
For forty-plus years Steve has been serenading Madison with the kind of music The Dawg Bones specialize in playing. In addition to his time with The Horn Dawgs he led Swing Shift around the Madison bar circuit for a couple of decades. He’s thrilled the other two guys wanted to re-introduce this kind of music to the area. Nobody around here has more experience playing this style than Steve.
Zach Brassington—Drums
Zach cut his musical chops playing and touring with Autumn Reverie, a high powered rock band. He currently plays drums for Elizabeth Mary’s full band which exercises a distinctly different set of playing chops.
The music he plays with us is etched pretty deeply into his soul. This is the music he grew up listening to with his parents and grandparents. The family jammed to this material at gatherings over the years and he knows it better than most musicians three times his age. His (relative) youth adds energy to the overall show!
How We Got Here
For almost fifteen years Carl has been making frequent visits to the honky tonks of Lower Broadway in Nashville, TN.
Although steeped in the tradition of country music there is a wide variety of music to sample on the dozens of stages between 3rd and 5th Avenues. And it’s all being played by professional musicians who earn their money passing a tip jar during their performances! Staying in tune with what the people want is key to their success—and livelihood!
After watching these groups for years and bringing back (all right, outright stealing) ideas for the benefit of the Horn Dawgs, Carl wanted to present a show closer to what you might actually find if you took a trip to Music City yourself: a small band which can fit inside the space of your spare bedroom, fun music you can dance to, clap your hands, and sing along with, and exhibit personality that makes the show a fun time for everybody!
Feel free to contact us to see if we’re a fit for your venue or event!