Dr. Dog plays at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre Oct. 18

By Ashley Goodman | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Photo by Ashley Goodman

The Philadelphian natives are back with a new album, “B-Room”, which drops Oct. 1st. The band collaborated more on this album than any other album that’s been released so far.

“There was more co-writing on this album than any album ever,” vocalist and lead guitarist Scott McMicken said.

The process of recording their new album began with the construction of their new studio. The band spent two months renovating a silversmith mill built in the 1700’s. According to Scott, the studio was “built to this unspoken manifestation of what the band has come to understand about themselves after working together for over 10 years.”

The studio has a tracking room, control room, a kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom and a hangout room.

“It’s more than a music studio to me, it feels more like a home,” McMicken said. He also considers the completion of the studio the band’s greatest accomplishment to date.

“B-Room” is a step ahead in the direction of their 2012 album, “Be The Void.” The new album was recorded in live takes and proves to be their most soulful album yet.

Their new single, “The Truth”, a simple yet haunting melody, is about the slippery relationship of maintaining an honest heart.

“For me, the song is a reminder to help you along the process of being true to yourself,” McMicken said.

Scott McMicken and bass guitarist/vocalist Toby Leaman have been friends for over two decades. They met at school over a common interest: Guitar.

“Our relationship feels very much like it always has. We’ve always been so easily able to do pretty intangible things together,” McMicken said.

McMicken’s grandfather bought him his first guitar and signed him up for lessons at the ripe age of 10.

“I was shocked. The idea of an electric guitar was crazy to me,” he said.

As a kid, playing guitar filled a huge hole in his time and gave him a sense of identity-McMicken was never into playing sports or video games when he was young.

When Leaman found out that McMicken played guitar, the two began writing original music while their peers were just playing covers.

Maybe that has played a part in the success they’ve been receiving nowadays.

Despite the transitions they’ve made throughout their long career, including members leaving, new ones coming on board, switching recording studios and signing with different record labels, Dr. Dog has been able to stay true to the process, especially their songwriting process.

“The process [of writing “B-Room”] was a continuation of the kind of process we were beginning to involve ourselves with ‘Be the Void’,” McMicken said.

Dr. Dog is opening for the Lumineers Friday, Oct. 18 at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. You can purchase tickets at www.staugamphitheatre.com