Dog Brigade

John, the guitarist and singer with Vancouver, B.C., garage-punk three-piece Brutal Poodle, has been playing music since he was a teenager. He asks to be identified by his first name only, for “border reasons.”

It was the ’90s, he recalls, and grunge was big. His brother showed him a few chords to a Nirvana song.

“It felt like you could replicate this amazing thing in a very small way,” he remembers. “I got the music bug at a young age.”

And now Brutal Poodle is touring behind their latest release, Long Time No See, a rough ‘n’ tumble collection of quality rock tunes existing somewhere between noisy guitar pop and the Replacements.

John says that before Brutal Poodle, he wanted to play music with musicians he knew well personally but had yet to work with creatively. “It feels like a new thing, in a way,” he says. “Everyone brings something. Scenes get insular.” He calls Vancouver “a “big-small town in some ways.”

And that kind of I-gotta-get-out-of-this-town energy, similar to the Replacements and a lot of other ’80s-era punk, is at the core of Brutal Poodle. “I love all ’80s Midwest sound, rooted in really good pop songs,” he says.

“I’ve always liked a band that has some really good musicians in it,” he goes on, “but there’s something about it that could just go off the rails.” ν

Brutal Poodle plays with Eugene’s Critical Shakes and Mind the Fold 10 pm Saturday, Dec. 22, at Luckey’s; $5, 21-plus.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!