“Loud. Fast. Fun.” Philly’s Attack Dog takes on a 16-show tour across the US and Canada.
- Nell Duesler
- Jun 9
- 5 min read
Your Next Phavorite Artist: Article 01
Written by Nell Duesler | Photography by Alexis Albright
In the midst of their summer tour across many of the eastern states and into Canada, Attack Dog—consisting of Dylan Michael, Brandon Washburn, Paul Mangan, and John Duesler–got together for a call to discuss everything from how the rock band was created to the Philly-music scene to, most importantly, their Wawa orders.
Though I am familiar with each of the four boys, I still asked them to introduce themselves and their role in the band. And while they all named themselves and their instruments–Dylan, guitar, Brandon, drums, Paul, bass–John had two very important roles, perhaps the second being the most crucial. “I'm John. I play guitar, and I drive the car.”
It’s important to note that their schedule consists of 16 daily shows, with the exception of one off day, in eight different states and another two provinces for over two weeks. So, it only makes sense that this interview was done in their trusty RAV4 on their way to Toronto from Montreal. With Paul and Brandon sitting in the back between instruments and Dylan taking shotgun, it is obvious that these four musicians have a clear goal in mind: to experience the joy of playing together in as many places as possible.
Dylan, the pioneer of Attack Dog, discussed how the band was created. “I was making music by myself, and I always wanted to be in a band. So I guess I slowly collected the best musicians and friends I could find. And then, over the years, things fell in place.” And with a couple of changes to the musicians over four years, Attack Dog feels complete with these four.
So, I asked Paul to describe Attack Dog in three words. His description, highly accurate yet simplistic, truly encapsulates what this band comes across as on stage and in their music: “Loud. Fast. Fun.” With no objections from the others, I got into songwriting.
Though Dylan admits there is no true method to the madness of an Attack Dog song coming to fruition, he did say that there are three common ways their songs get written. Sometimes he’ll arrange a song, bring it to the boys, and they will all have their spin on it. Other times, they will just come up with a song together over time. The third way I find the most meaningful and true to Attack Dog: jamming. Dylan said, “We'll jam and accidentally pick something out of the air.” Those jam session connections where they can almost read each other’s minds and create a song truly come alive on stage. Their performances, often chaotic and exciting, show what Dylan describes as an “otherworldly” experience. Rather than Dylan feeling connected to the written song itself, he expresses that what truly brings him to an emotional state is “the pure catharsis of the performance itself.”
And the audience feels that too. Brandon notes that he has had people come up to him after a show saying that they cried to “Second Skin”, the opening track to their debut album, Remastered 2009, which came out this past April. “Golden”, off the same album, is the song Brandon feels the strongest connection to. Specifically, the line “If I’m fraudulent, I know it. I will never lie down again” means the most to him. He describes that line as the core of his beliefs.
That belief in remaining truthful and honest, not just in life but to yourself, is apparent in all four of these musicians. While they are all busy with jobs, schooling, or other bands, they are able to manage all of these responsibilities and still feel fulfilled in their passions, which Paul describes as “taking every moment at a time.” John says that his fulfillment comes from “playing the music and traveling with friends and having all these experiences,” which, for him, makes everything worth it.
Their current tour focuses on their debut album, Remastered 2009. While they were looking forward to Chicago’s show, they were taken aback by how much they loved Montreal. During this call, they were on their way out of the city, and in addition to showing me the McDonald’s sign in French, they described their feelings about leaving. “I wasn't necessarily looking forward to Montreal, but Montreal is a beautiful city. I love it. I'm sad that we're leaving,” Dylan said.
Though they had only played a few shows for this tour, when I called them, they were already thinking of new places they would like to play in the future. Though they have plans to go further South to New Orleans later this summer, their trip to Canada has created some feelings of wanting to go farther west in Canada. But, no matter where they play, their heart will always be in Philly.
Since they have all been playing in the underground Philly scene for many years, they have seen a bit of everything that this city has to offer. To them, the quantity of talent in Philly makes it unique. Dylan describes Philly’s scene as “a big pool to swim in” with many entry points. Brandon feels strongly about the diversity of talent in this city. He said, “The best of the best [in Philly] is not the same [as the best in other cities]. You know what I mean? It's, like, the best in the world… Philly bands are my favorite bands, and if I didn't live in Philly, they would still be my favorite bands… There aren't three bands that are super popular that sound the same.”
Now being an established band in Philly, they view any mistake that they’ve made as a crucial part of their growth. The hardest part about growth, it seems, is that it can’t all happen at once. Dylan said that, for him, it was a long process to learn how to be on stage. It also took him a long time to learn that the craft of songwriting and the craft of performance were two separate entities. But over time, Dylan and all of the musicians grew into themselves more as established musicians in the area.
With playing and seeing so many Philly shows, they are destined to have their own favorite bands, so when I asked them what each of their dream 4-band bills were, not including their own bands, I wasn’t shocked when they had some clear answers. What did shock me was how cohesive their answers were. They all threw around about the same 7 Philly bands: Fib, Power Over Ethernet, GPS, Riko and Whaler Collective, @, Florry, and Groçer… so let’s get this 7 band show happening?!
While wrapping up this interview, I knew that I couldn’t hang up without asking the most important question: What’s your Wawa order?
John: Buttered Shorti, Life Saver Gummies, and a Canada Dry
Brandon: Chocolate milkshake and a pack of donuts
Paul: Chicken cheesesteak panini with fajita veggies, some pepper jack cheese, and a blue Gatorade
Dylan: Classic Italian hoagie, extra vinegar, yellow Gatorade, and a bag of chips
And on that note, be sure to check out Attack Dog this June on their Remastered 2009 Summer Tour! Find the details on their Instagram @attackdogband
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