THERE IS AN ANCIENT BELIEF THAT SIRIUS (THE DOG STAR) IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HOT WEATHER. THIS JULY, HOWEVER, SEES THE ARRIVAL OF A DIFFERENT POOCH AS LOUIS BARABBAS’ TELL-TALE HOUND IS BROUGHT TO SLOBBERY LIFE…
“Dog Days” (diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of Summer and were popularly believed to be an evil time “when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid” (according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813).
Consequently the Romans sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of this period to appease the rage of Sirius.
Something similar happens almost nightly to Louis Barabbas & The Bedlam Six. There is
one song that haunts the band more than any other - a song that tells the story of an ill-fated love triangle between a man, a woman and an eternally panting dog.
“This is the one the audiences always want,” remarks Louis, “it’s taken on a force all of its
own, I feel like it’s reached the point where the song plays us, rather than the other way around… We’re not complaining - we love it - that’s why now, almost three years after it first emerged from its kennel, we are giving The Tell-Tale Hound its very own show.”
Sam Alder (co-founder of film company Plastic Zoo and new internet phenomenon Manchester Scenewipe) was approached to lead the project that would translate this twisted fairy tale into a visual feast. After working closely for many months with acclaimed animator Scott Lockhart the pair have done just that.
“It’s been a lot of fun but I see what Louis means… that dog really latches onto you - it burrows down into your brain like it’s sniffing out some long-buried bone. Scott and I got kind of obsessed with that dog… it got scary.”
This is not the first time Louis and Sam have collaborated. Sam recently provided illustrations for Barabbas’ collected lyrics (entitled “Love, Sighs, Regrets and Goat” - due
out later this year through Irish publishing house The Tragically Flawed Press). The Hound video is the first in a series of events that build up to the book’s publication.
Louis says: “According to The Book Of Common Prayer the ‘Dog Daies’ begin on 6th July
so that’s when we’ll be unleashing (if you’ll forgive the pun) the video for the first time.”
The Old Farmer’s Almanac states that these are the days of the year when moisture is at
its lowest. When better then to tell a tale set in “a dirty old town where it always rains”?
The video can be viewed on YouTube, metacafe, daily motion, vimeo, and myspace tv)
www.plasticzoo.co.uk
www.scottlockhart.co.uk
www.louisbarabbas.com
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