by Mark Kadzielawa

After over forty years in the business, countless tours, records, hit singles, one thing remains true: Nazareth is still Nazareth! The band never lost its sound or identity. The new album "Big Dogz" only validates the above mentioned statement. The album is filled with catchy songs, strong melodies, and every possible trademark Nazareth is known for. The music is still heavy and rocking, and Dan McCafferty's vocals tower over the foundations, and often shake them!

Nazareth formed in 1968 in Scotland. From the very start, they were hard-working band, who paid their dues, and found great success in the mid 70s. Once they became established, their presence was visible throughout the 80s and the 90s. Trends came and went, but Nazareth continued to make solid albums, tour, and always put on a very entertaining show. Nazareth scored several very memorable hits in the span of their long career. Who does not know "Hair of The Dog," "This Flight Tonight," "Dream On," or the ever popular "Love Hurts?" Nazareth's catalog is filled with great tracks, and is definitely worth investigating. That includes the brand new record "Big Dogz."

Over the last 40 years Nazareth went through a few line-up changes, and one heartfelt tragedy. Original drummer, Darrell Sweet, passed away back in 1999 while touring U.S. The current Nazareth line-up includes the two founding members, singer Dan McCafferty and bass player, Pete Agnew. Joining them are guitar player, Jimmy Murrison, and drummer, Lee Agnew. Lee Agnew is of course Pete Agnew's son, who joined the band after Sweet's passing. This line up had been together over a decade, and released two albums, "The Newz," and "Big Dogz."

Singer Dan McCafferty, and bass player Pete Agnew explain what it takes to become a "big dog."
Prior to releasing "The Newz", there was a decade with no new Nazareth music. What was going on throughout this time?
Dan McCafferty: Not long after the release of the “Boogaloo” album our drummer Darrell (Sweet) tragically passed away. That album was getting good reviews and things were looking up. The touring we were doing to promote the album was going well too. But, in the months following Darrell’s death the band obviously had to come off the road. The record company pulled any kind of product support. The album became difficult to purchase and any kind of momentum was lost. Also, Darrell was effectively the bands manager at this time. That job has now fallen to Pete. So there was a lot of paperwork and business stuff to sort out.
Pete Agnew: A lot of stuff! The main thing was to get the band back out working again. Which we did. In the time between “Boogaloo” and “The Newz”, we were touring a lot in many different countries. We did have offers to record another album but none of those seemed right for us. Until around 2006 when we started to discuss recording “The Newz”. Then the problem was to find a space in our schedule so that we could record! So in that period of time we were not sitting idle!
It appears "The Newz" was received very positive by all Nazareth fans, was that approval something the band needed in order to continue to regain the confidence and record more records?
Dan: A positive response certainly didn’t hurt! And I think that we rediscovered that we really enjoy doing something new. We had a good time making that record.
When it comes to songwriting how did the dynamics within the band change? Or did they pretty much stay the same?
Pete: With “The Newz”, everybody in the band had ideas for songs. The dynamics within the band pretty much always stay the same. But it was good to record something with the line up that had been touring over those years.
When planning to write and record "Big Dogz", was there an idea of what you wanted the album to sound like?
Dan: Yes. From the outset we wanted it to be a little earthier than “The Newz”. In terms of recording we wanted to make something that had more of a rawness to the sound. It was recorded to tape, which is a bit old fashioned in these digital days, but I think that added a nice warmth to the sound.
Pete: We would work up and song and record it there and then. Simple really! And we didn’t worry about ‘fixing’ everything. So the albums got some of that 70’s character to it, ‘cause that’s how we used to record.

"Big Dogz" has some cool elements of "The Newz", but at the same time is a very contrasting record, did you notice those elements too?
Dan: To a certain extent, all Nazareth’s records have been contrasting records over the years. We’ve never really followed any kind of formula. There will be similar elements between these two records, probably because it was the same bunch of guys!
Pete: “Big Dogz” sounds like a Nazareth record to me. As does “The Newz”. A different time, place, studio….. these things all factor into how the finished recording will sound.
Many classic bands gave up making records, and you certainly continue, and the records are great, despite how many people hear them. What is inspiring the creative juices?
Dan: Well thanks! Glad you like what we’ve been doing.
Pete: We still love being in a band and making music. We are lucky that enough people want to see the band and check out the new stuff we do to make it viable for a record company to want to work with us. Just knowing that we will be recording an album is enough to get us thinking creatively.
Dan: Both Jimmy and Lee (Guitar and Drums) enjoy writing too. So I guess we kind of inspire each other to write and record.
How do you go about getting your new music heard? It seems to be the biggest challenge to many acts I happen to interview?
Dan: Go out and play it live! Although I realize we can’t just do a set of new songs! We are currently playing three tracks from the new album in our live set. It is hopefully enough to interest people and get them to go and check the new album out. I’m not unrealistic. I know MTV is not going to put my old face on! But these days the whole ‘Classic Rock’ thing seems to be increasing in popularity, with dedicated magazines and online magazines and stuff like that. Which is no bad thing for a band like us.
Pete: The Internet is obviously a handy way to promote new stuff. Via our website and the fact that you have communities of music fans letting each other know what’s out there helps to promote new stuff that we do. But nobody’s selling records like they did ten, fifteen years ago. That’s why you see so many bands with busy touring schedules. But, old fashioned as it may be, playing live is still the best way for us to reach people. It’s probably fair to say that of most rock bands.

Why do you think the classic rock radio is so adamant about playing only music that's at least 30 years old, when many bands, such as Nazareth, continue to stay as relevant, as they ever did?
Dan: The main reason is because it is just easier to do that. To kind of see classic rock radio as the soundtrack to a barbeque or something! The thinking is that people only want to hear music they are familiar with. Which may be true some of the time. But if they only play the same stuff all the time, where will future classic tracks come from? It’s a Catch 22……
Were there any challenges when making "Big Dogz?"
Pete: Not really….apart from trying to schedule the thing in!
What is the story with the Z endings?
Pete: “The Newz” ended with a ‘Z’. We just thought it would be cute to end “Big Dogz” with a ‘Z’ too. Who knows, could be part of a ‘Z’ trilogy!
It seems Nazareth often tours in Canada, but your presence in U.S. is rather limited. What is the fascination with Canada based on?
Pete: It’s not a fascination with Canada. It’s just that Canada has a good market for us to tour in. In recent years, the majority of offers we’ve had from U.S. promoters have not been sufficient to make a U.S. tour viable. Coming out of Scotland we need to cover a lot of overheads in order to play in North America. Or anywhere for that matter. And with the current financial climate, playing in the U.S. is difficult for us. But it’s not that we don’t want to play there. I really hope that we can sort something out and get back to doing U.S. dates again.

How will you promote "Big Dogz" worldwide?
Dan: By singing! Also, by shouting… “GO AND BUY NAZARETH’S NEW ALBUM ‘BIG DOGZ!!!!” at anyone who comes within earshot! And by doing interviews like this with great folks such as yourself!

Links:
www.nazarethdirect.co.uk/nazareth/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazareth_(band)