About 9k9

Hello all you fabulous peeps!! September Dogs - 9k9. Ken Viper Vanderpool gave us 9k9. As a military and leo canine handler, Viper looked at the name and saw 9(Sept,) k9 (Dogs). And it stuck. Thanks Viper! We've been together a long time. We started as Mad Hadder Band. Why the name change? Do you want the real dirt? Hmm. Not sure if it's wise to go there, so lets leave it alone for now, but suffice to say, it was ugly So, we changed the name to September Dogs and started fresh. 

So, first we have John Chretien. Incredible drummer/percussionist and background vocals. Tasty fills, in the pocket, and sometimes known as "Sexual Chocolate". (When John first joined the band, Cate mentioned she had to learn to sing differently because he was such a hard hitter! Her pant legs would move every time he hit that kick drum LOL- Awesome!) We let him drive, choosing songs for us. He's been with us for a decade at least, on and off. Sometimes life got in the way, and his family always comes first which we give him mad respect for. He's a keeper!

Next there's Mr. Jones. Brian Jones. Brian "WTF" Jones. Oh, bassist extraordinaire. Technical monster with uber talent. Tastes all over the place. He's the other half of the rhythm section and he and John are like 6yr old twins on stage. OMG. never a dull moment with these two! Brian used to be the angry musician, but he recently got married and his true colors have emerged. ( And now we have much laughter on stage!! )

Moving on, we have Michael Rettig. Michael is our lead guitarist,  lead singer and he has the oftentimes difficult job of working the sound as well. But he handles it like an expert, learning most of what he knows from the legendary Joey Gerrie - R.I.P.  Michael is the calm, meticulous one, until he falls into some solo and then it's all about the guitarist! What? LOL

Finally we have Cate. "Pipes". Cate Rettig, wife of Michael. She plays a solid 2nd guitar and has the lead vocals covered. When she and Michael got together, she was in an originals band, he was working with a cover band. One day he commented, they were looking for a lead singer. She said, "I can sing". He patted her shoulder and said, "okay Honey" and dismissed her as the girlfriend that wants to be in the band. So one day, she auditioned for a singing spot, and they asked her if she had a guitarist. She said sure, and brought Michael to play for the audition. 4 hours later, they were BOTH in the band, and in the car, Michael looked at her and said, " you said you could sing, but you didn't tell me you could sing like THAT!". Hmm. 19yrs later, still making music together.

We have a great time working together, there's laughter on stage, it's easy. There's a give and take that we all agree on. 

There is  also a Melissa Etheridge Tribute band, called Chrome Plated Heart. It was the guys idea - the music of M.E. is very intricate and so tasty. The bass lines are amazing, and most of the songs are bass driven. Unusual but one of the reasons the boys wanted to do it. Melissa is right in Cate's wheel house. This project is also a favorite of the band and sounds outstanding! 

There ya have it. We're all married. We all have kids, cats, dogs. We like good beer, tacos and red curry. We all have day jobs, don't pretend to think we're going to be the next big thing. We play because we love it. The people we have met along the way, and the people we continue to meet, we cannot say enough about. You are the thing that makes it so much fun! Support your local music venues. Support your favorite local musicians. Get out and say hello. We really do love you all!