Max Ferrer wanted to deliver an unforgettable performance the night his indie garage rock band took the Fremont Theater stage to battle for prize money, bragging rights and chance to play at the wildly popular Shabang Festival.
Couch Dog – born in Ferrer’s dorm room in 2019 – was vying against four other local and talented musical acts invited to perform in front of an animated audience and judges’ panel at SLO Battle of the Bands in March.
The Couch Dog members – one business and three engineering students – donned character-inspired hats Ferrer had crocheted from blanket yarn during COVID, performed their three most thrashy, fast, energetic songs and walked away with first prize.
“When they announced our name, I was extremely surprised we won but also grateful and humbled,” said lead vocalist Ferrer who graduated in June with a manufacturing engineering degree.
Couch Dog took their $1,000 prize and then their playlist to Shabang, which drew almost 60 bands and 10,000 concertgoers to Dairy Creek Golf Course over a weekend in early May.
Two weeks later, the band that quickly rose to prominence in the local scene hit a milestone with the release of their first album – “How to Ruin your Life Fast” – that showcases the music they make for dancing, crying and kissing.
Dial Tones, Mosh Pits and Dead Seagulls
Ferrer, who grew up in the San Diego area, started playing the ukelele and acoustic guitar in middle school, then jammed with his buddies in a high school cover band.
“Music was always something I was doing, but I didn’t realize I needed it as much as I did until I left for college and didn’t have it anymore,” he said.
Through a mutual friend, he met mechanical engineering student Tasha Lee who promised she would play bass if he ever started a band. A year later, she made good on that promise when Ferrer launched Couch Dog.
They added a lead guitarist and drummer and brainstormed a bunch of two-word, two-syllable names so they could add it to the poster for their first gig.
“Couch Dog evokes the image of an older, family dog who’s been around for a while, which doesn’t exactly describe us,” said Ferrer with a grin, noting the band has fun with paradoxes and polarities.
The band played their first gig with a slate of cover songs in early 2020. Three weeks later, the world shut down.
During the COVID pandemic, Ferrer wrote much of the material that is featured on “How to Ruin your Life Fast,” examining life, love and loss through songs about dial tones, mosh pits and dead seagulls.
“We like to play with contradictions, playing upbeat, friendly sounding chords with sadder lyrics and vice versa,” said Ferrer, who was influenced by bands Peach Pit, Surf Curse and the iconic soundtrack to “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.”
The lineup also changed as Lee and Ferrer added business major Pablo Acosta as lead guitarist and computer engineering major Josh Cheruvelil as drummer.
“We had a new lineup, new songs and more creative freedom than ever,” said Ferrer, noting that many local bands reinvented themselves post-COVID.
Couch Dog Hotline
The band’s shared background in engineering has given them the ability to innovate in myriad and unexpected ways.
“There is a lot to be said about the engineering mindset when it comes to problem-solving,” Ferrer said.
When the band released “Dial Tone,” a song about longing and loneliness, he set up the Couch Dog Hotline with the phone number printed on posters hung around town and on TikTok inviting fans to leave messages about missed connections, embarrassing moments and entertaining anecdotes.
Lee built a phone booth, and Ferrer rewired the receiver to plug into an old smartphone that when picked up would replay messages left on the hotline. Their concertgoers loved it.
“Our engineering education allows us to be more creative when we want to be without relying on outside help,” said Ferrer, adding they mixed and mastered their own album.
Manufacturing engineering also has aided Ferrer when it comes to managing the band’s merchandise and building a budget.
“I have an understanding of the process involved in making products that I wouldn’t have without engineering,” he said. “It’s proven really helpful.”
Musical Ambitions
Couch Dog is preparing for a fall of shows featuring tracks from their freshly released album recorded over a year in the studio.
“After ‘How to Ruin your Life Fast’ came out, people were singing along at shows only a few weeks later. Seeing the crowd’s energy has been really special and memorable,” Ferrer said. “The community has been so supportive.”
Ferrer detailed some of the wilder moments as a wider audience continues to discover their sound.
A man in San Diego recognized Ferrer as Couch Dog’s lead vocalist and another man in Texas sent the band a photo of his latest tattoo – the band’s dog-shaped logo.
Ferrer’s reaction? “Damn, that’s there forever!”
The band has more songs to record and a spooky music video to debut in October featuring practical effects – special effects created physically on set – produced by Lee.
“I’m pursuing this and taking it as far as I can take it,” said Ferrer, who is working at High Street Deli while chasing his musical ambitions. “I would love to get to a point where I get to do this as a full-time job.”
See Couch Dog at their next show – Sept. 29 at the San Luis Obispo Veteran’s Hall with Suburban Dropout – and look for more releases and a spooky music video in October. For more on the band, go here.
By Emily Slater
