By Emma Bodell
My last question for Dogpaw was this: if you all raced each other, who would win?
I was expecting a couple laughs, but to my surprise they had actually raced the day before our interview in preparation. Technically there was a winner, but there was also an excessive amount of tension about a shoe disadvantage, so they agreed to a rematch.
Dogpaw is a four-part Provocore band who all met during their LDS missionary service in Fort Collins, Colorado. The group is composed of Jaden Haney (guitar, two-time race champion), Ethan Nielsen (drums, a dangerously narrow step above third), Garett Bailey (vocals and bass, with new and improved footwear), and Neil Dalton (vocals and guitar, a happy participant *see the right side of photo 5).
As the recent winners of Velour’s 2025 Winter Battle of the Bands, they were due an interview checking in on their progress. With my expectations set on timelines, tourdates, and temp-tracks, you can imagine how surprised I was by their grounded and human-centric focus.
From the get-go, Dogpaw is an incredibly friendly bunch of guys. They offered me a Dr. Pepper as I walked in (I know ball), and naturally helped me feel comfortable in their space. Immediately, they were eager to discuss their work and process.
“I’m never going to not do music because that’s the way I know how to communicate. It’s like a humanity thing,” stated Bailey.
When they make music, it seems to stem from a fundamental need to speak with the people around them. They work with each other, sharing ideas to make music that is accessible and touching to as many people as possible. Take, for example, how they wrote their most recent single “Megatron” (the stripped version just dropped).
Nielsen had written a basic riff when he was 15 and eventually shared it with the band. Over the next year, they’d begin to build out the song, tweaking and refining various sections because the song didn’t feel finished yet. Bailey in particular wasn’t content to let it rest until serious work had been done. The way they write is hyper collaborative. They trust each other, pull from each other’s life events, and continue to refine until it starts settling in.
“The lyrics are almost kind of Frankenstein-ish as well, of like everyone,” Dalton said about their writing process. He explained further it’s “not so much an actual life event, but just like this theme that we see in life.”
For Dogpaw, writing is a means to connect with their audience and to tell the stories that we can all relate to.
“Our songwriting is about seeing what’s going on in the world around us and what real people are going through,” said Nielsen.
They take their music very seriously and dedicate huge amounts of time and energy to practicing together. Just being in the room with them, their love for music and the stage is electric. The way they buzz off each other’s comments, dropping in their own experiences and stories, pulled me in. This gravitational love for the scene came across very well in this anecdote shared by Haney.
“When people say, ‘so it’s just your side thing,’ it bugs me so much,” he said, in relation to the band. “Because yeah, it is my side thing, but when I’m doing it, it’s the main thing, and I put 100% into it. You know what I mean? I find it so hard to explain that to people.”
Most of the band members shared experiences about their other life pursuits, but they all circled back to similar stories where they centralized on their love for what they do here together.
Something else I admire about Dogpaw is they do their best to not let their success get to their heads. They prioritize the balance between keeping their egos in check and striving to communicate excellence and a serious drive behind their work.
And that’s exactly how they approach their writing and performing. It’s motivated by their ability to connect with people as opposed to the need to break out of the scene. They want to create for people, not use them as traction.
Success comes as a natural consequence when we allow our art to be human. In Dogpaw’s case, they don’t fabricate it to get attention. They let it be something that comes to them naturally as they surrender to the humanity that makes them great musicians.
“I feel like art is like actually a way of being human, and we’re doing this because we have no other choice,” said Bailey.
These are real people, who laugh together and live life to the fullest, so of course they’d race each other. I don’t think any of them would say racing their friends down the street is their “thing,” but they sure gave it their 100%. That’s what Dogpaw does. When they do something, they give it their all.
Yes, they won a battle of the bands, but they’re far more focused on having human experiences than proving they’re the best in the scene. They care a lot about their art and don’t let ego blind them. They’re full of energy and life, and it’s so much fun to spend time with them.
Thanks again, guys!
Come see Dogpaw give 100% at one of their biggest shows yet, opening for Cardinal Bloom on September 26th at The Depot. Make sure to follow Dogpaw on Instagram here, grab tickets here, and listen to my favorite track “Willow” below.