Friday Night Music – Dogs on Skis

Dogs on Skis formed in the mid 1980’s playing covers of classic rock.  The band gained popularity in and around Iowa City/Cedar Rapids by focusing on playing songs that people liked to dance to.  From the beginning, focus was put on the band’s ability to perform material with vocal harmonies. In 1990 the Dogs released their first album ‘I Bark Therefore I Am’.  As the band gained popularity they began to play larger outdoor events, wineries, and breweries. That trend continues today as the band typically performs 40-70 shows a year.   Over the years, the band continued to grow and mature. Instead of becoming complacent and content with where they were, they continually overhaul their material based on crowd reaction and requests. Because of this, they can perform hundreds of songs and can play many of them as requested. Dogs On Skis goal is to play music they like and that their fans will enjoy dancing to. With a back-log of material covering the 50’s to the present, the Dogs have the uncanny ability to read a crowd and mold a set on the fly to the audience in front of them. Not unlike a quarterback reading a defense and calling an audible play at the scrimmage line, Dogs On Skis are well known for ‘calling an audible’ while in the middle of a song so the members know exactly what to do to keep a dance floor filled. In 2013 they were inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Music Association Hall of Fame.