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LA’s @begging.dog drops new video for the track “Common Place” - out now. Preorder the debut album DEMO 1, out December 12th. Link in bio.

Throughout DEMO 1, Begging Dog’s Jeff Kleinman crafts within natural parameters, telling relatable stories through song without pretense. His latest single “‘Common Place’ was written about my 5 years living in Salt Lake City,” he tells. “One of the most thrilling times of my life full of community and art and an overwhelming feeling of love from everyone around me. It was also an incredibly difficult time in my life, and a kind of turning point in my descent into alcohol addiction. I knew true love, I witnessed a suicide, I joined my favorite band, and I drank far too much. ‘Common Place’ is a song looking back at all of the beauty and heartbreak from that time, a reflection on everything I have learned and come to cherish from Salt Lake, and a thank you to everyone that I know there. Missing something more than you expected can be a very humbling experience.”

Director: @acblocher & @exjeff
DP / Edit: Alex Blocher
Cam Op: @michaelpaulsen
Press: @another__side___

Announcing the debut release from LA’s indie punk outfit @begging.dog - led by artist @exjeff Jeff Kleinman and an outlet for his work outside of the band Choir Boy, Begging Dog finds Kleinman embracing a raw, homespun sound and plain language lyricism. Listen to the whole album out now on digital. Preorder the vinyl - out December 12th, and check out the video for “Begging Dog” produced by @acblocher. Link in bio. For fans of Felt, The Wake, Cleaners From Venus, Lou Reed, and The Bats…

DEMO 1 is 26 minutes packed with rolling bass and synth lines, charismatic riffs, and motorik drum beats. Lyrically, the songs feature a range of lived-in observations, scenes, and characters: a pushy union rep; a mailman with a steady federal job; a compulsive gambler; a beloved neighborhood homeless man. Ex-loves become collaged together, haunting several tracks, out of context, with blunt, sharp-witted free verse. Kleinman cites Bruce Springsteen as an inspiration in how his songs are penned with plain ink, opting for direct simplicity over flowery prose.

He taps into a shared loneliness, both universal and perhaps especially unique to living in Los Angeles, with no-frills nuance and vulnerability. On the title track, Kleinman sings, “no one loves a begging dog,” in a line borrowed from a friend that embodies the project’s point of view: the world can make you feel like a begging dog in search of affection and security, but there is beauty in solitude and the buzzing monotony of it all.

Photo by @nijmeddin