Emanant Music Signs The Prairie Dogz

Lorna Hamilton

Reporter

The Prairie Dogz gets a big break in their musical career.

The five-person band signed a fiveyear deal with Emanant Music/Blues Vox Records in November 2022. Their music is distributed through The Orchard/Sony Perry Music & Management and kicked off with the release of their single 40 Dollars.

“We’d written 40 Dollars a while ago. We started talking to them (Emanant), and they picked out a few songs. The song the president of Emanant liked the most was 40 Dollars,” said The Prairie Dogz guitarist Keith Hambrook. “We have other songs with really deep, hard-hitting lyrics – we just love the groove of that one.

The Prairie Dogz founded by Keith Hambrook (from Okotoks) and Dwight Koenning (Okotoks) in 2018 is described as a Rockin Country and Blues.

The pair met while playing in a rock cover band in 2015 through 2018 along with their current lead & rythym guitar/ vocals Terry Studd from Diamond Valley.

“I was really happy to audition and get the part, Terry was already in the band. Dwight was the new singer and it just turned out we lived two blocks apart,” Hambrook said. “So we rode together all the time to all the shows and to rehearsal and developed a friendship.

“Terry commented, we just spent so much time travelling and playing so

Martin Wright (drums). Fast is originally from B.C. but moved to Alberta, while Wright hailed from Bletchley just north of London England.

Hambrook noted, “We actually went through lots of guys before we got lucky with Dave and Martin, we have similar taste in music; they were just able to catch the groove on our original music.”

According to the bands website, “The Prairie Dogz songs range from ballads that deal with some of life’s most challenging issues, to party songs meant to pack the dance floor at a big saloon. Some songs are all about fun which creates a beautiful contrast against the introspective songs that deal with issues we all face.

The Prairie Dogz music is written to be played live but is perfect for a long stretch of highway or the soundtrack for a well-deserved weekend out of town. The Prairie Dogz are a perfect blend of Country, Rock and Blues with lyrics that resonate with everyone,” states the site.

“We’re pretty happy with our recordings. There’s one song coming out called “Almost See the Sun,” Hambrook said. “It’s definitely a rock song, it’s about fighting depression and feeling isolated, so it’s a pretty personal song that I hope listeners can relate to.”

In a press release from Emanant Music/Blues Vox Records it said they were proud to announce the signing of