Birddog

Under the name Birddog, Buffalo-based singer/songwriter Bill Santen built an evocative and sometimes surreal strain of Americana, heavy with imagery and bearing a strong poetic sense. After emerging in the latter half of the 1990s, the project yielded a quartet of distinctive albums including 2001's haunting A Sweet and Bitter Fancy. Santen retired the Birddog name in 2004 and issued his first proper solo album.

A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Santen spent several years drifting up and down the West Coast before finally settling in Portland, Oregon. There he was befriended by indie hero <a href="spotify:artist:2ApaG60P4r0yhBoDCGD8YG">Elliott Smith</a>, who agreed to produce Birddog's debut single. Released in 1996 and featuring <a href="spotify:artist:2ApaG60P4r0yhBoDCGD8YG">Smith</a> on bass and drums, the Killer 7" appeared on the tiny Undercover label. Santen then signed to Chicago indie <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sugar+Free+Records%22">Sugar Free Records</a> and released a pair of albums in quick succession. 1997's seven-song follow-up The Trackhouse, The Valley, The Liquor Store Drive-Thru was again produced by <a href="spotify:artist:2ApaG60P4r0yhBoDCGD8YG">Smith</a> and introduced fans to Santen's earthy folk landscapes. Ghost of the Season appeared just one year later in 1998 boasting a fuller band-driven sound and featuring future <a href="spotify:artist:2QoU3awHVdcHS8LrZEKvSM">Wilco</a> member <a href="spotify:artist:6upBn4tokWBDF9diqbYJZs">Glenn Kotche</a> on drums. A few years later, Birddog re-emerged on the small French label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Alice+in+Wonder%22">Alice in Wonder</a> with 2001's dark-hued A Sweet and Bitter Fancy which again included both <a href="spotify:artist:2ApaG60P4r0yhBoDCGD8YG">Smith</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6upBn4tokWBDF9diqbYJZs">Kotche</a>. Birddog's final album, Songs from Willipa Bay, was released in 2002 by Georgia indie <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Happy+Happy+Birthday+to+Me+Records%22">Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records</a>. By 2004, Santen had shed the band name and released his first solo record, the more intimate In the Night Kitchen. ~ Timothy Monger & Jason Ankeny, Rovi