“Where Did the Band Get Its Name?”
The phrase “hair of the dog” or more accurately, “the hair of the dog that bit you,” goes back hundreds of years. Over the course of the band’s existence so many people have asked us where we got our name that we decided to include the explanation on our website. This is the best explanation that we could find, although we have heard others. We like this one the best:
Many, many years ago animal bites, and in particular dog bites, were very common and often led to nasty wounds, infection and even amputations (hey, you asked for it!) Medical science (at that time being a mixture of primitive text, folklore and superstition) had a somewhat dubious remedy. It was believed that if you could catch the very pooch that nipped you, you should cut off a bit of its hair. The hair was then used to make a paste or salve. The paste was applied to the wound as if it were medicine. Did it work? It probably had a positive psychological effect on some patients.
Today, “the hair of the dog that bit you” has come to be associated with the drinking of alcoholic beverages to excess. It is commonly believed by drinkers that the best way to rid one’s self of a hangover is to down a glass or two of whatever it was that you over-indulged in the previous evening. Growing up, we often heard people suggest a little “hair of the dog” to folks looking a little rough around the edges on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Fairly or not, drinking has been closely associated with Irish culture and, therefore, our music. We see nothing wrong with an occasional moderate intake of spirits, especially at a Hair Of The Dog show. But please, never drink and drive.
In 1998, Hair Of The Dog applied to The United States Patent And Trademark Office to protect our name and logo. On September 21st, 1999, Hair Of The Dog was granted a service trademark. There are other bands out there using OUR name. We are sorry for any confusion that this might cause.