‘Dogs’ bite into music biz

Their music doesn’t fit into a category ? and they want to keep it that way.

At a Saturday performance at the Harp in Costa Mesa, band members of Huntington Beach’s Tijuana Dogs played music from Frank Sinatra, Madonna, classic rock and anything in-between.

“One of the reasons we’re picking up steam is we appeal to a wide demographic; people in their 20s to 50s and 60s enjoy our music,” lead guitarist David Murdy said.

With all the ladies packing the house at the Harp, it’s no surprise that the Tijuana Dogs’ first album is titled “All These Crazy Girls.” A launch party for the CD is set to take place aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach on July 28.

With myriad musical influences, from Middle Eastern to Spanish, the CD is easy to listen to and enjoy.

“People who play just punk rock probably can’t play anything else,” lead vocalist Matt Mauser said. “But I like to think we’re musicians who can play all sorts of music.”

“We can’t be a bunch of middle-aged white guys trying to play hip-hop,” Murdy said.

The band is multifaceted: Mauser is a 17-year Huntington Beach lifeguard who plays the piano and also tutors kids in Spanish at a Corona Del Mar private school.

Murdy teaches a couple of guitar courses at Orange Coast College, where he met his student Mauser and later joined the band.

Bass guitarist Mark Noreyko trained in and plays the cello, and Marcos de la Cruz is the band’s drummer.

But years of playing together has helped them build a strong unity in their performances.

“We feed off each other and have a lot of fun together,” Murdy said.

The band’s name, Tijuana Dogs, is a namesake of the real-life stray dogs of Tijuana, lurking on the fringes of society.

The Dogs have played with some big names in the music industry, from opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine to Hootie & the Blowfish, K.C. & The Sunshine Band of “That’s the Way (I Like It )” fame and ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll band Grand Funk Railroad.

They had to turn down an appearance with Jack Johnson because they were booked solid.

“Right now, we don’t need to do the name-dropping,” Noreyko said. Their popularity is growing thanks to word of mouth, which he thinks “is what’s keeping us alive; it’s our bread and butter.”

The buzz about the band might also have to do with Mauser’s dance moves when he gyrates on stage.

A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which he finished with an athletic scholarship, Mauser majored in swimming.

A star swimmer from Edison High School, he’s working on A&E; channel’s pilot project “The Beach,” based on Huntington Beach’s lifeguards.

“The Beach” is a reality television version of “Baywatch,” with Mauser cast as one of several central characters.

They are unabashed about their corporate gigs, which bring in the money, such as performing for the company Quest Software.

A successful band is not just about having musical ability but also a well-developed business sense, Mauser said.

“I think waiting around to be discovered is being naïve,” he said. So when he got into the music scene, he honed his business skills.

Having played their first gig for $200 at the Sunset Pub, eight years later the band can command a price of up to $15,000.

But the success, according to Noreyko, “didn’t arrive overnight ? and hopefully won’t disappear overnight.”

“We’ve paid the ? dues, man,” he said. hbi.13-tijuana-CPhotoInfoDQ1SRASA20060713j29gadncKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)The Huntington Beach band Tijuana Dogs has a first CD coming out July 28. From left, are vocalist Matt Mauser, guitarist Dave Murdy, bassist Mark Noreyko and drummer Marcos del la Cruz. Group members pride themselves on being versatile musicians who can play various styles of music.