History

Scuffy Dogs were a punk band from Nova Gorica, active from 1994 until the death of their singer, Tomo Kutin, in 2014.

Their roots go back to 1992, when four friends in their early twenties—Tomo (vocals + guitar), Andraž »Lasulja« (guitar + vocals), Matjaž »Cejko« (bass), and Denis »Denđo« (drums)—left behind their individual projects that had fallen apart and joined forces in a new punk project called DNMZ (Država Na Moralnem Zdravljenju).

DNMZ played their first—and only—concert in 1993 at the Disco Club Odeon. Not long after that, Denđo left the band and the project dissolved.

The following year, drummer Saša Kotnik joined and on November 1, 1994, Scuffy Dogs were born.

Their first concert as Scuffy Dogs happened in February 1995 in Kanal ob Soči. Soon after, the band began playing almost every weekend across Slovenia and also in Italy.

Because they were searching for a different sound, saxophonist Boštjan »Pandula« joined early on, and with that lineup the band developed a distinctive style of punk that, at the time, didn’t really exist in Slovenia.

In April 1995, the song Nočna Kronika was recorded, and by summer it appeared on the Front Rock compilation CD No Border Jam.

That same year, Matjaž decided to devote his time to family and work. Before stepping away, he completed his time in the band by playing the last few shows and recording ten studio tracks in October 1995. Those songs were released in December 1995 by the Slovenian label Jay Walk Records as a split LP with Wasserdicht from Ormož. The record sold out in two months.

Once it was clear Matjaž was leaving, the band started looking for a new bassist. Boštjan brought in Oliver »Oljo«. Matjaž personally taught him the full set of songs and the original bass lines, and the band was able to continue playing concerts without interruption.

In January 1996, Scuffy Dogs received the “Maršev Gojzar” trophy from the Maribor radio station Radio Marš, awarded to the most promising band of 1995.

In March, the band went on the German “Slovenien beer&noise bastards” tour with Oljo—who was only sixteen at the time and skipped high school without hesitation to do the tour.

After that tour, Boštjan quit on saxophone, and the band continued without him (though he did return years later to play one more concert with them). The band then went back into the studio and recorded a 7-inch vinyl release issued by the Italian label NuclearSunPunk. Some of the tracks from that period also appeared on international compilations in Italy, Germany, Brazil, the United States, Japan, Mexico, and elsewhere.

Alongside Scuffy Dogs, Andraž also ran a project called Pizda Materna. At first, Tomo played in it as well; later, it also included »Oljo«, Kotnik, and Nenad »Neno«.

Collaboration with Riči and NuclearSunPunk led, in early 1997, to a self-titled (untitled) Scuffy Dogs untitled CD. It combined the same studio tracks originally recorded for the already-released split LP, along with songs newly recorded in 1996 for the 7-inch and the CD. After that, the band pushed confidently into the punk scene, sharing festivals and concerts with names like D.O.A., Cockney Rejects, NOFX, Crass, Strung Out, and Marky Ramone, among others.

In 1998, Kotnik was replaced by Nenad »Neno«, a drummer from Nova Gorica and the founder of the still-active band Elvis Jackson. At the time, »Neno« had left Elvis Jackson, and because Kotnik was out of the country, »Neno« had to play a show in Turin with Scuffy Dogs and Pizda Materna. He didn’t know the songs well, so he listened to them in the van while traveling through Italy so they could improvise the concert. After that show he stayed in the band, while Kotnik took over »Neno’s« role in Elvis Jackson and remained with them for many years.

The following year, »Neno« left Scuffy Dogs and soon moved to London, where he completed his drumming studies. Later, he formed several different indie bands there, and in 2017 he moved to Greece. In 1999, he was replaced on drums by Vili Džunta.

In the summer of 1998, the song Ni Izhoda was recorded for the compilation Držte jih to niso Niet, with Matej Briljo on bass and Maja on vocals.

In 1999, »Oljo« left the band. On bass, he was replaced by the band’s good friend Ivan Sirk. With that lineup, they began writing new material—twelve tracks for a new, again untitled, album.

That album was created in collaboration with renowned sound engineer Babot and released in June 2001 by the Slovenian label Front Rock.

The following year, the band recorded a music video for the track Vesolj-Ska. The video stayed on the Videspotnice chart for ten consecutive weeks and reached as high as third place.

Because of the members’ obligations, the band went quiet after 2003.

In 2009, the idea of a restart emerged—this time with a new crew. Only Tomo and »Lasulja« remained from the original lineup. That summer, bassist Ivan from the last 2003-era lineup passed away, just before Tomo and »Lasulja« planned to ask him if he wanted to play again. Ivan drowned after suffering a heart attack, at the age of forty-three.

Even so, the desire to keep playing hard-hitting punk continued and grew day by day, and a new lineup formed: Tomo on vocals, »Lasulja« on guitar and vocals, Tomo’s close friend from Ljubljana—the notorious film actor Primož »Petko« Petkovšek—on bass, local friend Erik PF from Italy on second guitar, and Edvin »Pijoe« from Nova Gorica on drums.

The first concert after seven years took place at Mostovna on April 28, 2010, with around 1,000 attendees. Soon, the band was again playing shows across Slovenia and in Croatia, like in the old days.

Because of »Petko’s« acting schedule, their friend Sasha »Sošo« from Nova Gorica joined on bass in December 2010.

Since both CD releases had long been sold out, Front Rock and NuclearSunPunk collaborated in 2011 to release a CD compilation album containing material from the first and second CDs—essentially the band’s complete discography.

The last Slovenian concert by Scuffy Dogs took place in December 2013 at MKNŽ, the same club where their vinyl had been recorded fifteen years earlier. Their truly final concert was in Pula, under the Roman arena, at the end of December 2013.

In February 2014, Tomo was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer. He passed away in November 2014.