Yes, the Shakespeare CD is available for purchase!
Dog Legs & Feet is an Austin-based band that performs catchy, modern versions of songs from the plays of William Shakespeare, along with its own brand of (quite theatrical) eclecto-pop. We're not in Stratford-upon-Avon anymore, Toto.
DLF band members include "Johnbo" Botti , Jeremy Goodking , J.E. Trent, Jon Watson, Michael Mergen, Brett Youens , and a host of other people who occasionally pop on stage for a song or two.
The band has gone through various transformations since its formation in 1997, but at its core the group has always been about creating a fun, entertaining atmosphere for the audience. Four of DLF's original members were Shakespearean actors in the local Austin guerrilla-theatre circuit and graduates of the University of Texas' Shakespeare at Winedale program. The dramatic background comes through in the band's dedication to making its listeners feel something with every song.
DLF began as an acoustic folk band playing an eclectic mix of original songs and cover tunes in Austin's coffee-houses. They seemed to be trying to play in every musical style at once, and at every show the stage was littered with dozens of instruments from xylophone to cowbell to electric bass and melodica. Like Phish, the band developed a reputation for trading off instruments between songs (and sometimes during songs). They did bluegrass covers of the Beatles, and heavy-metal covers of Christmas tunes, and barbershop covers of old Robert Johnson songs. This period culminated in the recording of the album "Bottom: A live collection of Dog Legs and Feet." (You can hear some tracks from Bottom here .)
In 1998, the group took a hiatus from performing, and replaced singer/harmonica-player Michael Mergen with multi-instrumentalist Brett Youens. In its second incarnation, DLF was much more of a rock-n-roll band; while it still performed its audience's old favorites, the group also produced a bunch of danceable new songs with driving beats and a punchy, electrified sound. In the summer of 1999, DLF recorded a demo album of these songs called "Last Night," which, however, was never released to the public. The band again shut up shop later that year when guitarist Jeremy Goodking moved to Japan to teach English.
Over the next two years, DLF continued to perform, but only on a limited basis. Goodking returned to Austin in 2000, and occasionally the group would get together for a "reunion concert" - but when Youens moved to Germany, lead singer Jon Watson turned to working more on theatre projects, and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink player "Johnbo" Botti joined the band "Tenspeed," the prospect of a full DLF revival seemed unlikely.
The band's next direction came from an unexpected place. During their time in the UT Shakespeare at Winedale program, Watson and Youens had written music to several songs from Shakespeare plays. Winedale invited the band to perform some of the songs at its yearly spring festival, and they did - returning to their earlier acoustic folk roots. The performances went well and Winedale continued to invite DLF to perform in the summer and at a fall benefit concert. The band still played some of its old-favorite originals, but now performed a set mostly composed of Shakespearean songs updated into DLF's entertaining folk-rock style.
(It's worth noting here that while Shakespeare plays contain plenty of music, they only give the lyrics to the songs. Although scholars might guess at what the melodies were, they have not been handed down along with the text. One of the many tasks of staging a Shakespeare play - along with deciding on costumes and props - is to come up with music for the songs. This is how DLF's Shakespeare songs came into being, and why they sound like American folk-rock instead of Elizabethan ballads.)
The relationship worked so well that, in 2002, Winedale asked DLF if they would record a "greatest hits" album of their Shakespeare tunes. The band spent the next several months working on the project - which included all of the original band members, Youens (who flew back from Germany), several guest musicians and even a handful of formal Winedale students singing backup - and produced "The Music of Shakespeare at Winedale" in the summer of 2003. The album went on sale in the Winedale gift shop, and all proceeds go to benefit the program.
After completing the Winedale project, DLF decided to release the album commercially as well. They spent the fall remastering it and doing some re-recording, and released "Shakespeare's Palpable Hits" in the spring of 2004. All proceeds from "Palpable Hits" sales are divided among the artists who worked on the project.
DLF continued to perform at Winedale's spring festivals and during the summer play schedule, but has never done much public performance to support the Shakespeare album. As of January 2007, Watson is on his way abroad to teach English, Youens is still in Germany, Mergen is working on directing and producing a full-length feature film, Botti is doing music for a Winedale documentary called "A Muse of Fire," and Goodking is producing an solo album of his own.