Lineup: Ella Sternberg, John McLean, Lexie Gay. Influences: The Beach Boys, Rancid, Dinosaur Jr. and Jim Henson.

Not a new band, but new to Athens, Dead Dog is a welcome addition to our scrappy little punk scene.  Ella Sternberg and John McLean (bass and guitar, respectively) moved down from Brooklyn on Halloween of 2008, where they united with drummer Lexie Gay, formerly of DIY-circuit soldiers One Reason.  The jams they have coalesced to perform are tidy, catchy and a little perfect.  I was fortunate enough to catch Dead Dog last week at a friendly beercan-tossing competition that doubled as a show at a secret location (not that one, the other one) and they kind of blew my mind.  Lexie and Ella make for a brick-and-mortar-tough rhythm section, and John's guitar playing is terrifically free.  Their cover of Aerosmith's "Cryin'" made me realize a few things, such as: A) Aerosmith used to be my favorite band, B) "Cryin'" is a sort of an amazing, funny song, and C) life is worth living.

Sample tunes are available online at www.myspace.com/deaddawgz.

Next show: Check website for listings.

Jeff Tobias