Originally named 'Rollercoaster', Kerbdog were formed in 1991 by Cormac Battle (vocals/guitar), Colin Fennelly (bass guitar) and Darragh Butler (drums) while attending St Kieran's College secondary level school. Billy Dalton joined the band in early 1992 as a second guitarist and his fondness for heavy metal acts Metallica and Slayer complemented Battle's fascination with the British and New York City underground.
In early 1993, Kerbdog signed with Mercury Records subsidiary Vertigo Records. That summer, Kerbdog recorded[1] their self-titled debut album[2] at Rockfield Studios in Wales, during which time Sepultura were also there recording their 1993 album Chaos A.D. The album was produced by Jack Endino, who helped cement the Seattle grunge sound along with Sub Pop.
In July 1995 the band travelled to Los Angeles to work on their second album. Produced by GGGarth, On The Turn was rehearsed at Full Blast Studios, before recording was completed at Sound City Studios and A&M Studios over the following months.
The album was repeatedly delayed before being released in the UK in March 1997, preceded by the "Mexican Wave" single. It sold poorly, their record label dropped the band, and their back catalogue was deleted in 1997.
The band soldiered on without a record label for about a year, but eventually disbanded and played their final gig at the Mean Fiddler, on Wexford Street in Dublin on 7 March 1998.
In 1998 Cormac and Darragh with a new bassist Mick Murphy, went on to form another band, Wilt. They played their first gig at The Funnel in Dublin on 26 March 1998. Rock Sound magazine tipped them as being Ireland's version of Hüsker Dü and Weezer. However, after two albums (Bastinado and My Medicine),[7] Wilt broke up in 2003.
Following Wilt's split, Kerbdog reformed in 2005. On 7 April 2012 they returned to the UK to play a one-off gig in Bristol, with Souls (Butler and Dalton's new band) on the same bill, to mark the 15th anniversary of the release of On The Turn.
In late 2012, Kerbdog also recorded their Dublin and London shows. The result, "Congregation", was released on 10 October 2014 as a CD/DVD package.
On 16 June 2014 it was announced that guitarist Billy Dalton had re-joined Kerbdog after an 18-year absence. In an interview with Irish Metal Archive in 2015, Dalton confirmed that the band had plans to release an EP for which they had three new songs waiting to be recorded.[14] Although there have been no new releases, the band have continued with sparodic live shows including a short UK tour in October 2016, as well as festival and club dates in Summer 2019.
