Yesterday on BREATHEcast we reintroduced our audience to one of the most popular Christian punk bands of the 90s and early 2000s, Dogwood. We had the chance to catch up with frontman Josh Kemble to see what he was doing and reminisce on "the good times," as well as a possible Dogwood reunion show?

Read part one here.

Dogwood began to pick up steam as a band after they left Rescue Records and moved on over to Tooth & Nail. The late 90s and early 2000s was a huge time for Christian rock music, especially with all the talent in the T&N pool.

"There was definitely a rise, and it was fun to be a part of that first initial baby steps. Some of the bands that got signed, like MxPx or Slick Shoes, while we were playing, they were the ones who were kind of telling Tooth & Nail they should sign us so we can get on the tours together and get the same press," said Kemble.

Prior to moving on to join MxPx and the lot of other bands, the frontman said Dogwood had a good relationship with the bands and label before they even left Rescue Records. "Rescue did a great job for us in the beginning stages...we did like two and half records with them...kind of like a stepping stone to other labels."

On T&N, Dogwood put out four records and a greatest hits, starting with More Than Conquerors and ending with Seismic. During that span the band had matured in sound and style and put out some of their best work, which is something that is hard to pick through for Kemble.

(Photo : Dogwood)

The frontman said he always thinks he has a favorite Dogwood record, but then he will listen to another one and his mind will change. "I don't remember doing this, this sounds like a lot of fun."

He said he goes through different phases for the music. Seismic "is definitely a darker record because Danny [Montoya] and Jason [Harper] wrote a lot of the music. Sean [O'Donnell] was not writing with us then. Then Building a Better Me was kind of the zenith of our Tooth & Nail era for me, Jason, Russell, and Sean - we were writing most of that record while we were on tour. That was at the height of everything."

The album was a success in the press and with reviews, and spawned probably one of their most well known songs, along with a cool music video.

"The songs were all fun to sing and stuff like that. Some were crowd pleasers," he said. "Then you go to Matt Aragon, that's a super fun and unique record. Recording time was at NOFX studios. The producer was a super punk rock producer. I think they all have really great qualities so depending on the mood I'm in or what kind of nostalgia, or who I'm with, it will make me have a favorite."

Sometimes the even older pre Tooth & Nail stuff will come on and he'll get taken back again, "I remember those" he said with a laugh as he explained that many were recorded straight out of High School when his voice was still maturing.

Kemble is still in love with punk rock all these years later, and his own music is no exception to the playlist. He compares a musician listening to their own music as a painter who hangs their work on the wall and sees it all the time. He said there is no "too much" when listening to your own records. The vocalist said Dogwood is on constant play in his home because his children are fans of the band now. "They play it all the time and show all their friends and stuff. It's just always around and engrained."

"You know, all the bins in my garage used for holding tools are all the old merchandise bins. It's just there."

He continued, "I pick some of my songs to be on my work out playlist because I can rage to them or sing along. Once in awhile something will come on, and I'll be like, 'This sounds familiar...oh yeah, it's me!'"

As far as memories in recording music, Dogwood's first album, Good Ol' Days, was Kemble's most memorable recording experience because it was the first time. "Any song we wrote went on that record...we didn't know any better."

Since recording their last record, Kemble admits that there are still a few unreleased Dogwood songs floating around and that the "musicians are always working on something."

As far as getting the band back together, he doesn't want to say no, but thinks "it would be a challenge to do something...it's never out of the question."

"It's almost inevitable when bands break up that they'll do a reunion show. It's almost like, you know a band is going to do an encore when they leave the stage," he said with a laugh. "We're trying to scale how we can make it work...we never said no. There's still a need or a want for us."

Kemble said most of the guys in Dogwood are still involved in music in one way or another but perhaps not on a full time level. As for himself, he writes songs and music and records vocals with different bands.

The singer said he's "always trying to do musical stuff" and has instruments all over the house for his music student children to play with.

Lastly, he left off the fans and readers with some words of musical wisdom, "As far as music goes, you just gotta like what you like, and play it loud because it sounds better."

"Keep practicing your craft...if you stop doing it, it just kind of dies away. You just have to keep doing what you do."

Follow Dogwood on their Facebook page and stay tuned, that reunion show may be just around the corner! Check out part one with Josh Kemble as he talks about the end of Dogwood, San Diego, and punk rock here.