Though their contributions rarely receive credit, pets have played their part across pop history. Think about it: Paul McCartney and his sheepdog Martha, Kate Bush and her hounds, Miley and her doomed husky Floyd, Taylor Swift and her cats, the list goes on. An animal’s presence can offer comfort, laughter, inspiration, or annoyance, and earning a pet’s affection can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Naturally, those emotions can’t help but bleed into an artist’s work.
But owning a pet is also a great responsibility, and for musicians who spend much of their time on the road, bringing a furry friend into the family can lead to difficulties. What do you do with the little critter while on tour? Can it come along? If so, how? Will it be forced to stay in the car or bus? Will the music be too loud? Are your bandmates or crew allergic? If your pal has to stay home, who will feed and watch it? And what if your pet hides under the bed every time you try to demo a new song for them?
Behind many great musicians exists a great pet, but since the animals can’t speak for themselves, we asked their humans to tell us a bit about their furry friends.
Waka Flocka Flame and Angel
Who is your pet’s favorite musician?
Me. Everytime I play my music she runs around the house trying to bite people.
Which song of yours was inspired by your pet?
“Big Dawg”—she’s so small but she makes big dawg decisions.
What is one of your favorite memories of your pet?
When she ate my edibles by accident. It was funny—but scary too.
Frankie Cosmos and Joe
How has your pet inspired your music?
Joe was in the room with me a lot when I recorded my first songs—that’s him breathing in the background—so I considered him a band member. He used to sing along to certain chords, especially weird dissonant ones! I wrote him some love songs and later, when he died, I wrote some sad songs about it.
When is a time when you thought your pet could read your mind?
I was really sick with a fever once and I remember waking up thinking my mom was putting a cold towel on my head, but it was just Joe licking my head. He probably mostly thought about food though, if I’m being honest. And more deeply, I think he wondered a lot about where people were going, because he was pretty scared of being left alone.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
Just how he was ready to hang with me every day when I came home from school.
Torres and Little Bat
Does your pet influence your creative process?
She loves when I play guitar quietly, so I’m more inclined to write gentler songs when she’s in the room.
When is a time when you thought your pet could read your mind?
There have been a couple times when I’ve been upset and she’s come over to comfort me, and I’ve looked her in the eyes and asked, “Are you Sylvia Plath?” Because at times I have really believed she’s Sylvia come back to be my best friend in this life. And she looks at me wildly in those moments, like she’s been caught—but she still seems to trust me with the information.
Little Bat has her own Instagram account, how do you think she feels about social media?
She loves being on the internet. She can sense the moment just before someone pulls out a phone to take her photo, and you can tell because she poses like a supermodel and smiles with her eyes. She eats it up.
A post shared by Little Bat (@littlebatthecat) on Mar 5, 2017 at 10:27am PST
Japanese Breakfast and Julia
Does your pet influence your music?
Julia is actually mentioned in the first stanza of “In Heaven”: “The dog’s confused/She just paces around all day/She’s sniffing at your empty room.” After my mom passed away, I took Julia to the vet because she wouldn’t stop licking her paws. The vet informed me it was likely because she was nervous and grieving, and I just thought it was the most crushingly sad thing, how confused she must have been, having her primary caretaker just disappear.
Who is your pet’s favorite musician?
I’m not sure really but I do have a pretty cute video of her barking along to my husband and mother-in-law singing Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville.”
When is a time when you got mad at your pet?
The only thing I’ve ever really scolded her for is “scooting” outside. It looks very bizarre, and I read that it’s not good for dogs. I was really just looking out for her butthole.
This my phone background rn and it makes me so happy
A post shared by Japanese Breakfast (@jbrekkie) on Nov 17, 2016 at 6:56pm PST
Hunx and His Punx’s Seth Bogart and Stix
What’s the story behind your pet’s name?
She is not named after Styx the band—she has long lady legs, like sticks.
How does your pet influence your music?
Sometimes when I’m singing into a microphone she tries to lick inside my mouth—and she must not mind it because she’s still licking!
Who is your pet’s favorite musician?
Whenever she hears Lana Del Rey, she just puts on her dog lingerie and lights a big joint and prances around.
When is a time when you got mad at your pet?
She manipulates my boyfriend and I into giving her treats when she senses we’re about to start having sex, and she won’t stop bugging us till she gets what she wants!
What do you imagine your pet thinks about?
Food, when Lana Del Rey’s new album is coming out, how incredible my music is (ha ha), smashing the patriarchy, and getting stoned.
What do you think of pet clothing?
Pet clothes suck—as in I can’t find any I want to buy! I tried squeezing her into a Harajuku Lovers for Petco by Gwen Stefani hoodie but the sizing was crazy small, as if they were trying to make dogs feel fat and bad about their bodies.
Tegan and Sara’s Sara Quin, Holiday, and Mickey
Have you made merch inspired by your pets?
We have pins, and they’ve also been featured on T-shirts. Currently, we have cardboard standees of them dressed in Alexander McQueen suits that we display at our merch table and let people take photos with. My dream would be to create a series of emoticons using their likeness.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
The day that Holiday began grooming Mickey and cuddling him after weeks of hissing and hating each other was a big one for me. I still feel my heart expanding when I see them cuddling.
What do you think of pet clothing?
I once dressed them in a halloween costume—as Donnie Darko skeletons—and they seemed so defeated and humiliated I never did it again.
Your cats are often featured on your Instagram—have you ever considered giving them their own accounts
Unfortunately, my cats are so much more popular on social media than we are that I cannot risk losing followers by giving them their own accounts. It’s not fair, but they’re cats, and I’m the human cleaning their shit up every day, so…
Girl Talk, Wally, and Chloe
Do your pets influence your creative process?
I really get caught up in my work, sometimes getting hung up on tiny details, so taking breaks to feed or walk Wally has had a huge impact on that process. It clears my head.
Do they like listening to your music?
Both of them are indifferent toward my music, but Chloe loves being in the mix while I’m working. She’ll lay with her stomach pressed up against the back of the laptop for hours, fading in and out of sleep. And when she’s not sleeping, she’s masterful at unplugging hard drives and knocking over beverages.
Who is your cat’s favorite band?
Chloe is uninterested in anything outside of Collective Soul.
What do you imagine your cat thinks about all day?
Chloe is always daydreaming about seeing Collective Soul live.
What do you think of pet clothing?
We’ve put a dog shirt on Wally a couple times, and he seemed depressed. The furthest I’ll go these days is giving him a hat that supports his interest in the genre of dubstep.
D.R.A.M. and Idnit
What’s the story behind your pet’s name?
It’s short for “Idnit So Cute.”
Which one of your songs has your pet influenced?
“Cute,” because I’d definitely take my dog out on a fucking date.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
Whenever I’m home, he sleeps at the foot of the bed. And one night we got in the crib mad late, like four in the morning, and he started barking on some like, “Bruh, I can’t get no sleep without you in this bed, man.” It was so fucking cute, because I don’t get to see him as often as I want.
When is a time when you got mad at your pet?
When he shitted on the floor, by the couch. I was barefoot and he didn’t say anything about it, and I stepped right in it.
Bully’s Alicia Bognanno and Mezzi
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
Once when I was in college, she was in the car with the windows cracked and I had to run into Target to grab something. She somehow squeezed out and ran into Target looking for me. All I heard over the intercom was “There's a dog in the building. I repeat—dog in the building” and a few minutes later I saw Mez running down the aisles.
When is a time when you got mad at your pet?
When Mezzi was a puppy, we were riding in the car with the windows down, and she saw a squirrel and jumped out. Luckily I was going slow, but it still scared the shit out of me. I pulled over and picked her up, and for the next few years we rode with the windows halfway up.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve made your pet wear?
One year for halloween she wore a pumpkin T-shirt and never once tried to take it off. When that pumpkin T-shirt was on, she was dripping with confidence, and once she had to say goodbye to it when it ripped in half, she acted like she had never lived a life without it. Eventually, she became comfortable in her own skin again, but it did take some time.
A post shared by Bully the Band (@bullythemusic) on Oct 6, 2016 at 10:10am PDT
Clams Casino and Lord Vader
Does your pet influence your creative process?
He likes hanging out in our home studio, watching and listening as I work. He even has his own studio chair right next to mine. He will usually nap but when he hears a new or unusual sound he will tilt his head and listen more closely—then I know it’s a good sound to keep.
Who is your pet’s favorite musician?
Amy Winehouse. He gets carsick a lot, and we are always trying to find music to help him calm down; he immediately relaxed the first time he heard her music.
Do you have a dream merch item inspired by your pet?
I would like to do a collab with KONG brand rubber dog toys because they are the only ones Vader has not been able to destroy!
When ur dad leaves u for a week and ur happy when he gets home but also kinda pissed still
A post shared by Clams Casino (@instaclam) on Sep 18, 2016 at 8:03pm PDT
Deafheaven’s George Clarke and Joan
What is your pet’s favorite type of music?
She prefers music that people can dance to so that she’s able to bark at them while they do. She also really loves harmonica.
Do you have a dream merch item inspired by your pet?
A vanity mirror with her face on it would feel suitable.
What do you think of pet clothing?
Joan isn’t really into clothing. She’s naturally beautiful.
Lizzo and Pookah Diamanté Jefferson
Who are your pet’s favorite musicians?
Pookah is very eclectic, but her faves are Katy Perry, Kanye West, and any bachata or merengue. Spanish is her first language.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
When I first got her, she could fit in the palm of my hand. Paris Hilton was popular at the time, and carrying a dog in your purse was “cool,” so I took her to school and carried her around in purse all day.
When is a time when you got mad at your pet?
She has horrible separation anxiety, and I’m on the road a lot, so she gets really angry. One time, I was on my way out the door, rushing around getting myself together, and all of a sudden I smelled poop. I looked down and I had stepped in a “poop mine” she left for me and had tracked it all throughout the house in my rush to get ready. But I know she did that because she loves me and she didn’t want me to leave.
What do you imagine your pet thinks about?
She is very bossy and vocal, so she is thinking about what people are doing and whether she likes it or not so she can yell at them and tell them to stop.
Joyce Manor’s Barry Johnson and Charles
Does your pet like listening to your music?
I think cats only like jazz so he probably doesn’t care about my pop punk band.
Who is your pet’s favorite musician?
Probably some cat that plays saxophone on another planet.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
When we first got him I took him to our neighbors to show him off but he was really scared so I brought him home right away. He started hugging on to me as I walked back to our apartment, and my heart exploded with love.
Today is Charles third birthday. Here he is biting me on his first birthday and biting me today.
A post shared by Joyce Manor (@joycemanorofficial) on Apr 1, 2015 at 12:39pm PDT
Mitski and Midori
How did you meet your pet?
She was the strongest-looking and least neurotic of her siblings when we went to choose a kitten out of the litter. I got her in 7th grade and I’m 26 now, so she definitely should not be as completely fine and youthful as she is.
Have you made merch related to your pet?
No. I like to remember that I am the only person who loves her—no one else cares about your cat.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
I like remembering all the times she didn’t quite make the landing onto the kitchen counter or the table, fell ungracefully, and then kept walking like nothing happened.
What do you imagine your pet thinks about?
Food. And warmth—that’s the only reason she lays on my lap. There is no love in a cat’s heart.
A post shared by Mitski (@mitskileaks) on Dec 27, 2016 at 8:29am PST
Eric Bachmann and Lupe
Does your pet influence your creative process?
Lupe often lays and sleeps in the room with me as I’m writing; if she stays still, I generally keep pursuing the idea I’m working on. I did write a song inspired by her called “Electric Doggy.” (It wrote itself, really.) But you, unfortunately, will never hear it.
What is your pet’s favorite musician?
Augustus Pablo is certainly one of them. She can sit calmly and chew on a bully stick for hours while his music is playing. She doesn’t like Flying Lotus or Eric Dolphy or Os Mutantes, though. It’s too much chaos for her ears, and she always walks out of the room, which is unfortunate for me because I enjoy all of that music.
La Sera’s Katy Goodman, Walter, Miles, and Bo
Do your pets influence your music?
You can definitely hear my cats’ collar bells ringing in the background of every demo I’ve ever made.
Who is your pets’ favorite musician?
Morrissey, because of his unwavering love of animals.
When is a time when you got mad at your pet?
Sometimes Bo eats cat poop and it makes me question him. I definitely lose a little respect.
Btw this is what I've been doing 100% of the time since getting home from tour
A post shared by Katy Goodman (@iamkatygoodman) on Nov 18, 2016 at 9:15pm PST
Phantogram and Leroy Brown (aka Leroy the Good Boy)
Does your pet influence your creative process?
He could give two shits about the creative process but he loves being a part of the squad and the benefits it brings—lots of attention from the ladies and endless amounts of blunts being passed to him.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
When he was making it rain in Magic City with Big Boi and Dave Chappelle.
When is a time when you got mad at your pet?
When he tells me he wants to go to Burning Man without me.
What do you imagine your pet thinks about?
Weed, Weeknd collabs, Future’s lyrics, Miley’s vegan outfits, blunts.
What do you think of pet clothing?
If Kanye made puppy Yeezy’s, I’d definitely buy them.
Who are your pet’s favorite musicians?
Glenn Danzig and Meatloaf.
Hey Meatloaf I fucking love you! #meatloaf #morkie #rockandroll #iwoulddoanythingforlove
A post shared by Leroy Brown (@leroythegoodboy) on Sep 15, 2016 at 12:36pm PDT
Thundercat and Turbo Tron Over 9000 Baby Jesus Sally Uzi Clip
What’s the story behind your pet’s name?
I was like, “What is the best thing ever?” Turbo Tron. “Over 9000” is a Dragon Ball reference. “Baby Jesus” is an Ol’ Dirty Bastard reference and also a Jesus reference—and you know those two go together. My daughter’s name is Sally. And then “Uzi Clip” was just the period at the end of the sentence.
How did you two meet?
My neighbor at the time had this young 18-year-old daughter—very, very beautiful. She came over right as her parents were moving and gave me a gift. She said, “Would you like the cat?” And I was like, “Are you kidding me?” And she handed me this cat that was literally smaller than my palm. Eyes wide open, I was like, “Oh my gosh!” It was the best thing that ever happened. I would carry her around in my hoodie. I remember the day that Tyler, the Creator opened the Odd Future pop-up shop, and I brought Tron there. He was like, “Whoa.” Yeah, that happened.
Who is your pet’s favorite musician?
George Duke. I can tell that she’s listening by the way her tail wags and how her eyes look.
Does your pet influence your creative process?
Absolutely. I’m actually singing to my cat [in “Tron Song”]. It was one of those things where my best friend died in a really volatile way and it was really hard for me to deal with it. So I was just singing to my cat: “Don’t ever go away/I’ll always come back.” That’s how the song came about.
Neko Case and Bruce
Do your pets influence your creative process at all?
They influence my living process. They make me more calm and don’t let me get stuck inside my own head. They remind me that there is poop to clean. They put up with my music, and it doesn’t seem to pain them, so I’m grateful!
Who is your pet’s favorite musician?
I did have a few greyhounds that liked to howl along with the piano and any music with ’80s reverb on it—Siouxsie was one of their howl-along selections.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
Bruce gets the hiccups when he runs down the stairs too fast.
When is a time when you got mad at your pet?
My old shepherd mix Liza once spray-pooed digested cat poo all over the inside of my truck on the coldest day of winter in Vermont. I had to drive two hours with the windows open trying not to barf. It was hell.
A post shared by Neko Case (@nekocaseofficial) on Sep 16, 2015 at 11:35am PDT
Cymbals Eat Guitars’ Joe D’Agostino and Nina
Do your pets influence your creative process?
We got Nina in ’99 and she passed in 2015, while I was on tour. She is name-dropped at the beginning of “WELL” from our newest record, Pretty Years. She would often come into my room when I was a teen and sit in front of my very loud amplifiers while I figured out how to play guitar. I don’t know how she did it!
What is your pet’s favorite musician?
My dogs bonded most with my father, who favors ‘70s soft rock, so I’m pretty sure they most enjoyed the peaceful, easy feelings of the Eagles and Jackson Browne.
What is a favorite memory of your pet?
The doors in the house I grew up in in New Jersey had handles, not knobs. So Nina figured out how to open doors. She would always ambush us while we were on the toilet.
When is a time when you thought your pet could read your mind?Animals can detect emotional distress. Whenever I was feeling lonely or dejected or angry after school—basically every day—Nina would come down to the basement where I played video games and would lay next to me. It always helped.
Tacocat’s Emily Nokes and Doctor O (aka Kittyman and/or Minibeast)
Does your pet influence your music?
He makes me very happy, and I can’t feel creative unless I’m at least a little happy. As far as our music, he tolerates it, but he’s sick of getting pigeonholed like, “Oh this band has ‘cat’ in the name—you must love them because you’re a cat.”
Who is your pet’s favorite musician?
Roky Erickson for sure. He’s named after a line in “Bloody Hammer” that’s about Roky’s psychiatrist, Dr. O’Chane.
Have you made merch related to your pet?
Our current album is covered in cat drawings, but none of them are him, specifically. I haven’t been able to draw him accurately. It’s like that philosophy that the closer you get to pure beauty, the harder it is to represent. Plato? Socrates? Maybe I just made that up. Anyway, once I nail a representation of that perfect little face, it’s getting screen-printed on everything in sight.
What do you think about people highlighting their pets on social media in general?
My guy does not have his own Instagram; I guess you could say we share my personal account, though. But I’d way rather see photos of someone’s pet than their fancy brunch!