The Dodge Brothers are a British skiffle band from Southampton playing Americana, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, country and blues music. The band includes film critic and BBC television presenter Mark Kermode,[1][2] along with Mike and Alex Hammond and Aly Hirji.

The Dodge Brothers
The Dodge Brothers at the Shelley Theatre, Bournemouth, February 2016
Background information
Origin	Southampton, England
Genres	Skiffle, Americana, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, country, blues
Years active	2006-present
Labels	Weeping Angel Records
Members	Mark Kermode Mike Hammond Aly Hirji Alex Hammond
Website	www.dodgebrothers.co.uk

Formation and Early Releases

According to guitarist Mike Hammond, The Dodge Brothers started in 1996 when Hammond and Kermode were introduced by their wives. "By the end of the night, we were drinking whisky and playing piano," Hammond recalls, at which time Kermode suggested they form a band. They then played local gigs with a third member Pete Stanfield on harmonica, and then as a two piece before soundman Aly Hirji joined on rhythm guitar after meeting Hammond and Kermode at a pub where the duo were playing in 2005.[3] In 2006 they recorded their first album, a self-titled record of covers from "the songbook of weird old America". Drummer Alex Hammond appears on two tracks before joining the band just before their first TV appearance in 2007.

Kermode has described the band as "guitars, banjo, slap bass, harmonica – and no drums, which is essentially a hillbilly/skiffle set-up. The music we play definitely leans toward rockabilly, but the choice of material is somewhat older, our set includes Washboard Sam's Who Pumped the Wind in My Doughnut, which remains one of the greatest and rudest songs ever written. I think the best way of describing what we do is to say that we play songs about transport and homicide... with occasional episodes of drunkenness".[4]

The Culture Show & TV/radio Appearances

The band played on the BBC Two programme The Culture Show (which was co-presented by Kermode) in a piece about skiffle with Billy Bragg on 19 May 2007[5] and took part in the same show's 'Busking Challenge' on 29 March 2008.[6] The band have appeared on Kermode's video blog 'Kermode Uncut', playing 'skiffle' covers of blockbuster movie soundtracks including Star Wars, Star Trek, The A-Team and Smurfs 3D. The music heard on the 'Kermode Uncut' blog is extracts from The Dodge Brothers' music. They also provided skiffled movie theme tunes for one round of a quiz show on Simon Mayo and Kermode's BBCRadio 5 Live Christmas show in 2010.

Silent Cinema

The Dodge Brothers and silent movie pianist Neil Brand.[7] have played live accompaniments to silent movies at music and film festivals around the globe, including Midnight Sun Film Festival in Lapland, Tromsø International Film Festival in Norway as well as BFI, National Science and Media Museum and many others in UK. These films started with White Oak (1921) at The Barbican Centre, followed by Beggars of Life (1928), The Ghost That Never Returns (1929), Hells Hinges (1916) and City Girl (1930). In 2014, The Dodge Brothers were the first band to play to a silent film at Glastonbury Festival.[8]

Louisa & The Devil

In 2008 The Dodge Brothers released their second album Louisa and the Devil, the first with the present line-up and featuring mostly original material "written to sound old". The track 'Died and Gone to Hell' also features Billy Lunn of The Subways on vocals and guitar.

The Sun Set

The band's third album, The Sun Set, was recorded at the famous Sun Studios in Memphis. A BBC Radio 2 hour long documentary[9] was broadcast on 16 August 2012 (the anniversary of Elvis' death) which followed the band on their journey to Memphis.[10]

Drive Train

Drive Train, the fourth album by The Dodge Brothers was released in 2018.[11] Henry Priestman from the band Yachts plays organ, accordion, kettledrums, melodica & penny whistle on the last track on the album 'When I'm Gone'. Neil Brand plays piano on silent film (Hell's Hinges) inspired track 'Blaze'.

Discography

• The Dodge Brothers (2006)
• Louisa & the Devil (2009 Weeping Angel Records)[12]
• The Sun Set: Recorded at Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee (2013 Weeping Angel Records)[13]
• Drive Train (2018 Weeping Angel Records)

References

External links

• The Dodge Brothers website
• The Dodge Brothers on YouTube