This is a rock & roll science project. It all has to do with chemistry. The chemistry between the players, and the chemistry of combining various influences together just to see what if would have sounded like if they had thought of it first.

14 MP3 Songs
ROCK: American Underground, ROCK: Acoustic

Show all album songs: Word Of Mouth Songs


Details:
After a 15 months hiatus, Dodd has been writing & recording songs for what promises to be his best effort yet. With new band members, John Rinkus (guitar), Derek Prather (guitar), Fred Morecraft (bass), and Brooks Rogers (drums), he has been performing locally, testing new material, while in the studio with long time friend and engineer, Mike BBQ. The new CD is slated for release in October 2007, and is tentatively titled, âWord Of Mouthâ.

Meanwhile, late bloomer, âSophomore Jinxâ has been accumulating rave reviews from the press for its sincerity and heartfelt content. This tasty little gem has also found success on a variety of Triple A, internet, and college radio stations with songs, Camouflage, New Orleans and Man On A Chain.

âHello, my name is Dodd. I would like to pursue a career in rock music because my passion for comedy is just not paying the bills.â

Ledeâs second attempt, âSophomore Jinxâ, was the much anticipated follow up to 2002âs âWhatever Happened to Youâ. With the artwork complete and the music mastered, the new CD was scheduled for release in September of 2004. At the request of Ledeâs distribution company, the masters were sent to a CD manufacturer based in Arizona. And so the comedy of errors began.

After months of miscommunications, complications, and the companyâs relocation from Tempe to Phoenix, the slated release date was continuously pushed back. Then without notice, the manufacturer closed its doors one last time and went out of business, and âSophomore Jinxâ was lost in the shuffle.

With no means in which to get in contact with the now defunct company, Lede was discouraged, broke, and about to call it quits. The band had been poised to tour upon the CDâs release, but after a series of personal tragedies, had decided to go separate ways. Lede sought solace in performing with a cover band called Bare Necessity.

âThe only true test of time is persistence. The ones that make it are the ones that were too stubborn or too dumb to quit. Iâm a little of both.â

Then a strange twist of fate occurred. A Florida based printing company called to say that several boxes of âSophomore Jinxâ had been sitting at their location awaiting payment from the manufacturer.

Payment to the printing company came in the form of loans from family and friends, and arrangements were made for the product to be shipped to Houston only to discover that there was a misprint in the artwork. The original proofs had never been sent to be looked over.

After renegotiating for the reprint, âSophomore Jinxâ was finally released in the summer of 2005. The release had been pushed back eleven months, in which time; the original band had split, the artist website had been terminated, and the distribution deal had been dissolved.

âThere is nothing original about what I do. I sing and I play guitar just like everyone else, but I am from Texas, so that gives me a leg up on the competition.â

Self-improvement seminars all say that if you are going to fall ten times, you better be willing to get up eleven. Through self-education, hard work and perseverance, Texas based singer/songwriter, Dodd Michael Lede, has become a master at redefining himself to stay in pace with the ever-changing nature of the music industry.

Comparisons are often likened to those of Edwin McCain, Train, or Duncan Sheik, but Dodd credits his influences as Aerosmith, the Beatles, and Lenny Kravitz. His songwriting is ever-present with memorable melodies and radio hooks, but the topics tend to be dark and moody.

Avoiding pessimism and questionable concepts of musical fashion in favor of more substantial and enduring values, Doddâs vision remains clear and focused. There is a sense of maturity about his songwriting, but there is no mistaking that the underlying influences are very rock & roll.

âSophomore Jinxâ contains twelve tracks that dig deep into the soul of Doddâs musical core. Each song telling a story about the inner turmoil of individual suffering, as evident on I Donât Belong, Gone, & Scene from a Bar, to relationships (Irresistible & Camouflage), & to personal travels (New Orleans). SJ even offers a tribute to Madonna entitled Diva.

âThis is a rock & roll science project. It all has to do with chemistry. The chemistry between the players, and the chemistry of combining various influences together just to see what if would have sounded like if they had thought of it first.â

With melodic chord structures, vocal hooks and harmonies, and layers of guitar driven grace and tone, this catalog of songs should solidify Doddâs place as a songwriter in his own right. The inspirations and personal demons create an autobiography of true stories set to music. The end result is a collection of stirring and evocative songs.

Lede is a flamboyant, energetic showman with a penchant for tongue-in-cheek humor. He maintains a charismatic showmanship founded during his bad-boy rocker days, and often muses about having traded in his electric guitar for the quieter tones of an acoustic, but he is not willing to compromise his rock & roll roots. He continues to wear his rock & roll past on his sleeve like a badge of honor.

At a time when too much technology and too many stylists have paralyzed rock & roll with a synthetic sheen, Dodd breaks through the plastic to capture the soundtrack to his lifeâs endeavors. Heâs got attitude. Heâs got passion. He lives and breathes it. Within the first 15 minutes of meeting him, youâll realize that he doesnât do this because he wants to. He does it because he is destined to.