The Dodge Brothers are a skiffle-and-blues band producing ‘tunes of proven merit’ – new songs written and performed in the old style, harking back to the days of jug-band blues and early rock’n’roll.
The band are: Mike Hammond (guitars, lead vocals, banjo); Aly Hirji (guitars, mandolin, vocals); Mark Kermode (bass, harmonica, vocals), and Alex Hammond (washboard, snare drum, percussion). The Dodge Brothers’ music has an authentically American tang – lead guitarist/vocalist Mike Hammond was raised in Alabama and his youthful musical travels took him all over the southern and western USA – but with a strong British perspective.
The Dodge Brothers’ first album Louisa and the Devil showcased songs about transport, heartbreak and homicide, with tales of strong women, bad men and lonesome railroads. Their second album The Sun Set was recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, using authentically old-fashioned recording techniques to recapture the spirit of a bygone age (A BBC Radio 2 Documentary was made following the band on this journey)
The Dodge Brothers’ album DriveTrain was released in 2018 and described as “Essential listening” by Whispering Bob Harris on BBC Radio 2’s Country Show.
As a live act The Dodge Brothers have played everywhere from The Roundhouse to the Royal Albert Hall, from the 100 Club to the Cropredy festival. At the Jazz Café, they played with rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson, and they regularly sell-out gigs throughout the UK.
Film and cinematic landscapes come together when The Dodge Brothers join forces with composer/TV presenter Neil Brand to provide live music for films like Beggars of Life and Hell’s Hinges. In 2014, The Dodge Brothers became the first band to accompany a silent movie at Glastonbury. Their film performances have taken them from The BFI Southbank to Arctic Circle, performing to sell-out audiences in the UK and Finnish Lapland & Tromsø, Norway.
In 2015, Grammy award winning producer, Steve Levine, called upon the band to record & film four skiffle tracks for the Liverpool Music Festival, as part of a presentation demonstrating how American blues sparked the British Rock’n’Roll scene and influenced The Beatles. One of these tracks, Rock Island Line, has now been used in the Brian Epstein biopic Midas Man, The Dodge Brothers featuring in the movie as The Beatles support act in The Cavern in 1961.
The Dodge Brothers have supported Jools Holland live (as well as guesting on his BBC Radio 2 Show) and have been championed by music broadcasting legend Bob Harris.