Houston Texans score touchdown with Southern rockers the DML Cartel
Interview by Kyrby Raine
Most fans of the NFL team the Houston Texans are already familiar with the DML Cartel. Dodd Lede, who impressed me a couple of years ago with Sophomore Jinx, and other members of the DML Cartel are the house band for the Houston Texans, Bare Necessity. But who are these guys, really? We are introduced to the DML Cartel via Word of Mouth, a tight-fisted classic-rock album with a Southern flavor and smashmouth grit.
Kyrby Raine: How did you guys get to be the house band for the Houston Texans?
Dodd Lede: We were offered the gig after the VP at Silver Eagle Distributing (Budweiser) saw us playing during a private event. He was impressed with us enough to throw our name in a hat along with a couple others. Budweiser sponsored a battle of the bands during the 2007 pre-season. There was a big push to get people to go online and vote for us. They kept us in suspense for two weeks before they told us that we had won.
Raine: Given that your original incarnation, Bare Necessity, performed only covers, did you fear that the DML Cartel wouldn’t be taken seriously?
Lede: I originally joined Bare Necessity with the understanding that I would only be with them for a year. It was just a break for me since my previous band had ended on a bad note. I just wanted to jam. I had known Derek [Prather] for some time so when he told me that his singer was quitting I told him to throw my name in the hat. He was surprised that I would even consider it. The other guys in the band had seen my band play so they knew what I could do. In the end, there wasn’t even an audition. I just walked in as the new singer. When the year was up, I was preparing to leave; when they offered to do some of my originals. I signed on for another year and we just kept on jamming. I’ve been with Bare Necessity for almost four years now. It was originally intended that Bare Necessity would just roll over into the DML Cartel, but Bare Necessity and the DML Cartel are separate bands. It became too confusing trying to keep everything together, and it was a heavy workload trying to balance cover shows and original showcases. Derek and I are still in both bands, but John Rinkus (guitar), Richard Magallanes (drums), & Mark Head (bass) are all part of the new DML Cartel lineup.
Raine: Were any of the tracks on Word of Mouth road tested by Bare Necessity? Or is the first time we’re getting the opportunity to hear them?
Lede: I wrote three songs while in Bare Necessity that made it onto the CD. ”Temptation,” “Happy Ever After,” and “You Belong” were all written and recorded with the four members of Bare Necessity. All the other songs I had already started before I joined BN. I had originally recruited John to help me in the studio. I had known Mark forever, and Richard had been in the band that broke up before Bare Necessity.
Raine: What is the creative process behind the DML Cartel? Is it just you calling all of the shots or do the other members have any artistic input?
Lede: The DML Cartel is still a relatively new band. This group of musicians has only been together about six months. I had actually started writing some of these songs as far back as four years ago. So, to date, I have been the driving force behind this music, but it is safe to say that we function as a band now.
Raine: “Pocket Full of Reasons” seems to be about a real person. Is it autobiographical?
Lede: “Pocket Full Of Reasons” is about a real person, as are most of my songs, but it is not autobiographical. It was written about a friend of mine from high school who had fallen on some hard times. I tried to broaden my musical focus on this new CD to include a wider variety of topics.
