DODGER
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DODGER

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Band Rock Reggae

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The best kept secret in music

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"Dodger- rock,reggae,hardcore,dancehall"

Hamilton's Dodger finds common ground between blistering urban hardcore and sweltering Caribbean rhythms, but they have more in common with Bad Brains than Bob Marley. Produced by Walter Sobzcak (Dream Warriors, Raggadeath), this three-song EP packs a gritty punch with "Gazelles" and "Last Share" and then kisses you goodnight with the rub-a-dub sweet and dandy "Triumphant." Jarring guitar riffs and pounding drums routinely give way to dancehall-style vocals and beats. They even include a steel drum on the last track. The only disappointment is that three songs hardly does the band justice. - Exclaim!


"ARTFUL DODGER"

Hardcore / Urban / Reggae Madness

PLANET SMASHERS
MUSTARD PLUG AND DODGER
Sunday, Nov 17, 7 pm
Trasheteria

Hamilton isn't exactly known for its reggae bands. That's why its surprising to hear a relatively new sound coming from steel town - the rock/reggae of Dodger. Dodger singer/songwriter Matt Drake a.k.a. "Dodger," recently told me about the genesis of the band and their unique sound.
"I was always into punk rock," he says, "and played in a band called Henry's Volunteer. We toured all around Canada and, back then, we played with bands like Sum 41. I got bored of the genre though and the band broke up. That's when I moved to Toronto and started to expand musically."
In his search for new sounds and genres, Dodger started to revisit a band from his youth, The Police.
"I grew up with the Police but didn't understand what they were doing back then. Then when I was 19 I was like, 'Holy fuck this is awesome!' I went out and bought the entire collection on vinyl and was playing it over and over."
The Caribbean rhythms that Copeland, Summers and Sting put together inspired Dodger to search out more reggae, and he ended up finding Bob Marley, Bad Brains, and Sublime.
"With this band I take an urban or Caribbean beat and fuse it with lots of weird stuff like hardcore, Spanish music and hip hop." says Dodger, who is also a hip hop producer.
Armed with two solid EPs (available form the bands site www.dodger.ca) Dodger (the band) is actively searching a bigger market for their music. Their most recent release came about by a windfall one night while the band was playing at The Reverb.
"Walter Sobczak happened to be passing by the club while why we were playing," remembers Dodger. He like what he heard and offered to record us."
It just so happens that Sobcak has production credits with Maestro, Dream Warriors, and Raggadeath. Dodger says he's very interested in the band and has made the new EP sound amazing.
Check out Dodger this Sunday at the Trash when they open for The Planet Smashers and Mustard Plug. It's an early show (doors at 6:30, bands at 7) and tickets are $8 in advance and $12 at the door.
- SCENE


"DODGER GETS GREAT BREAK ON BRITNEY TOUR"

A sudden illness lifted the Hamilton band dodger from obcurity to opening for megastar Britney Spears. Dodger frontman Matt Drake took a break from his Hamilton based band to take a job as lead guitarist for 15-year-old Bolton Ont. pop star Skye Sweetnam's opening spots on Spear's current Onyx Hotel tour.
It was an easy decision for Drake. He'd make some important connections and, more importantly, pick up some needed cash. But he never imagined that within two weeks his own band, Dodger, would also be under Spear's spotlights.
It started out simple enough. All Drake had to do was stand at the side of the stage playing guitar while Sweetnam did her 15-minute teeny-bopper thing for crowds of more than 15,000. After Sweetnam, sexy New York hip-hop star Kelis would take the stage for a 30-minute set highlighted by her pop hit, Milkshake.
Then Britney would take over, the main attraction. Everything went like clockwork until the tour reached Atlanta. Word came down that Kelis had a touch of bronchitis. Sweetnam would be moved into Kelis' spot, but who would take Sweetnam's place as the opener. Shortly before showtime, Drake was asked if he could fill the spot.
Luckily, the rest of Sweetnams band were also from Hamilton. Drummer Stew Fazekas was a regular with Dodger. Keyboardist Vince Sciara had helped engineer Dodger's CD. Bassist Ken Corke was an old friend. "So all these guys knew the material," says Drake, 25, still giddy from the experience. "We sat on the tour bus for 20 minutes figuring it out and then 30 minutes later we were onstage. It was kind of crazy, I almost puked."
The jitters disappeared as soon as Drake took center stage. He introduced the band as Dodger from Hamilton Ontario.
"They probably didn't know what I was talking about, but it doesn't matter. We're from the Hammer, a steel-town band. The crowd was going nuts and we just did our thing."
The Dodger "thing" is urban reggae. They played four songs Drake wrote for Dodger's upcoming independent album. One song is so new, it doesn't even have a name. The Britney crowd responded enthusiastically, so much so that Drake was able to lead all 15,000 in a Dodger chant.
"I had a disposable camera with me and I told them that I wanted to take a picture of them chanting Dodger," Drake says. "The picture isn't so good, but it worked. I got them all chanting our name. It was incredible, the best. I've done it every show since."
Kelis, the Milkshake girl, wasn't well enough to make the next two shows and Dodger met with the same responses from audiences in Columbia, NC, and Jacksonville, Fla. During the past week, Dodger was added to the lineup when Spears played makeup concerts in Detroit and Chicago. Being asked to do these two shows meant far more to Drake then being asked to fill in at a moments notice. Spears' tour management had plenty of time to get a higher profile act, but chose to stick with Dodger.
"Britney's band has been great to us," Drake says. " They're awesome musicians, ringers every one of them, and they really support our music.
Her guitar player even came up and did a song with us at the shows in Chicago and Detroit. He just came out and wailed on the guitar while I sang."
And what about Britney?
"Britney's totally nice. We didn't sit down, chat or go drinking and get married or anything like that, but she's nice."
Drake arrived back in Hamilton on Thursday for a two week rest before leaving for Europe to rejoin the Sweetnam band and resume the European leg of Britney's tour.
While back, Dodger will play one show Saturday at the Casbah in Hamilton(Queen at King West)
Dodger will be headlining and the cost will only be $5.

Graham Rockingham
- The Hamilton Spectator, Pop Culture, Tues Apr 20 2004


"HAMILTON MUSIC NOTES- DODGER"

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
About a year ago Matt "Dodger" Drake (Dodger), Ken Corke (Familiars, Kents, Kazzer), Stuart Fazekas (Smoother, Dodger) and Vince Sciara (Breathe), became Capitol Recording artist Skye Sweetnams backing band- a great gig for musicians wanting to make a living from their musical ability. With her first single from the Mandy Moore movie, How to Deal, gaining attention, these Hamiltonians were riding high, with Skye opening for Britney Spears across North America and even Asia. But it was a chance virus that offered Matt "Dodger" Drake the oppurtunity of a lifetime.
"Halfway through the tour, Kelis, another Britney opener) got
bronchitis and our road manager asked if they'd want to try out Dodger as the opener," explains Drake. "We hadn't prepared for this, but Stew joined the band a while back and Vince has been recording our new album (The Bordello Studios) so wasn't hard to show them the parts. We showed Ken the riffs and they let me go up in Atlanta and it went over huge." with the thumbs up from Britney herself, Dodger followed up with four
dates to stadiums of 15 to 18 thousand people each. The Dodger crew saw opportunity, stepped up to the plate and hit a musical homerun. It was crazy," laughs Drake, "We're talking about a band without a label or a manager or an agent. In five dates we introduced the band to almost 60,000 people. Our website and email are going nuts. People are calling us from North Carolina and Florida asking us to send them our stuff."
Set to do another month touring with Sweetnam in Europe, Dodger may get the chance to expose their hip hop laced rock and reggae across the pond.
Meanwhile Drake and Dodger band members Luke Muldoon, Ryan Regimbal, Andrew Russell and Stu Fazekas are taking their regular places this weekend with the intent of adding live footage to an upcoming Dodger DVD as a precursor to a new album.
"I'm a changed man in the way of seeing how it goes for a big, big,
show in a concert venue," says Drake, "I've got a lot of respect for
the people that put on these worth a half million dollars each. I
respect people like Skye that are going out and getting on these
shows. I'm thrilled about getting the exposure although the record
labels don't interest me. It'd be cool to get our DVD and the album
out and then if a label wants to support me, then great. Realistically
the best thing to do is eliminate the middle man and do everything
myself. With the exposure I've gotten, things seem to be going in the right direction. I'd rather spend 10 years building it up then
becoming a one hit wonder."
Dodger returns home to The Casbah this Saturday with Breathe and The
Next Best Thing. - View Magazine


Discography

5 song EP self-titled
3 song demo (request on Edge 102 and CIUT)
Full length album due to be released Feb 06

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

dodger was formed in Toronto, Ontario by lead singer/song writer and founding member, Matt 'dodger' Drake. Drake was already a successful musician with his previous band "Henry's Volunteer", a 3-piece punk band that regularly opened shows for bands such as Sum41, Goldfinger, AFI, and Gob. Drake soon started expanding his musical tastes and rediscovered one of his first musical loves, The Police. He took his bands punk roots and adopted the reggae style of the Police and dodger plays their first show, just months after dismantling his first band...to rave reviews.

From Henry's Volunteer Drake brings along drummer and musical confidante Luke Muldoon. He is able to play every instrument in the band's arsenal of equipment as proficiently as his adopted love...the guitar. Matt and Luke form a fantastic dynamic on stage and it is apparent that these two have long been a successful team. Collaboration with MC/Keyboardist Andrew Russell (aka: Broken) begins and helps the band move into an urban/rock/reggae sound. Cleverly rapped lyrics, trippy guitars and a big sounding rhythm section is rounded out by long time friend and bassist Ryan Regimbal. Tight drumming from Taye drums sponsored drummer Stewart (Stu) Fazekas (formerly of Smoother, Skye Sweetnam, Kazzer) helps define andtighten up the band's sound. An obsessive fan base in Southern Ontario soon develops as dodger is renowned for having rowdy performances that are unpredictable and loud.

Producer/Engineer Walter Sobczak (Maestro, Dream Warriors, Raggadeath, Mishee Mee) is innocently possessed after witnessing the band perform one set and offers to record them on the spot. They tour Southern Ontario after recording a three song demo with Sobczak and amass an army of die-hard fans at shows such as Canadian Music Week and also opening for acts such as Danko Jones(Universal), Not By Choice (Warner), The Slackers(Epitaph), The Pocket Dwellers(Bluenote) and The Planet Smashers(Stomp).

In 2004, dodger has the chance to play to stadiums of 15 to 18 thousand when they play with Britney Spears(Jive) and Skye Sweetnam(Capitol) on the Hotel Onyx tour after opener Kelis drops off the tour due to illness. dodger grabs the chance to shock the stadiums ready for bubblegum pop and gives them a taste of their unique blend of rock and reggae to great appeal. Spears, after stealing a cd Matt had given to her bodyguard, is hooked on the band's sound and decides to keep dodger on for 4 more dates. The stadium dates also lead to a Gibson guitar sponsorship for Drake. After North American dates including shows in Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla., dodger return home to play more shows with Finger 11 (Windup/Sony), The Salads (Maple Music), Bedouin Soundclash (Stomp/Warner), The Trews (Sony/BMG), Choclair (Universal), and Kazzer (Linus/Warner) and begin recording a 15 song full length record, deciding this time to record with producer Vinnie Sciara (Skye Sweetnam). dodger have now finished recording an impressive debut album and are presently courting labels for representation. For more information dodger's website is located at:
www.dodger.ca dodger@dodger.ca

"dodger finds common ground between blistering urban hardcore and sweltering Caribbean rhythms, but they have more in common with Bad Brains than Bob Marley. Produced by Walter Sobzcak (Dream Warriors, Raggadeath), this three-song EP packs a gritty punch with "Gazelles" and "Last Share" and then kisses you goodnight with the rub-a-dub sweet and dandy "Triumphant."
Jarring guitar riffs and pounding drums routinely give way to dancehall-style vocals and beats. They even include a steel drum on the last track. The only disappointment is that three songs hardly do the band justice."
Canada's Music Magazine, *Exclaim*!: