Dodge rocks on and on
Lawrence band gives marathon performance
Thursday, September 14, 2000
Few musicians have the perseverance to sing 100 songs in one sitting.
Lawrence's roots-rock veteran Arthur Dodge did just that.
Dodge recently performed for nearly eight hours at the Eighth Street Tap Room, singing all-original acoustic songs from his band Arthur Dodge & the Horsefeathers' three records.
"Me and my bass player (Jeremy Sidener) kind of thought it up," Dodge said before his long performance. "It would be cool to play all the songs I never get to play or don't have time to play."
Dodge's third CD, "Nervous Habit," was released in the United States Aug. 22.
"It came out in Europe at the end of February. We don't have a label for it yet over here," Dodge said. "We are just putting it out locally. We've got some bites, but nothing yet."
He met his European label, Germany's Blue Rose Records, two years ago at the annual South By Southwest festival in Austin, Tex. Once signed, Dodge led his group into the Blue Heaven studio in Salina. The result was a little different from previous records.
"The new record is, I'd say, a lot darker than the first two," Dodge said. "On the other side, it's more poppy. Sparse dark pop. Everyone keeps telling us it is our best one yet."
Although "Nervous Habit" is out in the states, don't expect the Horsefeathers to do a lot of touring behind it. They've been on and off the road already this year, and Dodge plans to take a sabbatical from Lawrence and move to Nashville for awhile.
About six months ago, he said the band had its worst touring experience just north of Wichita.
"We did have a wheel about come out on us," Dodge said. "Some mechanic didn't put the wheel on right. The van was going about 75 on the highway, just one lug nut was holding on. The (other) lug nuts got sheered off on the highway. Other than that we have a really good time on the road."
After a break from the road, the band is considering releasing a live album in the spring. Dodge hopes the album will be able to translate the energy of the group's notorious endurance-testing concerts.
"We're a working-class band. We like to do those three-and-a-half-hour sets," he said. "If we don't have to have an opening band, we'd rather not, because we like to play and play and play."
Archetype / Fourth of July (late show) :: Besides the obvious novelty of Fourth of July performing on the Fourth of July, tonight's twin-bill doubleheader offers a chance to celebrate our nation's birth with two Lawrence bands whose colors don't run ... More info
- Fourth of July Fireworks
- Deadman Flats / Rev. Deadeye’s No Man Gospel Band
- Big Cat KS / The Calamity Cubes
