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Dodd has been fronting rock bands since he was sixteen. He formed his first band, Me’an Mills, with Jon Mills in Savannah, GA. The band released three recordings before splitting, and Dodd and Mills moved to Athens, GA to form Rags. Ferrelle left Rags in 1998 to pursue his own musical vision drawing inspiration from his musical heroes the Beatles, Paul Westerberg and the Waterboy’s Mike Scott. Dodd released his solo debut, A Carriage On The Hill, in 2001. The CD was recorded shortly before the formation of the Tinfoil Stars and features a host of Athens musicians (members of Asa Nisi Masa, Star Room Boys, Japancakes and Mercyland among others). Former Sugar bassist and renowned producer David Barbe produced and played bass and other instruments on the CD. Songs from A Carriage On the Hill received considerable attention; "Strung Out (like the Lights at Christmastime)" won a BMI Songwriting Award, and "Shadows and Rain" was considered for inclusion in the soundtrack to the film The Legend Of Bagger Vance. A Carriage On The Hill was a continuation of the roots rock sounds Dodd created with Me’an Mills, the country leanings of Rags and the Celtic sounds that prevail in Dodd’s best ballads, but Dodd was ready to apply these sounds to a traveling rock ‘n roll band. The Tinfoil Stars were formed in mid 2001 with this purpose in mind. |
The Tinfoil Stars began when guitarist Tim Adams (formerly of Snail) began collaborating with Dodd on new material. Tim brought in his former bass player Michelle McClure who in turn recruited Dan Orchik (formerly of Deacon Brody and Revolution Block). The band members’ individual backgrounds and musical tastes are the most probable explanation for the band’s rich, diverse but cohesive sound. The Tinfoil Stars are what you get when you put a bass player who spent her formative years in Alaska listening to Devo and Frank Zappa with a guitarist who has lived in Chicago and San Francisco listening to Kiss and UFO and a drummer from Memphis who listened to everything from Slayer to Curtis Mayfield together. They are a rock ‘n roll band that likes to be on the road.
Dodd & The Stars entered Chase Park Transductons with David Barbe in 2002 to record their first CD, Always Almost There. They came out with a big sounding rock ‘n roll record that still maintains some of the roots sound associated with Dodd’s previous work. Some critics will describe the new CD as Americana, Heartland Rock or Roots Rock. Call it would you will, but there is no denying the song writing smarts and hooks, and the way the band just plain rocks. The CD had a local release in November 2002, and a national release will occur in the spring of 2003 through Hep Cat distribution. The band has started touring to support the CD and is cultivating a higher profile in increasingly more cities. Dodd Ferrelle and the Tinfoil Stars will be bringing their New American Rock to your town soon.
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