NOT AFRAID TO GO THE WAY OF THE DODO

The Dodo has it bad. First of all, it’s extinct…kind of the biggest beating a species could ever take. Not only that, but the poor bird tends to serve as the ultimate metaphor for falling out of favor with the times. Don’t get with it, and you’ll go the way of the Dodo…Kind of sounds like something every struggling musician hears from just about everyone around them at some point in their life (Get a real job!)…Which actually makes embracing the Dodo as the ultimate underdog, in a way, kind of one of the more punk rock things a band could ever do. Enter San Francisco duo The Dodos.

Conceived in ’06, Dodobird served as the original vessel for Meric Long’s acoustic, one man band. While he dressed his songs up in a variety of samples and keyboard programming, Long sought to improve his lonely line up by adding a drummer well versed in the kind of syncopated rhythms to which he was a scholar. Through a chance introduction from his roommate, Long met drummer Logan Kroeber, and the Dodos were born (how ironic…).

This March, Frenchkiss will release the duo’s second album, Visiter. Written entirely while on the road between the Fall of ’06 and Summer of ’07, first single “Fools” (offered below) is a pulsating, Animal Collective-esque romp, chugging along to Long’s percussive, rhythm guitar and Long’s immediate, tom tom drive. It is a catchy little number…here’s hoping the rest of Visiter holds up. In support, The Dodos will crisscross the country this Winter. See if they are playing you’re city, below… - David Pitz

The Dodos On Tour
01-28 Manhattan, NY @ Mercury Lounge
02-02 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
02-15 San Jose, CA @ The Blank Club
02-28 San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord/Noise Pop
03-08 Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell/Los Angeles (all ages) *
03-09 San Diego, CA @ The Elephant Bar/San Diego *
03-11 Juarez, Mexico @ The Line Bar *
03-12 – 03-16 Austin, TX @ SXSW
03-19 Ft. Worth, TX @ Lola’s
03-22 Marfa, TX @ Ballroom
03-23 Houston, TX @ Mink
04-04 Annandale on Hudson, NY @ Bard College
04-19 Bloomington, IN @ Culture Shock Festival
04-20 Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
04-21 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
04-26 Coachella, CA @ Coachella Festival **

* w/Thee OhSees
** - as part of Akron/Family
* * * * * * * * * * * *
MP3: The Dodos:: “Fools” – Visiter
The Dodos @ MySpace