The DML Cartel

Hard work and perseverance are paying off for Houston hopeful, Dodd Michael Lede, and his band, The DML Cartel Lede has begun to see the fruits of his labors as his band holds the coveted top spot in the Texas Top Forty music charts with "St. Talisa" and has the number 8 spot with "Happy Ever After."

The DML Cartel debut CD, "Word Of Mouth," was released in the fall of 2007, while the band’s cover-band alter-ego, Bare Necessity, was still riding high on the crest of being the 2007 Houston Texans house band. The new CD has been greeted favorably by the critics and is poised to put Lede well on his way to being a recognized songwriter in his genre.

Along with playing the Texans 2007 season home games as Bare Necessity, the band still continued to perform its regular shows both as The DML Cartel and Bare Necessity. In addition, the band was also featured on local television, performing on the Great Day Houston show, and appeared on 94.5 KTBZ's local show, The Texas Buzz.

The DML Cartel was formed out of Bare Necessity, a working cover band based in the Galveston area consisting of a group of friends with a passion for music. Lede joined original members Derek Prather (guitar), Brooks Rogers (drums), & Fred Morecraft (bass) in September of 2004 replacing their previous singer to fill the bands need for a dynamic front man.

Bare Necessity quickly became one the hardest working bands in Galveston and its surrounding areas. Setting record turnouts for the venues that they performed, they were hailed as an "energetic party band" by the local press.

The inclusion of guitarist, John Rinkus, led to the creation of a second group — The DML Cartel, which plays original music, as opposed to Bare Necessity’s use of previously written material.

“I had been working with John in the studio recording tracks for what would become 'Word Of Mouth' and performing with Bare Necessity live. I was bouncing back and forth between the two projects, so it seemed like a great idea to join both forces and create something new.” says Lede.

The band has performed under both monikers for the past two years, but due to scheduling conflicts, has added bassist, Mark Head, and drummer, Jason Falzon, to perform exclusively with The DML Cartel.

“This is a rock & roll science project.” Dodd muses, “It all has to do with chemistry. The chemistry between the players, and the chemistry of combining various influences together just to see what if would have sounded like if they had thought of it first.”

Lede, who has two prior releases, 2002's "Whatever Happened to You," and 2004's "Sophomore Jinx," is no stranger to the business side of the music industry. Lede is the founder of Sonic Smack Records and has also released music from previous bands as well as Myrna Sanders.. 2003 release, "Riches to Rags." in which he also wrote the song, "Closure."

Each song on "Word Of Mouth" remains clear and focused. There is a sense of maturity about the songwriting, but there is no mistaking that the underlying influences are very rock & roll.

Melodic chord structures, vocal hooks and harmonies, and layers of guitar driven grace and tone, this catalog of songs should solidify Lede’s place as a songwriter in his own right. The inspirations and personal demons create an autobiography of true stories set to music. The end result is a collection of stirring and evocative songs.

Lede has a knack for stimulating the tired old clichéd sounds that are prevalent in much of today's music. He has stepped outside of the cookie-cutter box trap that most bands fall into, not to invent a new genre, but to redefine an existing one.

Other hats Lede wears quite frequently are guitar instructor, producer, promoter, and music publicist.