Nobody does Beggars
of Life like The Dodge Brothers. The
UK-based group plays an exuberant hybrid of old-time American music - country
blues, jug band, rock-a-billy and swing. And they do so accompanying silent
films, notably the 1928 Louise Brooks vehicle, Beggars of Life.
The Dodge Brothers play
what might be termed "roots music." Described as "wonderful
stuff" on British radio, the band has gained a large reputation across the
UK for putting on a show.
Twice within the coming
week, The Dodge Brothers will accompany Beggars
of Life. On Saturday, April 21, the band performed at a free outdoor
screening of the film at the 18th Bradford International Film Festival in Bradford,
England. And on April 29, Beggars of Life (1928) will screen at Barbican as part of its silent film & live music
series. This screening will feature live musical accompaniment by The Dodge
Brothers, with guest musician Neil Brand on the piano.
To date, The Dodge Brothers have released two
albums. The group is made up of Mike
Hammond (lead guitar, lead vocals), Mark Kermode (bass, harmonica, vocals) -
who also works as a film critic and broadcaster, Aly Hirji (rhythm guitar,
mandolin, vocals), and Alex Hammond (washboard, snare drum, percussion). Brand,
well known in the UK as a silent film accompanist, has sat in with the group on
a number of occasions.
Mike Hammond - the group's singer (and silent film
expert) answered a few questions a while back about their music, Louise Brooks,
and silent film.
Thomas Gladysz: The
Dodge Brothers will accompanied the Louise Brooks' film, Beggars of Life,
twice in the coming weeks. For those not familiar with the Dodge Brothers, what
can you tell us about the group?
Dodge Brothers: Well here is the short version. The Dodge Brothers
are a four-piece band modeled on the skiffle and jug bands of the 20s and 30s.
Each of us plays more than one instrument, Aly plays acoustic guitar and
mandolin, Alex plays washboard, snare and wine bottle, I play guitar, banjo,
piano and tap dance while Mark plays double bass, harmonicas, accordion and is
soon to unveil his prowess on the bag pipes.
We started from a love of the music that leads up to
Elvis, which ranges widely from railroad songs, murder ballads to ragged street
blues. We got going learning ten songs (‘Frankie and Johnny’ and ‘Stagger Lee’
among others) and over the years we have amassed about 150 songs. A couple of
years ago we started to write our own songs that resulted in our album Louisa and the Devil. Mark started this
by bringing in Church House Blues and
saying it was by an old jug band. We still do that; if it fools the rest of us
into believing its authentic then we play it. (Did I say short version?)
Thomas Gladysz: With that
said, what can one expect - musically speaking, when you accompany Beggars
of Life?
Dodge Brothers: The score
for the film will draw from those old songs from the period. I am a silent film
scholar and I know that Paramount had the most film theatres in the rural areas
so it was not uncommon for them to release different versions of films, one for
the big cities and one for the rural towns. I have kept this in mind when
thinking about the score.
The lovely Troubadors version of Beggars of Life was meant as a theme for the film and we will be
incorporating a version of that but combining it with motifs which call up
railroad songs that were popular during the period, particularly those by
Jimmie Rogers. Lots of those songs are really about hobos riding the rails and
they have a wonderful wistfulness about them, a mixture of loneliness and humor
that both fits the film and the way we play.
Thomas Gladysz: Beggars of Life is unlike any of Brooks' earlier American films. Had you seen it before? And what were your impressions?
Thomas Gladysz: Beggars of Life is unlike any of Brooks' earlier American films. Had you seen it before? And what were your impressions?
Dodge Brothers: You’re so
right about it being an exceptional Brooks film. Most people associate her with
the Jazz Age flapper-type but in this film she plays a girl on the run, dressed
as a boy! None of us had seen the film before and it was our fifth member, the
fabulous pianist and silent film composer Neil Brand, who drew it to our
attention. Brooks really ‘pops’ out of the screen and holds her own with
Wallace Beery, which is no mean feat. The tension that is generated by her
masquerade as a boy amongst a lot of rough hobos is tight as a drum. There is a
real sense of menace and danger from the beginning where ‘The Girl’ (Louise)
takes matters into her own hands with a firearm. She reminds me of Louisa in
our song The Ballad of Frank Harris.
Maybe that’s what I really like about this film, she is self-sufficient and an
equal partner with Arlen. And she can shoot a gun!
Thomas Gladysz: Are you a fan of Louise Brooks?
Thomas Gladysz: Are you a fan of Louise Brooks?
Dodge Brothers: Oh yes and not only because of the fact that she
is the most compelling of screen stars. She is intuitive as an actress and
gives the sense that she is being rather than acting. I do think Pabst
understood that best. However, I am as big a fan of her writing. She is
incisive and brutal in her analysis of Hollywood and, perhaps most touching, of
herself.
Thomas Gladysz: When
did you first come across the actress?
Dodge Brothers: I can’t speak for the rest of the guys. I first
saw her in an undergraduate film class in the 80s. It was Pandora’s Box.
I remember thinking; of course these guys are giving away everything for her,
who wouldn’t?
Thomas Gladysz: Louise Brooks has been getting the musical treatment. Rufus Wainwright released a musical tribute to Louise Brooks titled All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu. And of course, it was preceded by earlier rock and pop musical tributes by the likes of Orchestral Manuevers in the Dark (OMD), Marillion, Australian Jen Anderson, Soul Coughing, and others - even the cartoonist Robert Crumb. Where might your score fit into this history?
Thomas Gladysz: Louise Brooks has been getting the musical treatment. Rufus Wainwright released a musical tribute to Louise Brooks titled All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu. And of course, it was preceded by earlier rock and pop musical tributes by the likes of Orchestral Manuevers in the Dark (OMD), Marillion, Australian Jen Anderson, Soul Coughing, and others - even the cartoonist Robert Crumb. Where might your score fit into this history?
Dodge Brothers: Well all of these tributes are really great and
it’s nice to be in their company. I haven’t heard Rufus Wainwright’s but I
guess in this history we will probably be closer to R. Crumb’s. We are trying
to bring a flavour of the kind of music that might have been played in the
rural areas of the US to this film.
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