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Memory Interrupted 3:410:00 / 3:41
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The Full Affect 4:030:00 / 4:03
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California 4:150:00 / 4:15
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So Over It 4:060:00 / 4:06
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Secret To The Grave 3:370:00 / 3:37
“Success is just a series of accomplishments that you acquire throughout the journey of life. You set goals and you achieve them, and then you set more goals. We become hopeful that “others” will notice what we are doing, and this becomes the “Fame” scenario.”
— Dodd Michael Lede
the dml conspiracy press kit
The DML Conspiracy
Artist biograpy
The DML Conspiracy is driven with a guttural sense of purpose and determination to forge their own and leave behind a legacy of quality music that will live well beyond their time.
From the ashes of a disbanded DML Cartel, singer/songwriter, Dodd Michael Lede, formed the DML Conspiracy out of necessity. “It was time to put together a band in order to play these songs live,” Lede admits. “I had been writing and recording these songs over the span of a four-year period. I wanted someone else, outside of my inner circle, to hear what I had been doing.”
With a full assortment of instrumentation, including two guitarists, Landyn Lyerla and Lance Stephens, coupled with Steve Green on keyboards and backing vocals, all areas of the sonic spectrum were covered. Add the solid rhythm section of Marty Flynn on drums and Shawn Carr on bass, and you have an unstoppable force. The cherry on top is the addition of female lead vocalist Shawna Cole.
What Lede created, was a band that possessed a desire to go the distance. This is a group of musicians with diverse influences that reach well outside the traditional territory of rock music.
The DML Conspiracy consists of common denominators that gravitated to each other because they understand that music is more than just a soundwave drifting through the in-betweens of inner space. It is a deep rooted calling that drives them to carry it one step, or possibly several steps, forward, to leave it as a calling card for future generations to pick it up and continue the process.
Their new release, An Act Of Defiance, contains fourteen tracks that dig deep into the soul of Lede’s musical core. Each song telling a story about the inner-turmoil of individual suffering, as evident on songs like California, Secret To The Grave, and Cancer, to relationships (All I Need, Butterfly Tattoo), and a tribute to Elton John, with a stellar rendition of Rocket Man.
By aligning their unwavering dedication to the do-it-yourself work ethic, The DML Conspiracy has stepped outside the cookie-cutter trap that most bands fall into, not to invent a new genre, but to create a musical experiment that breaks down genre-stereotypes and unites listeners with a diverse range of musical flavors to suit all tastes.
Musically speaking, An Act Of Defiance is dark, moody, and confident, but if you strip back the electric guitars, and the driving rhythms, the bare essentials of each song would still tread water well enough to be recognized for what they are; truly great songs.
With this release, Lede breaks through the plastic to capture the soundtrack to his life’s endeavors. An Act Of Defiance has attitude, and it has passion. There is a sense of maturity about the songwriting, but there is no mistaking the underlying influences. With his signature sound, Lede continues to wear his rock & roll past on his sleeve like a badge of honor.
Press & Reviews
Canyon Creek Films
Band Writeup
This is a rock & roll science project. It has everything to do with chemistry. The chemistry between the players, and the chemistry of combining various influences together just to see what it would have sounded like if they had thought of it first.
When you hear Dodd Michael Lede’s Americana/Blues infused southern rock stylings, it’s clear this Houston transplant, from New York via Los Angeles, is deliberately trying to make a permanent brand for his style of music. Lede is a natural-born talent in the songwriting arena. He has a knack for finding melodies that hook you, but also make you pay attention. He is a storyteller with a penchant for descriptive word-play.
If you look a little bit closer, you find out that his success isn’t an overnight run, but rather the byproduct of an artist working tirelessly, seizing every opportunity and breaking free of genre conformity.
From his grassroots beginning, it was evident that Lede was destined for greatness. He has earned a reputation as a leader in his field by setting the bar high, and then going above and beyond his own expectations. He is constantly challenging his peers to step up their efforts. He is an advocate of the DIY philosophy and has taken measures to ensure that his fans leave with nothing less than a spectacular experience and a story to tell their friends.
Under his indie label, Sonic Smack Records, Lede has constructed an enticing stage production, recording studio, and a management team to handle every aspect of his career, and he is now expanding his musical community to help others with their personal musical endeavors.
No doubt that his latest release “Perfect Storm,” hot on the heels of the sultry favorite, “Memory Interrupted,” is gaining accolades and is propelling Lede in the Houston Rock charts, where he has resided in the top 10 for the past 15 weeks.
He is at the forefront of the singer/songwriting class of 2020. His musical flexibility makes a bold statement that he will not be bound to one specific musical genre.
Although his musical childhood was spent fronting rock bands throughout the greater Houston area, his songwriting has matured into a more polished and refined Americana pop sensibility. He is continuously redefining his musical identity to incorporate flavors from other genres.
Lede was born in New York but spent most of his formative years in Los Angeles before eventually being forced to relocate to Houston when his father accepted a new job offer. Each of these unique city’s has had a major impact on influencing Lede’s songwriting and musical direction and growth.
We are the common denominators that gravitated to each other because we understand that music is more than just a sound wave drifting through the in-betweens of inner space. It is a deep-rooted calling that drives us to carry it one step, or possibly several steps, forward. To leave it as a calling card for future generations to pick it up and continue the process.
This is a rock & roll science project. It has everything to do with chemistry. The chemistry between the players, and the chemistry of combining various influences together just to see what it would have sounded like if they had thought of it first.
We will not adhere to the common practices and mistakes of the temporary bands around us, that form, disband, and reform only to disband again in a cycle of continuous failure.
We've been doing this long enough to know what works, what doesn't work, and what bullshit looks and sounds like, and we will stay clear of those things that would deter us from our mission of creating timeless music.
We are driven with a guttural sense of purpose and determination to forge our own empire and leave behind a legacy of quality music that will live well beyond our time.
OhBaeBee
The DML Conspiracy
Alternative
Back in the saddle with a new CD, and a new band, DML Conspiracy front man, Dodd Michael Lede, has released what promises to be his best work yet. A collection of songs entitled An Act of Defiance, available on Sonic Smack Records, reveals melodic chord structures, vocal hooks and harmonies, and layers of guitar driven grace and tone.
At a time when too much technology and too many stylists have paralyzed rock & roll with a synthetic sheen, Lede’s approach to songwriting is raw and honest. The music is well crafted with subtle references to a multitude of genres. This catalog of songs should solidify Lede’s place as a songwriter in his own right. The inspirations and personal demons create a biography of true stories set to music. The end result is a collection of stirring and evocative songs. An Act of Defiance is available on CD, and all major streaming services.
The DML Conspiracy is driven with a guttural sense of purpose and determination to forge their own and leave behind a legacy of quality music that will live well beyond their time.
From the ashes of a disbanded DML Cartel, singer/songwriter, Dodd Michael Lede, formed the DML Conspiracy out of necessity. “It was time to put together a band in order to play these songs live,” Lede admits. “I had been writing and recording these songs over the span of a four-year period. I wanted someone else, outside of my inner circle, to hear what I had been doing.”
With a full assortment of instrumentation, including two guitarists, Landyn Lyerla and Lance Stephens, coupled with Steve Green on keyboards and backing vocals, all areas of the sonic spectrum were covered. Add the solid rhythm section of Marty Flynn on drums and Shawn Carr on bass, and you have an unstoppable force. The cherry on top is the addition of female lead vocalist Shawna Cole.
What Lede created, was a band that possessed a desire to go the distance. This is a group of musicians with diverse influences that reach well outside the traditional territory of rock music.
The DML Conspiracy consists of common denominators that gravitated to each other because they understand that music is more than just a soundwave drifting through the in-betweens of inner space. It is a deep rooted calling that drives them to carry it one step, or possibly several steps, forward, to leave it as a calling card for future generations to pick it up and continue the process.
Their new release, An Act Of Defiance, contains fourteen tracks that dig deep into the soul of Lede’s musical core. Each song telling a story about the inner-turmoil of individual suffering, as evident on songs like California, Secret To The Grave, and Cancer, to relationships (All I Need, Butterfly Tattoo), and a tribute to Elton John, with a stellar rendition of Rocket Man.
By aligning their unwavering dedication to the do-it-yourself work ethic, The DML Conspiracy has stepped outside the cookie-cutter trap that most bands fall into, not to invent a new genre, but to create a musical experiment that breaks down genre-stereotypes and unites listeners with a diverse range of musical flavors to suit all tastes.
Musically speaking, An Act Of Defiance is dark, moody, and confident, but if you strip back the electric guitars, and the driving rhythms, the bare essentials of each song would still tread water well enough to be recognized for what they are; truly great songs.
With this release, Lede breaks through the plastic to capture the soundtrack to his life’s endeavors. An Act Of Defiance has attitude, and it has passion. There is a sense of maturity about the songwriting, but there is no mistaking the underlying influences. With his signature sound, Lede continues to wear his rock & roll past on his sleeve like a badge of honor.
Pulse-alternatve magazine
Pulse-Alternative Magazine
An Act Of Defiance
(Sonic Smack Records, 14 March 2020)
Rising, phoenix like, from the ashes of DML Cartel come the six piece Southern Rock/Texas Country hybrid THE DML CONSPIRACY. Still featuring the irrepressible singer/songwriter Dodd Michael Lede, he’s built a rock machine that seems set to conquer the world and the first fruit from this sextet, AN ACT OF DEFIANCE, finds them getting off to a flying start.
Opening with some bright and shiny guitar ‘Secret To The Grave’ soon evolves into a rocking earworm of the finest order and, with an insanely catchy melody, it’ll bury deep into your cranium. The DML Conspiracy benefit from four strong vocalists and, whilst Shawna Cole took lead on the opening salvo, for the following ‘So Over It’ Dodd Michael Lede steps up to the plate to add his silky tones as the backing vocalists provide rich textures. Factor in a fine chugging riff and some swirling keys and you have a heady brew that leaves the listener punch drunk. A cyclonic neo-psychedelia that brings to mind Cheap Trick or Kings X permeates ‘Cancer’ before ‘California’ bursts into life like a bud in bright sunshine.
Drawing influence from the likes of Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Aerosmith and Van Halen, The DML Conspiracy are a pleasing amalgamation of contemporary and classic rock and they don’t seem afraid to take inspiration from any point of rock’s long lineage, which is how it should be. Shawna’s back on vocals for the bright and breezy ‘Butterfly Tattoo’ with it’s guitars that fire all sorts of goodness. While some might find the rotation of vocalists a little perplexing I like the multi-faceted nature it gives the album and it stands to reason that if you have four strong voices you should tailor them to the appropriate song. ‘All I Need’ eases up on the gas for a more measured feel before ‘Memory Interrupted’ hits the highway for a perfect driving song.
Yet, despite the constant flux of tempo changes and singers, ‘An Act Of Defiance’ hangs together as a cohesive whole and that’s primarily due to the songwriting skills of Dodd Michael Lede. Each song is like a mini novella telling a certain tale and we can really emphasize with the characters contained within. Guitarists Landyn Lyeria and Lance Stephens fire off each other for the riff heavy ‘Perfect Storm’ before the rhythm section (bassist Shawn Carr and drummer Marty Flynn) come into their own on the groovy ‘Played’. A surprise cover of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ works rather well especially when supplemented by Steve Green’s keys which spiral the song upwards.
‘Prize Possession’ takes a darker turn, a nocturnal trawl through the bands native Houston, it jumps like a cat on a hot tin roof. Liberally marinated in Americana ‘You Ain’t Making It Easy’ saunters along with a bad case of the blues as ‘The Full Effect’ reveals itself to be a hard hitting, punchy affair. That brings us to album closer ‘Lost & Found’ which successfully pulls all the albums strands together for a laid back, yet defiant, song that has that ‘moving on’ vibe, very much in the vein of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Tuesday’s Gone’.
That ‘An Act Of Defiance’ arrived so fully formed shouldn’t really come as a surprise considering the caliber and pedigree of the musicians involved. So if you want a slice of America...start right here!