Martin Luther King Chavez Dosh (born September 6, 1972), known in music as
Dosh, is a musician and
multi-instrumentalistA multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:The European Piffari,...
based in Minneapolis,
MinnesotaMinnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...
. As an artist, Dosh is a percussionist who uses various electronics, often with a
Fender RhodesThe Rhodes piano is an electromechanical musical instrument, a famous electric piano. Its distinctive sound has appeared in thousands of songs of all musical styles, since it was first introduced in 1965. Since its rennaisance in the 1990s, it has again become very popular and widely used...
. Dosh has been characterized mostly as experimental and electronic-based due to his use of many samplers and looping machines and the rhythmic feel of much of his music, with songs often relying on Dosh alone on keyboards, marimba, and drums. Dosh is often in collaboration with other musicians during live sets and on recording, both locally and nationally known.
Dosh's most recent release from May 2008 is
Wolves and WishesWolves and Wishes is the fourth full-length musical album by Dosh, released on 13 May 2008 on the anticon. label. The album features appearances from Bonnie ’Prince’ Billy and Andrew Bird; as well as Fog, labelmates Odd Nosdam, and long-time contributors, Mike Lewis and Jeremy Ylvisaker.-Track...
.
Martin Luther King Chavez Dosh (born September 6, 1972), known in music as
Dosh, is a musician and
multi-instrumentalistA multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:The European Piffari,...
based in Minneapolis,
MinnesotaMinnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...
. As an artist, Dosh is a percussionist who uses various electronics, often with a
Fender RhodesThe Rhodes piano is an electromechanical musical instrument, a famous electric piano. Its distinctive sound has appeared in thousands of songs of all musical styles, since it was first introduced in 1965. Since its rennaisance in the 1990s, it has again become very popular and widely used...
. Dosh has been characterized mostly as experimental and electronic-based due to his use of many samplers and looping machines and the rhythmic feel of much of his music, with songs often relying on Dosh alone on keyboards, marimba, and drums. Dosh is often in collaboration with other musicians during live sets and on recording, both locally and nationally known.
Dosh's most recent release from May 2008 is
Wolves and WishesWolves and Wishes is the fourth full-length musical album by Dosh, released on 13 May 2008 on the anticon. label. The album features appearances from Bonnie ’Prince’ Billy and Andrew Bird; as well as Fog, labelmates Odd Nosdam, and long-time contributors, Mike Lewis and Jeremy Ylvisaker.-Track...
. The album features appearances from
Bonnie ’Prince’ BillyWill Oldham, a.k.a. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy , is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. From 1993 to 1997 he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music.-Music:Will Oldham is known for his "do-it-yourself punk aesthetic...
,
Andrew BirdAndrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Chicago and currently splits his time between Chicago and a farm near the town of Elizabeth in northwest Illinois...
,
FogFog is a band fronted by Andrew Broder, which includes members Mark Erickson and Tim Glenn. For most of their existence, material released by Fog had been produced largely by Broder alone, combining both traditionally performed instruments and turntable-derived samples, until the switch to a...
,
Odd NosdamOdd Nosdam is a musician, DJ, artist, and co-founder and ex-art director of San Francisco Bay Area record label/collective Anticon....
, and long-time contributors,
Mike LewisMike Lewis is a Minnesota saxophonist and bassist. He is currently playing saxophone in Fat Kid Wednesdays and Happy Apple. Michael also plays electric bass in Alpha Consumer and Red Start. He has also contributed to other projects, such as Dosh's 2006 LP The Lost Take. He is currently playing...
and Jeremy Ylvisaker.
History
Dosh grew up in the Twin Cities. At a young age he also took
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons and then discovered FM radio in the early '80s. Dosh began drumming at age 15. By the time he left home for Simon's Rock College at age 16, he had decided music would likely be his profession, however, he subsequently got a degree in creative writing.
Throughout the '90s, he played with a number of bands on the East Coast. When he moved back to Minneapolis in 1997, he started his own band, as he had begun to compose his own music. He also worked at his alma mater, Lake Country School, teaching percussion, driving the school bus, and assisting classroom teachers. Immersing himself in the local scene, Dosh played with many bands over the next five years: Nasty Goat, Best Red, Animals Expert At Hankering, Iffy, Vicious Vicious, "T," and Lateduster; all this time, recording tape after tape of original music on a 4-track machine.
Dosh's work with Andrew Broder in
LatedusterLateduster was a music group composed of a diverse group of musicians from the vibrant Minneapolis music underground. They made instrumental mood music with a selective combination of live drums, bass, guitars, turntables, and keys run through a myriad of effects and samplers...
and
FogFog is a band fronted by Andrew Broder, which includes members Mark Erickson and Tim Glenn. For most of their existence, material released by Fog had been produced largely by Broder alone, combining both traditionally performed instruments and turntable-derived samples, until the switch to a...
gave him an experience that helped him begin to perform solo. In 2002, he released his debut recording,
Dosh CD, which he had recorded himself, mostly in his basement. The CD developed a following in the local Twin Cities scene.
After playing many shows, City Pages voted him second on their annual "picked to click" list.
Dosh CD was re-released internationally in September 2003 on anticon. records, and was reviewed in the
Village Voice, Urb, Flaunt, Xlr8r, The Big Takeover, and a number of online magazines.
Dosh is also known for the incorporation of his family life into his work. His EP,
Naoise is named after his son. On "Naoise" is "Happy Song for Tadgh," a reference to Naiose's half-brother, Tadgh. He is also known for writing a song for his future wife at the time called, "I Think I'm Getting Married."
Martin Dosh has toured extensively with
Andrew BirdAndrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Chicago and currently splits his time between Chicago and a farm near the town of Elizabeth in northwest Illinois...
, and contributed significantly to his 2007 album,
Armchair ApocryphaArmchair Apocrypha is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's fourth studio album and his third post-Bowl of Fire album. The album features more electric guitars, a change from the more acoustic-oriented Eggs, though the songs are similar in character if slightly more straightforward."Simple X"...
, co-writing songs like "The Supine" and "Simple X".
Albums
- Dosh
-Track listing:#"Water Turn Off Notice"#"You Can't Make Me Cry"#"Song for Zelbert Moore"#"DJ DJ"#"India India"#"My Favorite Color's Red"#"My Girl's Ex-Car"#"Chuck, Jane"#"Steve the Cat"#"If I Could Sing"#"Party Tractor"#"Forgot Myself"...
(2002, re-released 2003)
- Pure Trash
Pure Trash is the second full-legnth album by Dosh, released on 11 October, 2004 on the anticon. label.-Track listing:#"Simple Exercises"#"Dark Lord of Rhodes"#"This Is When Things Were Looking Up"#"Rock It to the Next Episode"#"Bye Rhodsy"...
(2004)
- The Lost Take
The Lost Take is a 2006 album by Dosh, released on anticon. The album features many contributors, most notably Andrew Bird on violin and whistling.-Track listing:#"One Through Seven"#"Everybody Cheer Up Song"#"Um, Circles and Squares"...
(2006)
- Wolves and Wishes
Wolves and Wishes is the fourth full-length musical album by Dosh, released on 13 May 2008 on the anticon. label. The album features appearances from Bonnie ’Prince’ Billy and Andrew Bird; as well as Fog, labelmates Odd Nosdam, and long-time contributors, Mike Lewis and Jeremy Ylvisaker.-Track...
(2008)
EPs
- Naoise EP (2004)
- Powder Horn (2005)
- Triple Rock (2007)
Live and limited-release albums
- Live on KVSC 3-3-03 (2003)
- Numerous Quality Mixes (2003)
- Live in the USA 2003 (2004)
- Live on KALX 11-18-04 (2005)
Work as a contributor
- Armchair Apocrypha
Armchair Apocrypha is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's fourth studio album and his third post-Bowl of Fire album. The album features more electric guitars, a change from the more acoustic-oriented Eggs, though the songs are similar in character if slightly more straightforward."Simple X"...
, Andrew Bird (2007)
- Noble Beast
Noble Beast is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's fourth solo studio album released on January 20, 2009. Two songs from this album were previewed on his webpage, "Oh No" and "Carrion Suite", while the entire album was made available by NPR as a streaming feed...
, Andrew Bird (2009)
See also
- Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Chicago and currently splits his time between Chicago and a farm near the town of Elizabeth in northwest Illinois...
- Mike Lewis
Mike Lewis is a Minnesota saxophonist and bassist. He is currently playing saxophone in Fat Kid Wednesdays and Happy Apple. Michael also plays electric bass in Alpha Consumer and Red Start. He has also contributed to other projects, such as Dosh's 2006 LP The Lost Take. He is currently playing...
- Happy Apple
Happy Apple is an American jazz trio.Formed in 1996 in Minneapolis, members of the band are David King , Michael Lewis and Erik Fratzke ....
- anticon.
External links