Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Chris Dodds began playing the drums at the age of 12. Music came naturally as grandparents on both sides of his family were professional musicians. Chris Dodds: "My mom tells me how her dad played banjo in dance bands around the area to help put groceries on the table."



In 1991, Chris Dodds met and began performing with Chris Taylor, a local songwriter who was putting a band together. Together with Matt Slocum on guitar (who later founded Sixpence None the Richer), the three of them formed Love Coma. They went on to record two full-length albums for R.E.X. records in Nashville, and toured 26 states and southern Canada.



In 1993, Matt left the band to pursue his other interests. It was this departure that provided Chris Dodds the opportunity to record the first Sixpence None the Richer release "The Fatherless and the Widow" produced by Armand John Petri (Goo Goo Dolls, 10,000 Maniacs). This release was critically acclaimed as "one of the 10 Best LPs of the year" by Billboard Critic's Choice in 1993, and Chris toured across the midwest with Sixpence during the summer of 1995.



After Love Coma broke up in 1997, Chris Dodds continued working with Chris Taylor recording the pre-production demos for what would become Taylor's first solo release "Down Goes the Day", produced by Steve Dady (Wayne Watson) on Rhythm House records. Chris also toured with Taylor and filmed a video for "God only Knows", the album's first single.



During the video shoot he met Ruben V., a Texas blues guitarist in search of a drummer. After performing a handful of shows with Ruben, Chris Dodds accepted the job and while playing with Ruben, he had the opportunity to record his independent release "Home", produced by Richard Mullen (Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Johnson).



At the turn of the new millennium Chris Dodds found himself looking to play with other artists and in search of a higher profile gig. He began playing with Sean Castillo and the Hubcaps, a local roots/rockabilly favorite in San Antonio. While playing with the Hubcaps, Chris received a call to join Two Tons of Steel, a western swing meets early roots/rockabilly outfit.



Within his first 2 months of playing with Two Tons, Chris Dodds found himself live onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and sponsored by Lone Star Beer! In the spring of 2003, Two Tons recorded "Transparent" and was proud to work with Grammy Award winning producer Lloyd Maines (Dixie Chicks).



Chris Dodds has also appeared in two feature films with Two Tons of Steel: "Barbecue: A Texas Love Story" (www.bbqfilm.com) and "Texas: The Big Picture" (an IMAX film about the state of Texas, commissioned by the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History in Austin).



On the strength of our indie release "Transparent", as well as the appearances onstage the Grand Ole Opry, Two Tons signed with Palo Duro Records in August of 2004. They worked once again with Lloyd Maines and our first recording for the label, "Vegas", was released June 28, 2005.



"Vegas" did well, charting nationally at number 11 on the national Americana Music Chart, number 6 on XM Satellite radio's X Country chart, and 11 on the Roots Top 100 Music Chart. The title track and first single "Vegas" climbed to number 7 on the Texas Music Chart.



Chris Dodds and Two Tons of Steel play about 150 dates annually including our "Two Ton Tuesdays" at Gruene Hall, the oldest dancehall in Texas where we perform to over 10,000 people over 13 consecutive Tuesdays every summer.



On June 26th of 2005, Chris performed for over 1,300 people at the hall shooting for a live cd/dvd dual package which was released earlier this year on Palo Duro Records. It's called "Two Ton Tuesdays - Live!" and captures the excitement of our Two Ton Tuesdays every summer at Gruene Hall. They were awarded a gold Remi award at the 39th annual WorldFest video awards in Houston, Texas earlier this year for our "Two Ton Tuesdays - Live!" dvd.



In his five years with Two Tons, Chris Dodds has enjoyed seven appearances onstage of the Grand Ole Opry, appearances in two films, multiple tours throughout Europe, numerous radio programs both regionally and nationally, and presently is enjoying touring throughout the United States and Europe. Two Tons has also been awarded 'San Antonio Country Band of the Year' by the San Antonio Current music magazine for over eight years.



Chris Dodds is currently residing in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife, Crystal and their five children.