The Dodos Do Late-Night:
CMC Alumnus in Band
Performing on Letterman

Bay Area indie rock band The Dodos will perform on The Late Show with David Letterman on Friday, Jan. 8 (11:35 ET/PT) on CBS. Showcasing their new CD, Time to Die, on Frenchkiss Records, the three-member band features frontman singer/songwriter and CMC alumnus Meric Long, who graduated in 2002 after majoring in anthropology.
(Meric is the son of CMC alumnus Robert Long '60 and the brother of CMC Class of 1994 graduate Milton Long.)
Band mate Logan Kroeber has been playing music with Long since 2005, the same year Long released a solo EP titled Dodo Bird that included percussion by Kroeber on some of the tracks. A year later the duo released the 2006 album Beware of the Maniacs. Extensive touring to promote the album led to a growing fan base and critical praise. In 2007, the duo signed with Frenchkiss Records to produce its second album, Visiter, the following year.
In 2009, The Dodos added to their group a vibraphone player (and music school dropout) Keaton Snyder. Their resulting collaboration, Time to Die (available on iTunes) continues to propel their fan base. Fables, the CD's first single, has nearly 29,000 views on YouTube so far.
"After Visiter, we had a lot of options for which direction to go," Long has said. "But I knew we wanted a make a rock record. Being an acoustic bandprimarily, at leastsort of works against this idea, but Phil (Ek's) production showcased that side of our band.
Long also said in an interview that he was glad "we were able to keep things simple on this record.
"When your band gets a little popular, there's this tendency to say things like, Let's add an orchestra on this one!' " Long noted. "That works for some people, but it would detract from this band."
Also appearing on Friday's The Late Show with David Letterman are actress Teri Hatcher and comedian Jake Johannsen.