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The origins of Steamroller date all the way back to 1980, when Kevin Dodds and Michael McLellan met in the third grade. As childhood best-friends, the two played on the same basketball and soccer teams, and generally spent a lot of time together. Kevin was born in the NASA area south of Houston, where Michael relocated from Chicago in the first grade.
Kevin got his first guitar in the fifth grade, and Michael got his first guitar soon afterwards. After the two attended a Van Halen concert in 1984, they hooked up with their first drummer at the ages of 12. Later in the 8th grade, their first official band was formed. That year they jammed for the first time with bass player Nate Hickman, who had just moved from Dallas to Houston. The three teamed up in 1987 with a new drummer to form another band in high school. They went on to play tons of local gigs, house parties, and an occasional battle of the bands. Unfortunately, Michael had to move back to Chicago after the 10th grade, but the four reunited back in Austin in 1990 to attend the University of Texas. While Michael was in Chicago, Kevin and Nate kept the band together under various lineups.
The band's first official gig in Austin was at the Black Cat Lounge. However, this was short-lived, and the band played painfully, but. continuously, at the Back Room for the next two years. When they finally started to accrue a regular fan-base, personal conflicts brought an end to their high school drummer's relationship with the band. After recruiting another drummer, and failing a second audition at the Black Cat, the band continued playing at the Back Room and occasionally at Steamboat. The new drummer wasn't working out, so they auditioned another drummer, but eventually called it quits in October of 1993, not knowing when they were going to play again, if ever.
In January 1994, to cure the drummerless period, a friend of the band's bought a used drumset. He was a proficient guitar and piano player, but had practically no drumming experience, which at the time didn't seem to matter. The guys spent five months practicing and writing all new songs in a much simpler style, and tried out the new incarnation at their house parties. After failing an audition at Steamboat for a Miller Lite commercial without a name for the band, they finally decided on Steamroller. The first real Steamroller gig was in June 1994 at the Bates Motel on Austin's Sixth Street. The band then moved next door, to Joe's Generic Bar, and were immediately given a regular Tuesday gig, and played four-and-a-half hour sets on weekends in Joe's Beer Garden. In September, Steamroller auditioned at the Black Cat for a third time in four years, and were given a regular Tuesday night spot opening for Rhythm Child.
In December 1994, the group began opening for Sunflower on Saturday nights at the Black Cat. Steamroller recorded their first CD from February to May of 1995. They started headlining Saturday nights in June, and released their self-titled debut in July. In September, the band was named Celis Brewery's Austin Band of the Week. Andy Langer gave Steamroller's CD a positive review in The Austin Chronicle in November, and in December the band opened for Ian Moore, as well as appearing on a local television program.
In the Spring of 1996, Steamroller was featured on KLBJ's All Access radio show and appeared in a feature article in Mike's Feedback. Later in April, after a short stint at Antone's, Kevin, Michael and Nate had to make the difficult decision to hire a new drummer. The talented former-drummer of Rhythm Child, Brandon Elizondo, joined Steamroller to elevate the musical integrity of the band. Soon, they started picking up shows at Liberty Lunch and the White Rabbit (in both Austin and San Antonio) and a few opening spots with the Ugly Americans at Antone's. They began branching out to clubs in Dallas, Waco, San Marcos, San Antonio, and Houston. The band became an official partnership under the DBA Redwood Records (the band's self-started label) in order to focus on the production of their second CD. In September of 1996, Steamroller left the Black Cat Lounge after two years of residency.
In October, Steamroller played every Thursday at the San Antonio White Rabbit and every weekend at the Austin White Rabbit (until that leg of the franchise went under). The end of the year saw them opening shows for almost every established Austin act at Steamboat. In January 1997, the band finished recording their second CD, Cabin Fever, and began headlining at Steamboat. Cabin Fever was released in May 1997, and the group began making weekly road trips to such Texas cities as Bryan/College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas, and Houston. Throughout 1997, Steamroller appeared many times on KLBJ's renowned morning show, Dudley & Bob w/Debra, was featured on KLBJ's Acoustic Series, Local Licks Live, and Blue Plate Special programs, and performed at the Austin Music Hall.
In 1998 the band completed an early spring tour that hit Fayetteville and Little Rock in Arkansas; Oxford, Mississippi; and Boulder, Colorado. The band was featured on Trudy's restaurant's 20th Anniversary CD, as well as the 1997 edition of the KLBJ Local Licks Live CD. In February, Steamroller won the HORDE tour's Band to Band Combat competition in Austin, and during the summer of 1998 the group played on the tour in both Oklahoma City and Austin, sharing the bill with the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins, Blues Traveler, Barenaked Ladies, Ben Harper, Fastball, Cowboy Mouth, and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. In October 1998 Steamroller released their third independent CD, Razzle Dazzle. The band continues to headline at Steamboat in Austin, as well as several clubs in Houston, Bryan/College Station, and Dallas. For band info, contact Kevin Dodds
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