Jeff S. Dodge

Jeff S. Dodge was born in Portland, Oregon to J. Stewart Dodge, a musician and businessman, and Kathleen Cunningham, a loving mother of three. He was raised with his two younger sisters in both urban Northeast (1973 - 1980) and rural Northwest (1981 - 1987) neighborhoods. After graduating from Central Catholic High School in 1988, Dodge drifted through a few different State Colleges & Universities meeting a variety of both Oregonian and Californian students along the way. Much of his early video experimentation began in the University of Oregon's now defunct Telecommunications & Film program (he was enrolled primarily in TCF classes during 1990-1992). Eventually graduating from Portland State University in the summer of 1995 with a Bachelor Degree in History, Dodge dove deeper into independent filmmaking aligning with his old Western Oregon State college dorm-mates, Clint Sargent and Dan Palodichuk. That summer, the three teamed up as Darge Productions to write, cast, and shoot the first installment of their Sci-Fi-Socio-Political-Psycho-Drama Quadrilogy, "The Harlequin - Episode I". Debuting on Portland Cable Access in November 1996, the series concluded in the summer of 2000 with the 90 minute broadcast of "The Harlequin's Redemption- Episode IV". While Darge Productions was an entirely self-financed endeavor featuring ad hoc crews and an abundance of volunteer acting, Dodge ultimately first found employment on a fully funded film as Key Set Production Assistant for the feature, "Blast" (shot over 1998 / released in 2000). Following this experience and some additional P.A. work through Food Chain Films, Dodge returned to independently financing and developing his own productions. In 2002, Dodge screened his first theatrical release; a live action-animated short-film entitled, "My Mother Was Right", starring Cy Stanger, Jemila Hart and Mike Lupro. While still going out on occasional auditions and casting calls, Dodge also made a cameo appearance in the conclusion of "What the #$*! Do We Know!?" (2004) with Oscar Winner Marlee Matalin. In September, 2004, Dodge and Sargent premiered their epic, "Jeff Steele and the Lost Civilization of NoyNac" at the Laurelhurst Theater in Portland, Oregon. Frustrated by the amount of time it took to produce 'NoyNac' (shooting had started in August of 2001), Dodge and Sargent vowed to screen their next production within the year. Completing principal photography in a matter of weeks over the summer of 2005, and utilizing an electrifying soundtrack supplied by Rick Bain and the Genius Position, "Go, Cowboy, Go!" starring Kyle Black, Cy Stanger and Alistair Duff was completed and screened at the same theatre by January 26th, 2006. During this period, Dodge simultaneously got more involved in the day-to-day operations of his father's live sound production company, Stew Dodge Sound. Following in his father's footsteps, Dodge started his first business, Dodge Visuals (AKA Jeff Dodge Visual Services), in the summer of 2006. After the screening of 'Cowboy', Dodge teamed up with co-star Brian 'BA' Anderson to write the Marx Brothers parody-tribute, "A Day On The Asteroid" (2009). Although principal cinematography featuring live actors wrapped by Fall of 2006, a miniature Asteroid set was constructed and painstakingly filmed between 2007 - 2008. After the premiere of 'Asteroid', Darge Productions re-united the original 'Harlequin' writers Dodge, Sargent and Palodichuk for what would become Darge Productions final theatrical release and long anticipated sequel, "Jeff Steele : Children of the Doomed"(2011). In August of 2012, Jeff S. Dodge and his longtime girlfriend, Jemila Hart, eloped in Burns, Oregon. In September of 2013, Dodge founded his second company, Trench Digger Productions and Recording Studios LLC and premiered "The Baby Blue Badfinger Tribute" on TDP's new YouTube Channel. Filmed and performed live in early 2012, the tribute concert was a local benefit show featuring the music of Apple Records and Badfinger (and performed by a legendary mix of all-volunteer musicians). With their first Digital LP, '8 Weeks On Mars', being produced by Clint Sargent and debuting on Darge Records in late 2011, it wouldn't be until 2013 when The Jeff Dodge Peasant Revolution Band released their third LP, 'Sunset Story', as the first official Trench Digger Productions and Recording Studios album. The band followed this LP up with, 'BLUES COUNTRY' in 2014. While shooting promotional music videos for the album, Dodge, musician Mike 'Woodman' Johnson and David Craig developed the short film 'KXLN Nebraska' as an additional meta-promotional tool. Inspired by the success of 'KXLN', Johnson, Craig and Dodge re-teamed for a sequel in late 2015. The fictional Mitch Humbucker-Jeff Dodge narrative was furthered with the debut of 'WNYCee New York' on TDP's YouTube Channel (including a music video for the PRB's fifth LP, 'In the Name of Justice 2015'). On May 24th, 2016, Trench Digger Productions premiered 'The Peasant Revolution Band Variety Hour with Jeff Dodge' on their official YouTube Channel. Starring Dodge as the Host, The PRB Variety Hour is a monthly live-stream-cast featuring local guests, Steven Cebula (bassist / writer), Rich Reece (drums / musical director / writer) and David Craig (cameras / technical director / writer).