Hod + Marc “Hod & Marc”

I’m pretty sure I didn’t get this one in the $100-record-bin —how do I know that? Because I never shop in the $100-record-bin —why? Because, with spending, I probably average $3 per record—so you choose—between one $100-record or roughly 33 1/3 cheap records—a lot of them trash—but at least one as good as anything on the deep-pockets-rack. I’m holding off listening—because I can dream of excellence while I look for clues. The cover is a postcard size photo (surrounded by a wasteland of white space) of two curly-haired, light-skinned, middle-aged guys, and a beautiful dog. I don’t know dog breeds, but it’s not a Chihuahua. A big dog, maybe a Husky or an Alaskan Malkmus. Blue jeans, casual, one guy has a suede jacket with a lot of fringe. On the back, the exact same photograph, uncropped and not processed, 8 ½ x 11—they’re in the grass at edge of some woods. Song titles and credits are on back, nothing else. What first gets your attention is “Produced by Bob Johnston”—so that’s impressive. I think the musicians are some Nashville legends—Pete Drake, Kenny Buttrey, Tim Drummond, Bob Wilson, Eddie Hinton—not sure about Nashville, but big-time session guys that I recognize. The year, 1972, a good one. And Bell records, which I have a soft spot for, since I believe the first LP I ever owned was on Bell. So, this explains why I shelled out the big bucks—but who are Hod & Marc? Could the dog be one of them? Well, no one would name a dog “Marc,” but I could imagine a dog named “Hod.” Which would make one of them men “Marc”—but then who is the other guy? Also, is it “hod + marc” as rendered on the front in neat black crayon, or “HOD & MARC” as indicated on back, and on the label?

Before resorting to the broken internet, I’m simply listening, like a kid in 1972 who just scored the vinyl at Record Upheaval and took it home. I’d have been a little bummed out back then—too mellow for my young ears—but it’s just my thing a half century later, singer songwriter drivel with acoustic guitar and minimal backing. Just kidding, it’s not drivel—I like these songs. They’re all written by Hod David, sometimes with others—I’m assuming that’s the same Hod as on the cover (he’s also credited with acoustic guitar)—it would be too weird if there were two Hods—I don’t believe I’ve ever heard that name before. That I like the record, shouldn’t be so surprising with that hall-of-fame lineup accompaniment, and all of these songs are very good. My favorites are “The Warm Summer Rain,” “Come & Gone,” “In Colorado,” and “By Love I Mean.”

Finally, though, I’m resorting to my thinktank for some info—Discogs has a brief bio of Hod David, with his photo, which matches the leather jacket guy on the cover. The weird thing is, Discogs has info about another Hod David—also a songwriter and musician—what are the odds? I’ll just let that go. Trying to figure out who “Marc” is, is another problem, since he’s not credited anywhere on the album—which is, let’s face it, a little weird. Thankfully, Discogs also lists “Hod + Marc” as a band (they use the + sign instead of the & sign) and in that listing, provide Marc’s name, which is Marc Allen Trujillo, a singer who had a few records in the Seventies, including “(Everybody’s Goin’) Hollywood” (great title). As far as Hod David, Discogs and Archives West say that he changed his name to Hod David from Howard M. Schudson, and he was born in Milwaukee in 1942, was married to actress Enid Kent, and sadly died in a car accident in 1980. He’s got a lot of music credits, particularly as a songwriter. But there’s only one “Hod + Marc” album—and I’ve got it.

7.18.25