Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Odin.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born in Dallas TX and raised in Garland. I’m 36 now. I had a single mother that worked 12 hour shifts as a Nurse at Medical City Dallas CVICU. She got me my first guitar Xmas after my 10th birthday. From that moment on I knew what I wanted to do. I would ride my bike down to Zoo Music, Garland TX, and take lessons from Tommy Hyatt and Steve Curtis. I started my first band senior year of high school. We played the end of year talent show and got a feature in the school video yearbook. From there my years were filled with jumping from one band to another as a guitarist and performing in Deep Ellum. Once I hit my thirties, I had a house and a small business in my hometown of Garland that occupied my time and energy. On a whim, some great friends that I had always had random jam sessions with encouraged me to hit up some near-by open mics and sing.
I played one 3 song set and was offered a gig to come back and play the full night, for money. The next morning I started learning as many cover songs as possible before the gig in 2 weeks. I officially started singing and playing as a solo artist in 2013. After a few meetings with some interested folks in the industry, I started a band in December 2014. Since inception, we now perform in 6 states and play some of the greatest venues Dallas has to offer. We can be seen opening for the Dallas Stars Hockey home games at AAC. We’ve been performing for them since 2016. It’s been very surreal and exciting to have such a positive response to original music. We are scheduled to play 67 shows for 2018 and that number is looking to increase for 2019.
Notable home venues:
AAC Dallas Stars Hockey Games
City Of Frisco Events
House of Blues
Trees
Gas Monkey
SXSW2017
SXSW2018
Discography:
Feb 2017 “Off Course”
9 tracks
Available in iTunes, Amazon, Google and Spotify, Sounds like: The Grateful Dead, The Black Crowes, Dave Matthews Band
The band has a father son combo in it. Our lead guitarist/harmonica, Jay Atz, is 65 years old. His son, Jayson, is the bass player in the picture you featured in the weekly. They both teach Kung-Fu in Plano TX and travel in the band on nights and weekends. Our drummer is a landscape architect in Dallas. His wife is a school teacher, our percussionist is the husband of the girl you did an article on last week. Amy Du Bois, the calligrapher and artist. Her husband, Micheal Du Bois plays congas and aux percussion for the band. Our saxophone players are both lesson teachers for the school districts and one is the assistant high school band director for Carter High in Oak cliff.
www.jakeodinandthemarchingband.com
www.facebook.com/jakeodinandthemarchingband
INSTGRM: Jakeodinband
Please tell us about your art.
I pick up my guitar and sit on the end of the bed. Next thing you know I’m signing to my dogs and jamming out song ideas. I send my band members random messages at all hours of the night about ideas sand shows I’ve booked for us. I keep a full calendar. I’m very blessed to have such a dedicated group of guys surrounding me. Once I have an initial riff or hook written, the rest of the band does their job and turns it into a song. Majority of my lyrical content is about learning from mistakes or experiences that merit a song. We get a lot of success from being relatable. Songs about taxes and bad relationships thrown over a funk beat with R&B sax solos and hard blues guitar licks. Suddenly those negative energies go away and you can’t help but tap your foot.
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
The opportunity comes when you’re not looking for it. Live within your means and focus on making your art the best it can be. Good recordings and merchandise cost money. Not to mention the rehearsal room and gear. Next thing you know you are copyrighting your music and buying trademarks, bar codes, a bus, paying a publicist… Art and talent have an inherent cost built in. Especially now in a world where we have to market on social media and make sure we are competing with every up-and-coming local star. It’s a stressful, but rewarding experience.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
www.jakeodinandthemarchingband.com
www.facebook.com/jakeodinandthemarchingband
INSTAGRAM: jakeodinband
Our calendar is updated daily and we encourage everyone to come see us live. Join our mailing list for updates and shows coming to your town.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3814 Marquis dr. #110 Garland TX 75042
- Website: www.jakeodinandthemarchingband.com
- Phone: 2148560696
- Email: jakeodinandthemarchingband@gmail.com
- Instagram: jakeodinband
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jakeodinandthemarchingband
- Twitter: jakeodinband
Image Credit:
Joseph De Leon @ Another Face in the Crowd
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
