ODIN IN THE WAY!

ODIN IN THE WAY!

Sharon Liveten

There is an alarming trend afoot among rock bands—they are getting younger and younger. (Bite your tongue—I am not getting older.) At this rate, Messrs. Page and Van Halen should soon be out finding nice peaceful retirement homes.

Take Odin, for instance. The band is one of Los Angeles’ brightest metal newcomers. But of the four band members, bassist Aaron Sampson, guitarist Jeff Duncan, his brother drummer Shawn Duncan and the band’s singer/face/teeth, Randy “0,” the latter two are the group’s old men—topping the chronological ladder at 20. These guys still recall dreaming of being in rock ’n’ roll— and are young enough to admit it.

“Before I played guitar,” says Jeff cheerfully, “I was making cardboard ones, pretending that I could play guitar.”

Shawn nods in agreement, and adds, “I used tupperware bowls and plastic pans. I told everybody in junior high school that I was going to be a famous drummer.” (Who says there’s no career guidance in our schools?)

Still, wanting to be a rock star and actually donning spandex and studs in front of a paying audience are two separate things. But one should never underestimate the power of Odin (the moniker was nabbed from the Norse god of thunder). These are four very determined guys.

Even three years ago, when schoolmates Jeff, Aaron and Shawn were just jamming together for fun, they had one eye on the future. They knew that experience in the recording studio would pay off at some time later on, but didn’t have the bucks to finance it. A few petty crimes later, the studio time was theirs. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

But it wasn’t until Randy joined, two years ago, that Odin became a serious and professional hard rock unit. “Before Randy joined the band,” says Jeff, “It was the three of us having fun. When Randy joined is when we more or less decided, ‘Let’s do it.’ And we figure,” he continues matter-of-factly, “that we’ll be fairly large, if people will let us be what we want to be.”

They won’t get many arguments from their management. It does help that L’Dee Management, which handles Odin, is headed by Lanny Duncan, the brothers’ father.

“My dad has been in the music business for a long time,” explains Shawn. “He wrote two hit songs, and had a record contract at one time. It’s really nice for us though, ’cause he knows the business—he got thrashed around a bit by the industry, since he was young and didn’t know what he was doing. But now he knows some of the tricks they use, so he can avoid them. We also figure that we can trust him.” And if Odin pisses off Lanny, he can ground most of them for a few weeks. A tidy arrangement.

The group seems to be doing all right so far. Their independently released EP, Caution, brought them fans from as far afield as England. But the EP wasn’t, as so many are, the act of a desperate band, hungry to see their name on a slab of vinyl. See, Odin never do anything without a plan. They may look like average metal players, but beneath the leather and shag hairdos beat the red-blooded hearts of a bunch of yuppies. (Muppies?)

“We did the EP,” explains Jeff patiently, “because we knew where we were as a band, and we didn’t want to sit around and wait for some major to recognize us. We want to go out and do it ourselves. But it’s important to let your EP sell to its potential, so it’s working for you when you go to get a major deal. You want to see that EP through.”

That they did. But they still put out their latest effort, the classically-tinged rocker Don’t Take No For An Answer, on the tiny Half-Wet label. And on the basis of that record, and a few very carefully chosen local gigs, Odin were picked to open the Alcatrazz/Uli Jon Roth tour this summer.

Not a bad spot for a first tour—just some serious competition. But Odin’s not concerned: neither the god of thunder nor his namesakes are exactly known for reticence.

“Every great band has to start,” insists Jeff. “That’s the category that we slip into now. But we’re going to be big. Musically we’re hotter than shit.”

Time will tell. But only a few people have bet against thunder and lost.