Recently Glide had the opportunity to talk with a unique voice in the music world as the New Orleans bassist/ composer Stoo Odom gave us some time. An artist who inhabits the murky world where psychedelia, jazz, and noise intersect, this original voice is currently wrapping up work on his first solo album titled Indefensible, slated for an early 2020 release. A tour of Japan will follow in March to support the record.
Best known for his rock/psych work in the Graves Brothers Deluxe, Thin White Rope, and Subarachnoid Space, Odom has also collaborated on tour and in the studio with members of Acid Mothers Temple, the Boredoms, and ’60’s icons the Monks.
Odom’s music can be heard in a variety of independent films and TV. His first orchestral work was performed in 2014 by the San Francisco Sinfonietta. Mixing in dashes of Ronnie Boykins, Frank Zappa, and Gerald Casale with his playing, lyrics and composing, Odom continues to forge his own path in the music world with roots bedded deep down in the wilds of New Orleans.
What first got you into playing music?
ell, I spent a chunk of my childhood in the Maple Leaf Bar when my dad was part-owner. No one ever asked for my ID. By the time I was ten, I was making up songs and recording them into a top-loading portable cassette recorder. When I was 12, my friends informed me that we were forming a band and that I would play bass guitar. Once they explained to me what a bass guitar was, it was all over.
Who were some of your first influences? Who are you influenced by today?
The earliest music I remember liking was Trad Jazz and Ragtime. I also learned about the Beatles and Tom Lehrer at about the same time, that pivotal age around 10. I never liked rock much until I heard people lovingly destroy it – Devo, Sex Pistols, Residents, Magazine. My influences these days are mostly the musicians I see all over New Orleans; plenty enough here to learn from.
You spent a lot of time in San Francisco and have lived in New Orleans for a number of years, how does physical location influence your music?
The physical location definitely affects the lyrics. “Seaworthy” is definitely a San Francisco song, it hit me all at once while on the Bay Bridge on a rainy day. “I Ain’t In Love No More” and “Vulture Sing” are pretty obviously New Orleans/ Deep South tunes.
Do you feel like the internet has changed that at all?
The internet allows me quicker access to music from Ethiopia, Japan, etc… not sure how much that affects me. I guess it must!
You started in rock bands like Thin White Rope, The Graves Brothers Deluxe and The Rough Seven but have moved more towards standup bass in more acoustic jazz settings lately, has this been a natural progression or is there something else that has contributed to this evolution?
A natural progression stemming from my getting bored easily with rock music. However, I figured out quickly after moving back to New Orleans that I could make living playing music I actually like on the upright. If I were confined to the electric, I might be stuck playing tourist funk and blues, or even keeping a day job. Terrifying!
Currently, you are playing with The Sleazeball Orchestra how did that come about?
I met Fräulein Frances at the Circle Bar one night. She I asked if I would make out with her. I declined, so we formed a band instead.
You are about to release your first strictly solo album titled Indefensible, released by Too Long to Chew Music, what was the inspiration to deliver your first solo album now?
The gauntlet was thrown down when friends in Japan offered to loan me a bass and book me a tour over there. It’s happening in March. I figure I’d better having a record to sell. I will be gigging with Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple), Tabata Mitsuru (AMT/ Zeni Geva), Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms), and others. I need to get my game on.
There is a mix between melodic/lovely tunes like “Indispensable” and spoken word art pieces like “Fish Sauce Blues”, was the idea to show a range of your writing/playing as opposed to just a standard solo jazz record?
I don’t think I’m capable of making a “standard solo jazz record.” A while back I decided my ideal music would be a cross between James Booker and Nurse With Wound. This is as close as I’ve come so far.
Haha! That is a pretty wide range. On the gastronomical front, food seems to be a reoccurring lyrical motif, how hungry were you when you were writing this album?
On a scale of “amuse bouche” to “whole suckling pig,” somewhere near “french fry po-boy.”
There are feedback pedals incorporated into certain tracks on this album, what equipment do you use/what was the inspiration for adding that buzzing into the sound?
I’m mostly just using a Mosfet Bass Drive and an Arion Analog Delay that I found in Osaka. A friend told me that I’m relying too much on “that Sleestak sound.”
Never, if anything we need more Sleestak sounds. What are your future plans outside of the upcoming tour?
Trying lots of new things. I just moved into a house in one of New Orleans’s strangest and most remote neighborhoods. My neighbors are goats. I plan to record with them.
Check out http://stoo-odom.com/ for more info.
