"Odds Lane" amazing 25 year musical journey started in grade school.
Doug Byrkit & Brian Zielie, of ODDS LANE, musical journey began in grade school and has fostered a lifelong friendship, a musical partnership that has lasted 25 years and carried them all the way from their South Saint Louis blues rock/funk roots to the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, TN; where they recorded in the same session booth as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis.
Vizions of Rock: Who plays what instruments in the band?
ODDS LANE: Doug Byrkit plays guitar/bass & lead vocals and Brian Zielie plays the drums and sings some backup.
Vizions of Rock: Where did the name ODDS LANE come from and why?
ODDS LANE (Doug): First of all, we’re terrible at picking out band names. For us that has always been one of the most painful parts of starting bands. However, this one comes from a Stephen King book series called “The Dark Tower” that we both were reading at the time we started writing together. We had picked out a name from the books, but in 2012, Little Steven bought the trademark from us for a band he was working with on out Denmark. We wanted to keep the same kind of vibe and found another name (Odds Lane) in the series. We feel like it fits us as we tend to not write music that doesn’t fit easily into one category, or “lane" if you will. We also, like a lot of musicians, consider ourselves at little “odd” as well.
Vizions of Rock: How did the band come together and how long have you been together?
ODDS LANE (Doug): We meet in grade school while both taking drum lessons. When I decided to make the switch over to other instruments, Brian was 1st on the list of good drummers I knew, and I gave him a call. It’s been band after band since then for 25 plus years now! Odds Lane is just the latest vehicle for our original music.
Vizions of Rock: When I listen to you, I hear a mix of a lot of styles; how would you describe your sound?
ODDS LANE (Brian): It’s actually very hard for us to do because we have so many elements of different styles we like to incorporate in our songs. However, it does usually start with a base of blues/rock and if some funk, or reggae, or jazz serves the song, it goes in there.
Vizions of Rock: You have been musically connected since the 8th grade. How does that help and hurt the creative process AND do you remember the first song you played out together live and where was it?
ODDS LANE (Doug): It helps in that we, especially on stage, don’t really have to guess about what the other is going to play. It's very instinctive. On the other hand, in the writing process, knowing each other sometimes makes us a little more stubborn in giving up what later on is an obvious bad idea. I think, possibly the first song we played out together was “Blitzkrieg Bop” at the Maryville Illinois Knights of Columbus Hall, somewhere around 1993.
Vizions of Rock: As a follow up - How does your song come together, where do you get your inspiration?
ODDS LANE (Brian): Usually Doug will start with a demo of some kind. When he’s comfortable enough that an idea is worth working on, he shares it with me. The ones that work out the best are almost always the ones I immediately want to change. To me, that is how I know I'm excited about it. I spend some time with it and give Doug thoughts for the next rewrite, then we start jamming bass and drums to try work out the rhythm tracks and then build from there. After that, every song is different but that is the usual start to most of them.
Vizions of Rock: So “Lost & Found” was influenced by your South Saint Louis blues rock/funk roots. Can you tell us more about your blues rock/funk roots and how is the music scene in Saint Louis?
ODDS LANE (Doug): As a bass and drum unit for many years we’ve always had a big interest in the great rhythm sections in the funk/rock/blues genre. However, when we joined a band with Mike Zito and moved into a small 3-bedroom house in South City in 1998, we really cut our teeth playing sometimes 8-10 gigs a week all around St. Louis. We put that time as the real formative years of our style and work ethic as musicians.
Vizions of Rock: As a follow up - Is there a message that you’re trying to communicate with “Lost & Found?
ODDS LANE (Brian): The message with Lost & Found is the same as anything else we write. We just try to tell the stories of things that we experience and/or of those we observe around us. There might be a certain message song to song, but in general we are just writing about life around us and how we, as life long friends and musicians, see and observe it.
Vizions of Rock: You recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, WOW! The birthplace of rock and roll. You sat in the same session booth as did Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many, many, many, many other icons. What was that experience like for you?
ODDS LANE (Doug): It was quite a surreal experience for sure. We had been invited by the studio through the Memphis Grammy society, which was our local Midwest chapter, as an effort by Sun to help artists they believed in and to reinvent the studio. We went down and recorded rhythm tracks at night while they were closed to the public and I think we took more pictures than we did takes on the songs. The really weird part was the next day when we recorded vocal tracks and mixed the songs while tours were open to the public. It was pretty cool though to have people looking through the control room glass wondering who we were!
Vizions of Rock: How do you think the music industry has changed over the last 25 years and is there anything that you wish you could change about it?
ODDS LANE (Brian): There has been a major shift in how music is both produced and consumed, from how recordings are made and to how shows are promoted. There used to be a more "boots on the ground" approach but has changed to a more digital approach on both fronts. However, in the last few years there seems to be a renewed interest in the more organic and in person vibe of the past. Everything goes in cycles, but in the end, it is really just about the songs and how they connect with the people that listen.
Vizions of Rock: Do have any advice for up and coming musicians who want to follow in your footstep, aside from “Stay in school” and “Don’t quit your day job”?
ODDS LANE (Doug): Yeah both of those for sure, lol! But in all seriousness the best advice we could give is learn everything you can about music but also about the business. They really are two separate things, but unless you just want to make music in your parent's basement you have to approach a career in music the same way you would if you wanted to be an engineer. Work hard, learn everyday, and don’t let the bastards get you down.
Vizions of Rock: Who are your influences?
ODDS LANE: There’s far too many to list them all as there’s just so much good music out there from the past to present. But if we have to name a few here’s a small sample of our eclectic taste….The Beatles, James Brown, The Meters, SRV, BB King, Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Tower Of Power, Steely Dan, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Living Colour, Bob Marley, The Who, The Police, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Al Green, Bill Withers, Fishbone, Rush, and the list goes on and on…….
Vizions of Rock: Is there a tag line that describes ODDS LANE?
ODDS LANE: Not really but if you have one we’re open to suggestions!
Vizions of Rock: What is on the horizon for the future?
ODDS LANE (Brian): Well while we are at home during this continuing pandemic, we plan to continue our Thursday night live streams from Doug’s Living Room and are writing new music for our eventual follow up to “Lost & Found”. When things pick back up, we plan on playing shows again and doing as much touring as we can when Doug is off the road with Mike Zito, and probably a little bit while he’s on like we did on our last tour run with Mike in Florida.
Vizions of Rock: How can we find you music?
ODDS LANE: www.oddslane.com/store or www.gulfcoastrecords.net and we’re also on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, and pretty much every digital way you might listen to music!
