Life is a complete contrast to the Corner Gas theme song “Not a Lot Going On” for the Odds frontman Craig Northey has a whole lot going on including co-writing that as well as the closing theme “My Happy Place.”
He brings his band, the Odds, to Average Joes, Jan. 15.
The Vancouver based band became well known all over Canada in the mid-90s with a variety of quirky hits like “Heterosexual Man,” “Someone Who’s Cool, ” “It Falls Apart” and “Eat My Brain.”
They are always working on new material. They’ve released three EPs in the past year, releasing the most recent EP “Party, Party, Party” in mid December.
“ We thought we’d do a trilogy like Lord of the Rings. We thought we could cash in on that,” Northey quipped, in Calgary watching his son play hockey.
“ A few years ago, you would have called it a double album. But the way people consume music these days, we thought we’d release them as EPs. And it allowed us to separate them into different groups according to themes,” he said.
“But we’ll probably cherry pick from them and put them out on vinyl,” he said.
Northey has had a lot going on in the past year in addition to the three EPs.
“We were on the CP Holiday Train playing 65 dates going from Montreal across the country raising money for the food banks and we’ve got the three Alberta dates coming up,” he observed.
He noted the band isn’t planning a more extensive tour because the biggest thing he has going on lately is scoring television and film soundtracks.
“ I like scoring films because you are inspired by what is happening on the screen. You have to write to what the scene needs. It stretches different musical muscles than writing for a band like the Odds,” he said.
He wrote a lot of music for the new Corner Gas film and even made a cameo in it.
“It was good fun. I’m pretty proud of the work everybody did for it. It was great fun,” he said adding the film featured the full length version of “ Not A Lot Going On,” which he wrote with The Gin Blossoms’ frontman Jesse Valenzuela and appeared on his CD as well as the full length version of “My Happy Place,” which Northey recorded for the New Odds’ CD “Cheerleader” back in 2009.
“ I wrote a lot of instrumental music for the movie too, but some of that sneaks into Odds material,” he said.
After the Alberta shows, it is back to soundtracks.
“ I’m working on Young Drunk Punk, the new show from Bruce McCulloch who was in Kids in the Hall,” he said.
“ They haven’t aired yet. But it has already shot,” he said adding the Young The Young Drunk Punk music hasn’t made it into the Odds’ setlist.
“Soundtrack music does inadvertently work its way into Odds music. It’s our voices, it’s the guitars. It’s just the nature of the band,” he said.
He said the new material was very much a collaborative effort.
“ Bassist Doug Elliott and drummer Pat Steward and singer Murray Atkinson all contributed songs which is new for the Odds,” Northey said.
“ The general theme of the EPs is pretty much self-loathing and seeing the world with black humour,” he described.
He noted they band hadn’t played much of the new material live before recording it.
“It’s new to everyone. People know us for a few songs so we play them and we also play stuff they might not know us for, but know like the Corner Gas material. ‘My Happy Place’ is one we play all the time now,” he continued.
He said it has been a long time since they played Lethbridge.
“I think the last time we were there was with Bachman Turner and that was three or four years ago,” he said.
Before that they played a club called Suede, which has long since closed.
“Hopefully the club we’re playing now will stay open,” he said.
The Odds play Average Joes, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. sharp. Tickets cost $20 in advance, $25 at the door.
