Odds in Concert
Alongside peers like The Tragically Hip and The Pursuit of Happiness, Vancouver power-pop foursome Odds were at the forefront of a late-1980s Canadian rock renaissance that saw a new wave of grittier, more irreverent bands elbow their way onto mainstream radio airwaves otherwise dominated by glossy synth-pop and slick hair metal.
The group was founded in 1987 by guitarists Craig Northey and Steven Drake, a complementary songwriting tandem in the mold of iconic duos like Lennon/McCartney and Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford. While making ends meet on weeknights as a British Invasion cover act under the name The Dawn Patrol, the band devoted weekends to workshopping the songs that would end up on Odds' 1991 debut, ‘Neopolitan,' released through BMG imprint Zoo Entertainment.
The album caught the attention of veteran songwriter Warren Zevon and, recognizing kindred sardonic spirits, he enlisted Odds to serve as the touring band to promote his ‘Mr. Bad Example' album.
Zevon would in turn guest on Odds' 1993 breakthrough album ‘Bedbugs,' whose anti-machismo anthem "Heterosexual Man" entered heavy rotation on MuchMusic thanks to a video featuring Odds performing in drag alongside members of acclaimed comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. That friendship would lead to Northey producing the soundtrack to the Kids' 1996 film ‘Brain Candy' and composing its score with Odds drummer Pat Steward and bassist Doug Elliott.
By the mid-‘90s, Odds had become fixtures on Canadian rock radio thanks to earworms like "Truth Untold" (from 1995's ‘Good Weird Feeling') and "Someone Who's Cool" (1996's ‘Nest'), but after almost a decade of nonstop recording and touring, the band announced its breakup in 1999.
Drake embarked on a career in production (working with the likes of The Tragically Hip). Northey wrote songs for Roseanne Cash and recorded a one-album collaboration with the Gin Blossoms' Jesse Valenzuela — which yielded the jangly gem "Not a Lot Going On" (better known today as the theme song to the beloved Canadian sitcom ‘Corner Gas').
In 2007, Northey, Elliott, and Stewart reunited under the name The New Odds, before securing the legal rights to their original name and self-releasing a steady stream of EPs throughout the 2010s that have reaffirmed Odds' status as one of Canada's most reliable melody makers.
