The Brian Odell Band

The Brian Odell Band is an American rock band whose roots are firmly grounded in funk, fusion, rock, jazz, and folk. The band’s ability to make music have movement and use of dynamics create an emotional response from their listeners and separates them from their musical peers.

Originally formed in early 2006 when Portland, Oregon musician, Brian Odell, decided he wanted a band to fill out the sound of his original music that he’d been performing for years. With the help of founding members Gregg Ritchie, Nick Clearwater, and Josh Hackett the group began performing regularly around the Portland area quickly amassing a loyal following. Just a few months after their first gig, they went into the studio to record an album of original music. “Rise Above It All” was recorded, produced, and mastered locally in Portland and was independently released on May 27th, 2007. The band continued playing live shows, corporate event, festivals, and private parties all over Oregon through late 2008. Various life events and evolving plans brought changes in the line up of musicians for the next couple years as the band continued playing to new and friendly faces.
By the end of 2012, it was time for a new direction. Together with Mike Yesenofski, who had been with the band since 2010, Brian started looking for new musicians to help guide the band on its new musical journey.

Mike is a dentist by day, and musician by night. Originally a guitar player, Mike picked up the bass guitar in 2005 to join the local band Runaway Norm, and released the album "Undercover From Daylight" along with playing countless live shows, a number of which on the same bill as The Brian Odell Band. During those early years, Mike and Brian would also cross paths with another regular in the Portland music scene, Marcus “Big Daddy” McQuade. Big Daddy was the drummer for another Portland mainstay, Bryan Flannery Band, for 6 years and has shared the stage with many other great bands and artists including David Klinkenberg, Darrell Mansfield, and Montgomery Gentry among many others. Having already played the same circuit and similar music, Brian and Mike knew Marcus would not only fit in, he would help take the music to the next level.

With the three core-musicians set, it was time to round out the sound a bit more and an electric guitarist was next on the list. After an extensive search, Mike discovered Brandon Ficquette who was new to the Portland area. Brandon is an extremely versatile musician that had been playing with dozens of bands over the years. Whether he's playing in a band, behind a singer/songwriter, composing, creating, he tries to add to the music and feel the emotion that is being created. Naturally, he was a perfect fit for The Brian Odell Band! The quartet started playing shows and the connection and energy was immediately apparent. Long time fans noted a change in the sound and a new punch from the live shows yet something was still missing. Enter Bob Baker, an incredibly talented and accomplished violin player. Marcus and Bob had previously shared the stage as members of the country/rock band Flexor T. Big Daddy invited Bob to come check out a show and if he liked what he heard, to try sitting in a couple shows with the band. Bob was sold and the line up of The Brian Odell Band was perfectly rounded out by Bob’s amazing violin skills!