THE ODDS were formed in 1987 in Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting of vocalist-guitarists Craig Northey and Steven Drake, bassist Doug Elliott and drummer Paul Brennan. The band members claim the name came when Brennan asked Drake, in a town somewhere on the BC coast, “What are the odds of us ever escaping bullshit gigs like this?”. In 1991 they released their debut self-produced album Neopolitan, which spawned the radio hits “Love Is the Subject” and “King of the Heap” (both sung by Northey). The third single, the sexually explicit “Wendy Under the Stars” (sung by Drake), failed to chart, but attracted the attention of music critic Greil Marcus in his book Dead Elvis. After the release of Neopolitan, the band was picked up by Warren Zevon, becoming his touring band for his album Mr. Bad Example. In 1993, Zevon returned the favor by guesting on the bands Bedbugs album. Its lead single was “Heterosexual Man”. The video for that song featured the band members performing in drag, with Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney from The Kids in the Hall, themselves often noted for drag performances, as stereotypically macho jocks in the audience until Foley inexplicably turns into a woman. Three more singles were released from the album: “It Falls Apart”, “Jackhammer” and the Europe only “Yes (Means it’s Hard to Say No)”. Good Weird Feeling featured the top 10 hit singles “Truth Untold” and “Eat My Brain”. “Satisfied” hit the top 20. “Mercy to Go” and “Smokescreen” also charted. “Eat My Brain” later found a place on the Craig Northey-produced soundtrack to the The Kids in the Hall movie Brain Candy. The track “Someone Who’s Cool” originally intended for a sequel to the Friends soundtrack, was their first No. 1 single in their native Canada.. They released a new album, Cheerleader, on May 20, 2008, with Northey now performing all lead vocals. A new EP, Noise Trade (named for the website used to sell it), comprising several songs from Cheerleader and covers of tunes from Pointed Sticks and Art Bergmann was prepared for early 2009 release. Early in the year, the band also appeared as themselves (in retro-’50s garb) during a dream sequence in the final season of the Corner Gas television series. The band continues to perform regularly, mostly at festivals and events across Canada. During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver Odds were the “house band” at Canada Hockey House. The band was named the Vancouver Canucks ‘house band’ of the 2010 and 2011 NHL playoffs. The Odds take the stage at 6:45pm on Friday, August 16th!
