Personnel: Chris Hall, keyboards, guitar, harmonica, trumpet; Mike Yockey, drums; Jeff Strohm, bass; John Vernon, vocals; Jerry Hinck, guitar.
Formed: The band members, who shared an interest in reggae and ska, met at Western Illinois University in Macomb in 1984. They played their first professional gig that year at a now-defunct Davenport, Ia., club called the Mad Hatter.
Current lineup together since: Late 1988, when Hall, also from Western Illinois, replaced the previous keyboardist.
Sound: Hinck calls it ”alternative guitar-based dance music.”
Influences: Hinck cites New Order, the Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen.
Songwriting: Vernon writes all the lyrics and much of the music. Other members also co-write. ”It`s more a band effort coming up with the final product as far as the music goes,” Hinck says.
Turf: The band practices in Naperville, where Yockey and Hinck live, and plays various clubs in the city and suburbs.
Onstage cover versions: Hinck says the band usually avoids covers in city shows but sometimes plays the Smiths` ”Hang the DJ,” the Close Lobsters`
”Just Too Bloody Stupid” and some reggae and ska songs, including the English Beat`s ”Ranking Full Stop.”
Memorable concert experiences: ”We`ve had a couple incidents of women jumping up onstage and baring their breasts,” Hinck says. ”And one time in Davenport the PA system blew up, and we had to play the whole show though our monitors.”
Namesake: ”We were sitting around at the bass player`s house one day, and the bass player`s mom said, `How about Odd Man Out, and we all looked at each other and said, `Yup, that`s the one,` ” Hinck recalls. ”I think we liked it because it wasn`t a cliched rock `n` roll band name, and it hints at the fact that we`re a little bit different from other bands.”
Recordings: The band`s album-length CD and cassette, ”Havana,” came out a year ago on the independent Frigid Air Records.
Philosophy: ”The band as a whole gets bored very quickly, so we always want to move onto something new,” Hinck says. ”You`re not going to hear the same three chords every song, but we`re not some avant-garde jazz band. We`re alternative, college-radio-station music.”
Goals: ”To continue writing music,” Hinck says. ”I think that`s the one goal that we all agree on-to continue improving our songwriting skills and whatever happens beyond that is fine.”
Next appearance: Saturday at the Beat Kitchen.
