New Odyssey Guy Wows Crowd for Arkansas Valley Community Concert Association

Description: New Odyssey Guy Gary Todd plays trumpets and drums at the same time, thanks to modern electronics at Tuesday’s AVCCA concert at the Ed Stafford Theatre on the Otero College Campus.


Published: 03/05/2022
Byline: McFarren

New Odyssey Guy Wows Crowd for Arkansas Valley Community Concert Association

Three instruments at a time are not uncommon for Gary Todd, New Odyssey Guy, in Tuesday’s show at the Ed Stafford Theatre on the Otero College Campus in La Junta.

By: Bette McFarren

Members of the Arkansas Valley Community Concert Association and their friends had a treat on Tuesday night with the performance of the New Odyssey Guy, Gary Todd. He is a one-man band, with the aid of electronics, and plays the following instruments, live and electronic: bass trumpet, electric guitar, trumpet, alto sax, baritone, pocket trumpet, five string banjo, flugelhorn, soprano sax and drums. The drums are now electronic and are able to start a whole song on their own, as he aptly illustrated toward the end of the show.

Gary Todd comes from a show biz family, performing from the time he was two with the family act “The Tumbling Todds.” At age 13 he started his own tumbling, comedy and music act. By 17, he had joined the band Odyssey, that performed at pubs and night clubs all over the Midwest. Then several members moved on and a major overhaul was about to take place. In 1988 these changes led to the creation of the “New Odyssey,” three guys from Chicago who played 30 instruments. They played crowds all over the country for 40 years.

Then the other guys dropped out and the legacy continues with the New Odyssey Guy, who is Gary Todd, a most impressive one-man band and solo singer. The crowd in La Junta at the Ed Stafford Theatre totally enjoyed his routines, which brought back memories of Jimmy Buffet in “Margaritaville,” James Taylor in “How Sweet It Is,” Harry Nelson in “Lime in the Coconut.” He invoked old-time cowboy music with Kenny Chesney in “Get Along,” Cab Calloway in “Minnie the Moocher,” and Louis Armstrong in “Wonderful World.”

New Odyssey Guy Gary Todd sang western and picked banjo, too, to the delight of old time western fans present at the AVCCA concert at the Ed Stafford Theatre on the Otero College Campus in La Junta.

He took short intermission and then came back with “All Night Long,” in which he played drums and trumpet and also did the vocal, followed by “Iko Iko,” in which he did bass trumpet, trumpet and vocal.

That was followed by a Zac Brown Band version or “Chicken Fried” and a five string banjo and vocal with everybody singing along in “Rocky Top.” That was followed by John Mellencamp’s version of “Smalltown,” and the piece de resistance, electric drum demonstration. He confessed that drums are really his instrument, as evidenced by the impressive electronic drum set with which he performs.

This reporter continues to be confused about whether or not he was really performing the vocals, but would vote for his really performing the instrumentals. If he really performed the Louis Armstrong and the Frank Sinatra on “That’s Life,” we are truly impressed, and even if he didn’t his ability to play multiple instruments wowed the crowd.

Todd did his duty to the veterans with “America the Beautiful” and “Proud to Be an American,” having the veterans stand and be recognized. But the crowd favorite was “Sweet Caroline,” when all of us got to sing along just like Boston Red Sox fans.

Related Content:

AVCC Hosts New Odyssey Guy Feb 22, 2022 at Otero College

Follow SECO News on Facebook.

Read More Content Like This: SECO News Entertainment Category



Follow SECO News on Facebook.
Subscribe to the SECO News YouTube Channel.